Blackhawk Up and Down: Kane, the fourth line, momentum swings & more in 5-2 loss to Golden Knights

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and for the Chicago Blackhawks, that is what they will look to do.

They didn't have the season opener that they envisioned, losing 5-2. It was a tough night for them all around. But there were some things they will look to build on.

Here are some of the Blackhawks Ups and Downs of their first game.

Up: The fourth line remains a strength

Going into the season, the fourth line of Ryan Greene, Cole Smith, and Jordan Greenway looked good. Although that line only got one preseason game together, head coach Jeff Blashill loved what he saw from them throughout camp.

There were line changes heading into the game, but the fourth line remained unchanged and will likely stay that way.

It works.

Greenway, Smith, and Greene were all plus-1's on the night. Greenway scored the first goal of the Hawks' season to get his team on the board in the second period. Greene came away with an assist. Greenway also had three hits, which made for a good impression with his new team.

Blashill said postgame on if that line was the best of the night: "Early for sure; the first half of the game, for sure. I thought as it went along, the moments of like (Roman) Kantserov and (Patrick) Kane and when I had Bert (Tyler Bertuzzi) out there, they were pretty good, too. But certainly, Smith, Greene, Greenway consistently was a really good line. So, they look like they found some chemistry and can be a line that I trust a lot."

Down: Momentum swings

Vegas was the overall better team in that game. However, the Blackhawks found ways to get back in the game, but the momentum swings were tough.

Greeway scored to make it 2-1, and Kane scored their second goal to make it 3-2.

The problem? When they would score, they gave it right back rather quickly. After Greenway scored, Jack Eichel scored three minutes later to make it 3-1.

After Kane scored, Noah Hanifin scored 39 seconds later to extend Vegas' lead 4-2.

It felt like they struggled to sustain any momentum they got, and momentum is everything in sports.

Up: Patrick Kane scored in his return

It's hard not to include Kane scoring in this list. The last time he scored a goal as a member of the Blackhawks was in February 2023, and it felt very fitting that his goal gave his team life in the third period. That's what he does.

He logged 21:36 minutes of ice time, which was the most of any Blackhawks forward. Seeing Kane still produce highlight-reel goals with that much ice time was a fun part of the night.

Kane said postgame, "Obviously, you know, your eyes get pretty wide when the puck goes by the defenseman, and you're coming in on a breakaway and chasing onto a puck. So, just wanted to be patient with it, take my time, kind of make him make a move first, and hang on to it. So it's nice it worked out. Obviously, pretty good feeling."

Down: Net-front defense

Blashill talked about the too many odd-man rushes his team allowed. But to build on that, I thought the net front was a challenge for them.

Two of the five Vegas goals were net-front. The Blackhawks have worked in recent years on box-outs and strategies in front.

But unfortunately, there were some breakdowns.

Up: Started to make a better impression later on

The Blackhawks first period was not pretty. They were outshot 15-6, and they took two penalties, one of which resulted in Vegas scoring.

The second and third periods at least resulted in some offense, and they started closing the gaps in the shots-against. They outshot Vegas 14-9 in the third period.

The players can build off that.

Defenseman Bowen Byram said postgame, "I think once we got going later into the game, (the) second half of the game, we definitely started to play better. Started to generate more shots, more chances. But you can't be trying to claw your way back into every game. I think if anything, the positives we can take is we showed how we can play late into the game there, but teams are too good to do that for 15 minutes. You got to do that for 60 minutes to win."

Down: Andrew Mangiapane injury

Andrew Mangiapane left the game in the second period, and Blashill said after the game that it was a lower-body injury, and he will miss the remaining two games of the road trip.

It's a tough break, as you never want to see a player get injured, especially in the first game of the season. Mangiapane was playing on the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Anton Frondell.

That means that Teuvo Teräväinen, who was a healthy scratch in the first game, will slot in.

Overall, it was a rough night for the Blackhawks. But first games tend to be a little haywire for everyone, as no team comes out of the gate in perfect form.

It's how the Blackhawks bounce back that will matter. I do believe they are a better team than they showed, and they will take the lessons from the game.

Therefore, I think there will be improvement against the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 1.

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