Byram nets hat trick in Blackhawks 4-3 OT win over the Wild in 1st preseason game at the United Center

The Chicago Blackhawks hosted the the Minnesota Wild at the United Center in their second exhibition game of the preseason on Monday, Sept. 21. It was the first time the NHL regulars took to the ice, as the AHL group played in Minnesota on Sept. 19. All in all it was a productive outing, and the Blackhawks came away with an 4-3 overtime win.

Let's get to the dirty details.

Blackhawks lineup, including special teams

Patrick Kane did not suit up for this contest, and Teuvo Teravainen slotted into his spot on the top line.
Spencer Knight started in net, with Drew Commesso serving as the backup. Here's what the forward lines and defensive pairings looked like.

Forward lines, defensive pairings & goaltending

Roman Kantserov - Frank Nazar - Teuvo Teravainen

Tyler Bertuzzi - Anton Frondell - Nick Lardis

Ryan Donato - Oliver Moore - Andrew Mangiapane

Cole Smith - Ryan Greene - Jordan Greenway

Alex Vlasic - Bowen Byram

Wyatt Kaiser - Artyom Levshunov

Ian Cole - Sam Rinzel

Spencer Knight/Drew Commesso

Power Play Units

PP1: Bertuzzi, Teravainen - Kantserov - Frondell, Byram


PP2: Nazar, Moore - Donato - Lardis, Rinzel

Penalty Kill Units

PK1: Greene, Smith, Vlasic, Cole

PK2: Greenway, Mangiapane, Kaiser, Levshunov

Other PK participants: Frondell, Teravainen, Rinzel, Moore, Nazar

Blackhawks Game Notes

Here's some notable thoughts and highlights from the game.

• Bertuzzi (along with Kane) were named official alternate captains at the same time the organization announced Connor Bedard as the 37th captain of the franchise on Sept. 15. In Bedard (injury) and Kane's (scratch) absence, Vlasic and Byram wore the "A"s on this night.

• Things didn't get off to the best start for the Blackhawks. Bobby Brink of the Wild scored just 15 seconds in. But Lardis evened things up a little later in the period. He was serving a penalty for too many men on the ice, but sprung for a breakaway as soon as he was released from the box. The score was 1-1 after the first period.

• Defenseman Byram put his mark on the second frame with this top shelf shot to make it 2-1 Blackhawks. Greene and Rinzel were credited with the assists.

• After that, things got a little fiesty. Greenway delivered a big hit, but then the guy that came to defend his teammate saw who he was up against & got out of there fast! Then Kaiser got into a scuffle along the boards. He wasn't done, as him and Brink decided to drop the gloves. It was a physical second frame, with the Hawks leading 2-1 at the end of it.

• The action wasn't over yet, as Byram scored his second goal of the night to make it 3-1 early in the third. Vlasic and Kantserov picked up the helpers. But Maxim Shabanov tallied a goal shortly thereafter to cut the Hawk's lead to 3-2.

• Alas, the Hawks couldn't hold the lead. Vasic and Kaiser didn't provide the best defensive coverage, and Brink skated in for his second goal of the game to tie it 3-3. Nobody scored through the rest of the third, and this game required overtime.

But Byram came to the rescue once again, notching a hat trick for the win shortly into extra time. Lardis and Frondell were credited with the assists. It was also Lardis's second point of the night.

• Byram ended the night leading the team with three goals, five shots on goal, seven shots attempts and 23:31 minutes of ice time. Quite the unofficial debut for the 25-year-old defenseman.

Quotable Quotes

Head coach Jeff Blashill on Byram's performance, "He's a really talented defenseman that is just coming into his prime ... he's strong on the puck. He's got confidence with the puck. He's got confidence in his abilities. If he makes a mistake, he just goes right back out and plays again."

For his part, Byram was rather humble when asked about his performance. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I don't know. I was out there for a couple odd mans against us, so try to fix that. But yeah, just try to trust my feet. If I feel like I can make a play or get to a puck, I'm gonna trust my instincts, and if it doesn't work out, I'll work my butt off to get back."

Lardis told us he feels a lot more confident headed into his second NHL season. "This summer I thought I wanted to take big strides with my speed, show that more consistently, and put on some strength, win more battles, and just kind of improve my two-way game. And I think if I could just kind of consistently improve on that every game, every practice, hopefully those (scoring) totals will go up by itself.

Vlasic wasn't named as part of the official leadership group this season, but he already donned the "A" on this night, and Coach Blashill named him as someone he would turn to for leadership. The defenseman made us laugh when I asked him how it felt to wear the "A". "Yeah, I try not to think about it honestly. I feel like it just kind of maybe gets in your head if you start to worry about it. So I just kind of honestly forgot about it until I would like turn to the glass and maybe look at my jersey or go to the bathroom in between intermissions. But yeah, it's cool and it's pretty big. It feels very large on the jersey." He further named players such as Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook as other players who wore an A, and how great it was to be part of that select group.

The Blackhawks will have Tuesday off, but then will be right back to practices on Wednesday. They travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues on Thursday (Sept. 24) and then host those same Blues on Saturday (Sept. 26) for their last preseason game.

Their official 2026-27 debut will be on Wednesday, Sept. 29 on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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