The Chicago Blackhawks got a glimpse Tuesday night of what they envisioned when they brought back three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane to mentor their young roster.
For the New York Islanders and defenseman Alexander Romanov, Tuesday night represented the worst-case scenario for a second straight season.
The Blackhawks look to win their second straight game, while the Islanders begin adjusting to life without Romanov, when Chicago visits the New York Islanders on Thursday night in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were off Wednesday after playing Tuesday, when the Blackhawks earned their first win by beating the visiting St. Louis Blues 4-2 and the Islanders fell to the host New York Rangers 5-2.
Sam Rinzel and Anton Frondell gave the Blackhawks the lead for good by scoring within a two-minute span early in the second for Chicago, which was outscored 15-5 by the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth and Buffalo Sabres during a season-opening road trip.
“A lot of times, to get that first win when you haven’t won in a few, you’ve got to kind of grind it out,” Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill said. “You probably feel a little bit of that weight (lifted). Now we’ve got to build on it.”
Chicago’s roster features six first-round draft picks selected since 2022, including Rinzel (2022, 25th overall) and Frondell (2025, third).
Frank Nazar, who was also a first-round pick in 2022 (13th), provided insurance against St. Louis by scoring an empty-netter in the final five seconds. Artyom Levshunov, a 2024 first-round selection (second overall), had the primary assist on Frondell’s go-ahead goal.
In addition, center Connor Bedard, picked first overall in the 2023 draft, is recovering from left shoulder surgery in July.
Chicago has missed the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons and hasn’t advanced past the first round since 2015, when Kane helped the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons.
The Blackhawks selected Kane first overall in the 2007 draft before trading him to the New York Rangers in 2023. Kane spent the previous three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings before signing a two-year deal with Chicago as a free agent in July.
The 37-year-old right winger received a lengthy standing ovation during a video tribute prior to faceoff Tuesday, when he had two shots in just under 21 minutes on ice.
The Blackhawks will be without Teuvo Teravainen, who sustained a lower-body injury Tuesday. Blashill said the forward would not accompany the team to New York.
The Islanders, who missed the playoffs for the second straight year last spring, showed a hint of their potential in their home opener Saturday, when New York routed the New Jersey Devils 6-0.
But the Islanders never led Tuesday, falling behind the Rangers 2-0 before Bo Horvat and Cal Ritchie scored within 1:56 early in the second. They had just eight shots the rest of the way, including five in the third, when Alexis Lafreniere iced the win for the Rangers by collecting two empty-net goals in the final 1:38.
“We had a chance to take the lead — that maybe changes the game,” Islanders head coach Peter DeBoer said. “It’s not easy in this league playing from behind.”
The third period will likely be the final regular-season action for Romanov, who exited with 12:04 left. The Islanders announced Wednesday that Romanov tore the ACL in his right knee and will require surgery that will sideline him for six to eight months.
It will be a second straight lost season for Romanov, who missed the final 62 games last year due to a left shoulder injury sustained against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 18.
