Overview
- Patrick Kane will make his first regular-season home appearance for the Blackhawks tonight at the United Center after signing with Chicago in the offseason and skipping the home preseason games.
- Chicago enters the game 0-3 and is searching for its first victory after a three-game road start that included a 6-0 loss and a narrow 4-3 defeat.
- Connor Bedard has rejoined some on-ice, non-contact drills as he rehabs offseason shoulder surgery but is not cleared for contact and remains unavailable for the lineup.
- St. Louis comes in 1-1 after Joel Hofer’s 25-save shutout was followed by a six-goal outing against Colorado for Jordan Binnington, and the Blues’ penalty kill is a perfect 8-for-8 early in the season while forward Alexey Tropchenko will be sidelined for several weeks.
- Chicago adjusted its defensive pairs in practice with Bowen Byram back after a brief personal absence and Sam Rinzel a healthy scratch, and the team released a 13-minute behind-the-scenes video about Kane to build excitement for the home opener.