For the third consecutive game to start the 2025-26 season, the Chicago Blackhawks were tied 2-2 through the opening 40 minutes. And for the third consecutive game, the Blackhawks were unable to finish the job down the stretch.
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens in the home opener at the United Center marks three straight losses now for Chicago to begin the new campaign. Once again, the game came down to the wire, but the Habs were the ones who rose to the occasion. Kaiden Guhle scored the game-winning goal with only 15 seconds remaining in the third period to rip the spirit out of the rowdy Blackhawks’ faithful in attendance at the UC.
The fans had plenty to get fired up about over the 59 minutes and 45 seconds prior to Guhle’s GWG, as Saturday’s game provided a little bit of everything. A back-and-forth contest with the two teams trading goals, a few promising moments from key young players, and countless skirmishes after the whistle. The Blackhawks and Canadiens combined for 56 penalty minutes on the night, and the second period, in particular, was one of the most chaotic frames in recent memory.
The first win for new head coach Jeff Blashill would have been a fitting way to finish a spectacularly eventful opening game on home ice, but the young Blackhawks’ still haven’t found that killer instinct needed to close out tight contests.
Here are the key stats, takeaways, and highlights from the Blackhawks’ brutal loss in their first game at the United Center.
STAY OUT OF THE BOX
First and foremost, the Blackhawks lack of discipline against the Canadiens played a pivotal role in the team failing to earn the victory. Blashill’s bunch tallied 14 penalties on the night (not a typo), with ten leading to power-play opportunities for the road squad. Both of the Habs’ first two goals in the game were scored on the man advantage.
The Blackhawks’ penalty kill actually did a rather splendid job of keeping the team alive, despite all the infractions that were racked up. They were successful on eight of the ten power plays they faced and didn’t surrender too many high-danger chances, aside from the pair of power-play goals. But bad things are bound to occur when penalties are accumulated at that rate, and Montreal capitalized enough to make a difference in the final outcome.
If this was only a one-time issue, then it would be water under the bridge and easy to move on from. However, the Hawks were also shorthanded five times in Thursday’s 4-3 OT loss to the Boston Bruins, meaning they’ve committed a whopping 15 minor penalties over their last 122-ish minutes of action. And it’s not just the young players who don’t have much NHL experience that keep taking trips to the sin bin. Sam Lafferty and Connor Murphy, two veterans on the roster, were each whistled twice against Montreal. Ryan Donato and Matt Grzelcyk both had penalties on Saturday, too.
While the Blackhawks want to play with more intensity and be a scrappy team, there’s a fine line between that and the carelessness that was displayed throughout Saturday’s game. You can’t hand your opponent ten power-play opportunities and expect to win.
Rinzel’s First NHL Goal
With that out of the way, let’s get into some highlights!
Sam Rinzel struggled in the season opener on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, but he responded nicely in the following game against Boston. Rinzel had a prime-time chance to pot his first NHL goal at TD Garden on Thursday, but Joonas Korpisalo, as he seemingly did in every high-pressure moment that night, came up with a big stop.
The 21-year-old swift-skating defenseman didn’t have to wait much longer for that ever-elusive first tuck, as he scored a beautiful goal in the second period against Montreal to tie the game 1-1.
Frank Nazar➡️Teuvo Teravainen➡️Sam Rinzel
Rinzel FINALLY scores his 1st NHL goal with a beautiful wrister to tie the game 1-1! Nazar tallies the secondary assist to extend his point streak to 3 games. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/E7hGvvlnG5
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) October 12, 2025
For the second time in three games, Rinzel led all Blackhawks’ defensemen in time on ice with 25:58 played. In addition to his goal, Rinzel added three blocked shots and didn’t commit a giveaway on the night. That was a massive issue for him in the opener versus Florida, where he had five giveaways and was shaky whenever the puck touched his stick.
Rinzel has looked far more comfortable in a top-pairing role in the past two contests, and hopefully the dam has now broken open for him after finally finding the back of the net.
Bedard & Nazar Keep Producing
Two major bright spots for the Blackhawks during their current three-game losing skid have been Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar continuing to show signs of progress. Both players were impactful during the opening two games, and that was once again the case in Saturday’s loss.
Nazar recorded the secondary assist on Rinzel’s goal in the second period, which extended his season-opening point streak to three games.
Later on in the period, the Blackhawks picked up a power-play goal of their own, with Nazar’s shot from the slot deflecting off Bedard in front and past Canadiens’ goaltender Sam Montembeault to tie the game 2-2.
Teuvo Teravainen➡️Frank Nazar➡️Connor Bedard🚨
Bedard gets credit for the PPG as Nazar’s shot deflects off him & past Montembeault to tie the game 2-2! 2nd goal of the season for Bedard, & 2nd point of the game for both Nazar & Teuvo! #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/6wbtInwbuC
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) October 12, 2025
Bedard now has two goals and one assist through the opening three games, while Nazar’s two assists on Saturday gives him a team-leading five points. Nazar already has two multi-point efforts early in his first full NHL season.
Not only did Bedard and Nazar continue to lead the way offensively, but they were also both involved in the many skirmishes that broke out against the Canadiens. Two offensive-minded, under-sized forwards that aren’t afraid to mix it up with the big boys. That will most certainly aid in establishing a new culture here in Chicago.
Levshunov Scratched
An interesting turn of events at the morning skate. Artyom Levshunov participate in line rushes at the United Center early on Saturday morning, where he skated in his usual second-pairing position next to Wyatt Kaiser. But Levshunov remained on the ice long after the session concluded, which typically foreshadows that a healthy scratch is coming.
The 19-year-old defensemen ended up being the odd-man out of the Blackhawks’ blue line in their home opener, and it was curious to see he also wasn’t introduced by the team during the annual red carpet event as part of the pre-game festivities. Levshunov was later announced with the rest of Chicago’s NHL roster during player introductions, but it was still a weird development, nonetheless.
Levshunov has had an up-and-down start to his professional career, but he’s still an extremely young and a somewhat raw prospect. There’s going to be hiccups and learning moments for a player his age, especially as a defenseman.
One of those came on Thursday against the Bruins, where Levshunov committed a penalty late in the third period and seemingly stopped playing before the whistle sounded, which led to a dangerous chance for Boston. Those are the types of mistakes that are unacceptable, and it likely led to Levshunov being out of the lineup for the first time this season.
Blashill addressed Levshunov’s situation when speaking with the media after the game.
“It’s okay to miss games. That’s part of development, too. Development isn’t that you just play and magically get better. Learning how to do things a certain way is part of it. The best place for [Levshunov] to be is with us right now [in the NHL]. He’s going to play plenty of games, and there’s going to be some games where he doesn’t play. That’s just the reality of it. But to me, it’s honestly not a big deal. It’s part of the growth process for a lot of players.”
Best in the Business
Saturday’s events leading up to the home opener served as a reminder of the incredible organization the Blackhawks have from top to bottom. From the red carpet event, to the over 50 alumni who were brought back to the United Center in celebration of the franchise’s Centennial Season, to Pat Foley hosting the pregame ceremony, everything was done with tremendous class. Not to mention the great Jim Cornelison belting the Star-Spangled Banner like NO ONE else can. That will NEVER get old.
Eddie Olczyk, Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, and Corey Crawford were only a few of the notable former Blackhawks who were in attendance, and while they didn’t get to see a victory against Montreal, it was still a very heart-warming evening at the Madhouse.
The 100-year history of the Blackhawks’ franchise was well represented and properly honored in the home opener, and it was incredible to see how perfectly everything was put together to make the night so special.
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