Kane leads Blackhawks past Winnipeg Jets
Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists to help the Chicago Blackhawks overcome an early two-goal deficit in a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Linemate Marian Hossa added a goal and an assist, and Andrew Brunette and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks.
Jim Slater scored twice early in the first period for the Jets, and Kyle Wellwood added a goal late in the second.
The Jets, who relocated from Atlanta in the offseason, dropped to 0-2. They lost their home opener to Montreal 5-1 on Sunday night.
Chicago backup Ray Emery made his first start since signing as a free agent in July and stopped 27 shots. Chicago's No. 1 goalie, Corey Crawford, was on the bench and available, although he has been nursing a lower-body injury.
Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves for Winnipeg.
The Jets outshot the Blackhawks 5-0 in the opening 7:29 and grabbed a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals Slater deflected in through Emery's pads.
Slater opened the scoring 4:24 in on a tip of Johnny Oduya's shot from the left point following a failed Chicago clearing attempt. Just more than 3 minutes later, Slater redirected in Ron Hainsey's shot. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville called a timeout after Slater's second goal, and the move paid off.
The Blackhawks dominated the rest of the period and into the second. Brunette knocked in a rebound from a scramble during a power play at 9:45 of the first to cut it to 2-1. Kane knotted it at 2 with 3:10 left in the period, firing in a one-timer from the right circle after taking Hossa's cross-ice feed.
Hossa gave Chicago a 3-2 lead just 33 seconds into the second on a screened shot from the top of the right circle. Bolland made it 4-2 at 6:45 by beating Pavelec on the short side.
Wellwood cut it to 4-3 on a goal-mouth scramble with 5:26 left in the second. With Emery down and out of position, Wellwood backhanded the puck between his own legs and into the net. Emery had to make a couple of tough saves to preserve the lead, but Chicago had the better chances in the scoreless third.
NOTES: Winnipeg LW Andrew Ladd and D Dustin Byfuglien played their first games in Chicago since winning the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010. Both were traded to the Atlanta Thrashers as part of a salary cap dump shortly after Chicago won the championship. ... Chicago LW Daniel Carcillo, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, played his first game with the Blackhawks. He skated on a line with Kane and Hossa, and picked up an assist. Carcillo was suspended for the first two games of the season. ... Chicago skated without LW Viktor Stalberg (knee) and RW Ben Smith (concussion). ... Chicago D Sean O'Donnell celebrated his 40th birthday. He's the first Blackhawks player 40 or older since G Tony Esposito.