Blackhawks drop season opener 3-2

So close. But no goal.

That sums up the crazy ending of the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-2 season-opening loss to the New York Rangers at the United Center on Wednesday when Patrick Kane's apparent game-tying tally was waved off with a minute remaining.

After Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made a save on a point-blank shot by Jonathan Toews, Kane swooped in and poked the puck - which was under Lundqvist's right pad - into the net.

But the whistle had blown and the Rangers escaped with the win.

Kane wasn't crying sour grapes afterward, saying it could have gone either way.

"It did seem like it was pretty quick, but at the same time we know the refs are out there trying to protect the goalies," Kane said. "Not gonna complain about it. We had a chance there at the end to tie it up with a minute, 19 (seconds left) with a 5-on-4. Didn't go our way."

Coach Joel Quenneville's reaction to the whistle?

"Quick," was all the coach said.

Artemi Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen scored the goals for the Hawks.

Panarin certainly had a memorable NHL debut. After taking a pass from Kane, Panarin found himself skating in all alone, right at Lundqvist. The Russian phenom stayed patient, kept his head up and ripped an absolute bullet past one of the league's best goalies to tie the game at 1-1 at 14:24 of the first period.

The Rangers answered with 2 quick goals to take a 3-1 lead before the first period ended, but Teuvo Teravainen trimmed the deficit to 3-2 when he scored at 6:55 of the second period. Teravainen took a pass from Marian Hossa and beat Lundqvist with a shot from the slot.

Lundqvist (32 saves) closed the door from there. The loss means that defending NHL champs are now 1-5 in their last six home openers.