Domi scores OT winner, Blackhawks beat Detroit in home opener

New Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson is old enough to remember what it was like to play at the old Chicago Stadium.

As a defenseman for the Maple Leafs and Oilers, the now 53-year-old Richardson faced off against the likes of Denis Savard, Chris Chelios, Steve Larmer, Troy Murray, Dirk Graham, Doug Wilson, Dave Manson, Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour.

Of course, in those days - and in that arena - it was more than just the players who brought the heat.

The fans brought it too - in loud, crashing waves that often overwhelmed ill-prepared opponents.

"I remember you used to have to lock your seat belt down the first 10 minutes in this city for sports and especially hockey," Richardson said before the Hawks stormed back to post a 4-3 OT victory over Detroit in their home opener Friday. "We want to have that fear going into other teams coming in here.

"It's not going to be an easy night and it's going to be a tough start."

That's exactly what it was like for the Red Wings early on as Max Domi, Jonathan Toews and Philipp Kurashev all nearly gave the Hawks the lead.

The early sizzle fizzled soon after, however, and when former Hawks forward Dominik Kubalik gave Detroit a 3-1 lead midway through the second period, you figured it was game, set, match.

But Richardson's scrappy bunch refused to fold.

Kurashev made it 3-2 by backhanding a rebound into the net at 3:46 of the third period, and Connor Murphy tied it at 3-3 at 10:06 on the second short-handed goal of his career.

Domi then sent the crowd home happy when he ripped a wrist shot into the net with 2:44 left in overtime.

"Very proud that we could come through for the fans tonight," Richardson said. "The home opener's always real exciting for the fans to see the team for the first time together. The guys put in a really good effort."

Alex Stalock took over for the injured Petr Mrazek to begin the third period and made 10 saves. The biggest came when he thwarted a breakaway attempt by Filip Zadina with 11:19 remaining.

"He was awesome," said Murphy, who had 3 blocks in nearly 19½ minutes of ice time. "We just joked with him that his first couple stops was a breakaway and a 3-on-1; (then) one was like a 4-on-2."

Andreas Athanasiou scored the Hawks' other goal on a penalty shot at 5:41 of the second period.

Murphy's goal came after Sam Lafferty won a faceoff in the Hawks' offensive zone. The puck came right to the veteran defenseman and he wasted no time in firing it past Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

"It was fun," said Murphy, whose other short-handed goal came when he was with Arizona in 2016-17. "It was just big to come back. That's what made it more fun."

Now the question is, how fun can the Hawks make this season for the home fans? Preseason predictions made it seem like they'd struggle to win 25 or 30 games.

That may still be the case, but so far this hasn't looked like a hapless bunch.

Anything but, actually.

"Really excited that our team is enjoying this and I think they're believing in the process of getting better every day," Richardson said. "I sure am. I see it and I think they are starting to feel it.

"It's early in the season. We've got lots to do and a lot of places we can get better at, but it's definitely a good start."