- Connor Bedard returned from shoulder surgery and assisted on a power-play goal in a 5-3 win over the Penguins
- Teuvo Teravainen and Roman Kantserov each scored twice, and Sidney Crosby got his first two goals of the season
- Read below for how Bedard’s return unfolded and what Patrick Kane added
Connor Bedard is back, and the Blackhawks won with him in the lineup.
The captain made his season debut Tuesday night after missing the first six games following offseason shoulder surgery. He picked up an assist in Chicago’s 5-3 win over the Penguins at the United Center.
Bedard’s helper came on the power play. He slid the puck from the left circle into the middle to Kantserov, who one-timed it past Sergei Murashov with 2:10 left in the first period for a 2-1 Chicago lead.
Bedard was asked before the game about the timeline of his recovery, which started with a four-month estimate. He said he put in a lot of work on the rehab and felt good about the call to get him back on the ice.
The Blackhawks were quick out of the gate. Anton Frondell fed Teravainen in the low slot 28 seconds in, and Teravainen finished it for his first goal of the year. Kantserov scored again in the second period off a pass from Artyom Levshunov, and Patrick Kane picked up the secondary assist.
That was Kane’s 894th career assist, which ties Phil Housley for the most by an American-born player in NHL history.
Crosby made it a game. He scored his first goal of the season at 6:57 of the first, then tied it 3-3 in the third by sweeping in a rebound. He had gone scoreless in his first six games, tied for the longest goal drought to open a season in his career, per ESPN Insights:
The second goal was Crosby’s 656th, which ties Brendan Shanahan for 14th on the NHL list. Watch Crosby’s first of the night:
Teravainen broke the tie from a tough angle with 4:18 left, and Tyler Bertuzzi sealed it with an empty-netter in the final seconds. Spencer Knight stopped 24 shots for Chicago, now 2-5-0.
Pittsburgh, at 3-3-1, opens a four-game trip and visits Colorado on Friday. Chicago hosts Winnipeg on Thursday, and Bedard’s return from injury now becomes a question of how fast he gets back to full speed.
