Hawks Drop Opener To Rangers

Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith tallied goals, but the Blackhawks fell 4-2 to the New York Rangers on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in the team's season opener.

The Hawks skate tonight in Washington against Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals before opening the United Center portion of their schedule Monday night against Nashville.

Brandon Dubinsky tallied a goal and assisted on two others for the Rangers, who also received goals from newcomers Wade Redden, Nikolai Zherdev and Aaron Voros. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots for the Rangers, who are 3-0 for the first time since 1989.

After Redden opened the scoring less than seven minutes in, Brian Campbell fed last year's rookie of the year Kane for a goal, completing an end-to-end rush.

Down 3-1, Keith cut the defecit to 3-2 at 7:13 of the third before Zherdev tallied to get the lead back to two.

Goaltender Cristobal Huet, who signed a four-year, $22.45 million dollar free-agent contract, struggled in his Blackhawk debut. The Frenchman made 25 saves but allowed all four goals and did not look sharp. However, most of the Hawks on the ice didn't look sharp and will look to rebound Saturday night in Washington. Look for Nikolai Khabibulin, who is in the final year of his four-year, $27 million contract, to get the starting nod in net against the Caps.

From the opening faceoff, the Rangers exhibited more energy and crisper skating than the Hawks. That was to be expected from a team having two games under its belt and playing in front of a raucous crowd for the home opener. You can also credit Brandon Dubinsky. Expect Adam Burish to be more energized Saturday night as the Hawks look to break into the win column.