Scrappy Blackhawks rally past Red Wings to win home opener

Theoretically, the Blackhawks are still tanking, and their largely unrecognizable roster is proof of it.

Anonymous or not, their overlooked players have demonstrated impressive scrappiness and resilience through the season’s first few weeks.

The Hawks rallied from two goals down to stun the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime Friday in their home opener, winning for the second time in four games. Philipp Kurashev and Connor Murphy led a third-period comeback before Max Domi picked the top corner on a semi-breakaway two minutes into OT to thrill a lively crowd of 18,753 at the United Center.

“Winning’s fun, right?” Domi said. “I’ll take it.”

Before the game, the Hawks debuted a new intro video that ties in their slogan for the rebuild era — “Ready to Work” — with Chicago’s blue-collar everyday culture.

It’s well-produced, but coach Luke Richardson is the only 2022-23 Hawks presence in the video, demonstrating just how few marketable players the team has left — and how much additional turnover the roster likely will undergo by season’s end.

That lack of talent likely will catch up with the Hawks. Four games hardly represent a sufficient sample in an 82-game season. They certainly won’t complain about exceeding expectations in the meantime, though.

“They really showed a lot of character in that room, and that’s a credit to the leadership on this team,” Richardson said. “At the end of the second period, we had a good push, so there was a lot of belief. Coming out for the third, I knew we were going to be there at the end.”

Kubalik returns

Former Hawks forward Dominik Kubalik got a trial run through the weirdness of being in the visitors’ locker room at the UC during the preseason, but this was his official return as a new member of the Red Wings.

He returned with a vengeance, picking up two points — including a sly tip-in goal off a shot by fellow ex-Hawk Olli Maatta.

Kubalik was part of the Red Wings’ first splashy offseason in years.

They also brought in David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp and Ville Husso in free agency.

“That was No. 1 thing for me when I talked to the Red Wings, that they’re trying to take another step forward,” Kubalik said. “It was a good sign for me. I was really happy to be a part of it.’’