CHICAGO _ Brandon Saad isn't some shaky kid who needs a veteran to lift him up when he's down.
First of all, he has shown no sign to be down in spirit. Just within the Blackhawks lineup.
But Patrick Kane has a message for his teammate: He has been there before.
It has been awhile since Kane had to deal with coach Joel Quenneville dropping him to the fourth line, though not as long ago as you might imagine.
"I was playing fourth line center in Game 6 (of the 2012 Western Conference quarterfinals) against the Coyotes," Kane said. "That was the last one that kind of sticks out. But even before that when I wasn't producing (Quenneville) would throw me down there for like a game. And then when you start playing better he moves you up pretty quickly.
"But, hey, maybe that'll help our lineup and maybe it'll help production across the board."
It sure didn't hurt early Saturday night as the Blackhawks used first-period goals from Artem Anisimov and Kane to take the lead. But they gave the advantage up and needed Alex DeBrincat to tie it at the 13 minute, 6 second mark of the third and score the game winner with nine seconds left in overtime for a 4-3 victory at the United Center that snapped a two-game losing streak.
It was the first sixth straight game to start the season that the Hawks went to overtime as they improved their record to 3-0-2. The Blues fell to 1-1-2.
A pre-game ceremony honoring Duncan Keith for playing his 1,000th career game pushed the start of the game back about 20 minutes but didn't prevent the Hawks from getting off to another fast start.
For the third straight game they shot out to a 2-0 lead and Saad had an important hand in it.
His rush to the net midway through the period drew an interference penalty on Jay Bouwmeester. As the power play wound down Saad got off a shot that Blues goalie Jake Allen was able to stop.
However, the rebound landed on Anisimov's stick and he scored his first goal of the season with 8 minutes, 9 seconds left moments after the power play ended. It was Saad's second assist of the season.
Kane scored a power-play goal at the 3:59 mark of the first with a highlight-reel effort. A mass of players were on the ice around the net when the puck came to Kane, who stickhandled in a semi-circle around the front of the net until he found an opening and drilled it in for his fifth of the season.
When Saad learned of his move off the second line with Kane and Nick Schmaltz to a line with Marcus Kruger and David Kampf he viewed it as an opportunity to bring more balance to the Hawks' four lines.
"That's a great way to look at it," Kane said. "The thing with Saader is he's around the net, he was getting chances _ he just didn't have any luck around there."
Those chances on the line with Kane and Schmaltz will go to rookie Alexandre Fortin for the time being. Quenneville is enamored with Fortin's tremendous speed, as any coach would be.
"I think there are rewards playing with those guys," Quenneville said.
Fortin nearly had his first reward when he found himself alone with the puck right in front of the net late in the first period. He deked right but Allen stayed with him and was barely able to get a pad out to make the save.
Brayden Schenn got the Blues on the board with a goal at the 12:35 mark of the second.
Then, in the first five minutes of the third period, David Perron and Schenn scored to give the Blues a 3-2 lead until Alex DeBrincat tied it up for the Hawks at the 13:06 mark.
