The handful of former Chicago Blackhawks who play for the Arizona Coyotes were excited to see Corey Crawford back on the ice after an extended absence.
Vinnie Hinostroza and company also enjoyed skipping town with a win.
Hinostroza scored twice against his former team, Antti Raanta made 33 saves and the Coyotes spoiled Crawford's season debut, beating the sleepy Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night.
Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist and Lawson Crouse also scored as Arizona improved to 1-1 on a four-game road trip. The Coyotes entered with just four goals in their first five games.
The game was tied when Hinostroza got a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and beat Crawford with a high wrist shot from the right circle 8:37 into the second period. It was Hinostroza's first goal since Chicago traded the speedy forward to Arizona in July so it could shed Marian Hossa's contract.
Keller made it 3-1 when he intercepted a pass by Chris Kunitz and scored on a breakaway in the third, and Hinostroza added an empty-netter with 2:20 left.
Crawford played his first game since Dec. 23, after missing most of last season because of a concussion. The two-time All-Star finished with 27 saves in a remarkably typical performance given his time away.
Erik Gustafsson scored Chicago's only goal in its first game since Sunday. The Blackhawks opened a stretch of three games in four nights with their first regulation loss of the season.
The crowd of 21,210 cheered loudly when the 33-year-old Crawford was introduced with the starting lineup. He helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015, and the Blackhawks tumbled into last place in the Central Division while he was out last season.
The Blackhawks also celebrated the return of Niklas Hjalmarsson for the first time since they traded the steady defenseman to Arizona in June 2017. He received a standing ovation after he was saluted with a highlight video during a break in the first period, and fought back tears as he raised his left arm to acknowledge the response from the crowd.
Hjalmarsson had three of Arizona's 27 blocked shots, helping Raanta improve to 16-0-3 at the United Center. Raanta made his NHL debut with Chicago in 2013 and became good friends with Crawford while he was with the Blackhawks.
Arizona jumped in front when Crouse and Keller skated in for a 2-on-1 in the first period. Keller played it over to Crouse, who one-timed the pass by Crawford at 11:43 for his first point of the season.
The Blackhawks tied it in the second when Jonathan Toews set up Gustafsson for a one-timer 6:34 into the period. It was Gustafsson's first goal of the season.
