The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't too far removed from getting Stanley Cup championship rings for the second time in as many years, and they entered the 2017-18 season as the consensus favorites atop the Eastern Conference.

But if the defending champs' first two games of the new year are any indication (and, to a large extent, they shouldn't be), there is at least a little reason for concern in Steel City.

First, there was a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on the NHL's opening night, a rough debut for Matt Murray in the goalie's first start as the full-time net-minder post-Marc-Andre Fleury. And then? Then there was Thursday.

By night's end, Murray had been summoned from the bench in relief of ex-Dallas Star Antti Niemi, which in and of itself is probably never a good sign for the Pens, and Pittsburgh fell at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of -- wait for it -- 10-1.

Repeat: 10-1.

In other words, things couldn't have been worse for the defending champs at United Center, just a day after they raised the title banner at PPG Paints Arena. And things couldn't have been better for Chicago in the home debut of its nostalgic reunion tour, what with Brandon Saad notching a hat trick to help his new (old) buddies throttle the Penguins.

Chicago didn't waste time chasing Niemi from the net, dropping four goals on Pittsburgh's new No. 2 in the first 9:16 of action and, at one point, lighting the lamp three straight times in a span of less than three minutes. And despite an 0-for-6 finish on power plays over the course of the night, the Blackhawks got contributions up and down their lineup, scoring more in the first period alone than they did in all of the 2016-17 postseason -- Ryan Hartman had four assists, Patrick Kane totaled four points and a goal of his own, Nick Schmaltz had a pair of goals and Patrick Sharp, another acquisition back at home in Chicago, also put one into the Pens net to make it 5-0 at the end of the first period.

Murray didn't fare any better once Niemi was yanked, surrendering six (!) goals that sealed the decision -- by a mile.

The Blackhawks' 10 goals was the most scored by the team in nearly 30 years, according to ESPN, and it was the most surrendered by Pittsburgh since 1996. And it marks quite the start to the season for both sides, albeit in starkly contrasting fashion.