Complex sentence: Their first game was a 4--4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks, while their first win was a 2--0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a then-NHL record crowd of 27,227.
Split into simpler sentences: Their first game was a 4-4 tie on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. The first win in franchise history was a 2-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Thunderdome before a then-NHL record crowd of 27,227.