Could the battle line cut off Kido Butai's return route?

Could the American fleet get between Kido Butai and its route home?

Conceivably yes; the US battleships were slow, but Japanese uncertainty and limited scouting could allow an interception maneuver.

Japanese planners historically did not know where the absent American carriers were, despite intelligence collection in Hawaii. Radio silence prevented every useful observation from reaching the strike force, and Kido Butai's scouts were mainly protecting its immediate route from accidental contact rather than conducting a broad long-range search for a mobile Pacific Fleet. The American battleships were too slow to chase the Japanese carriers from far astern, but they could already be moving across the likely withdrawal path when the attack occurred. Lexington and Enterprise, operating ahead of the battle line, would provide the more important search and striking reach. An interception is therefore conceivable because of position and Japanese uncertainty, not because the old battleships could outrun Kido Butai.