Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Pick & Prediction JANUARY 28th 2025
Preview and Prediction
If closeness results in familiarity, the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning should be becoming well-acquainted with each other.
They will face off for the second time in five days on Tuesday night, this time in Florida to finish their season series.
The Lightning had a successful trip to Chicago, earning two hard-fought points.
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However, their four-game road trip against Original Six teams took a toll on their standing in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper's team went 1-3-0, dropping from third to fifth place in the Atlantic Division. They now hold the second wild-card spot after a 2-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings to end their journey.
"Sometimes you think maybe fatigue is the issue," said Cooper, as his team prepares for a five-game homestand. "That was our 14th game in 24 days, and most of them were on the road. The guys are pushing through, and it's impressive to watch, but the results are not what we're hoping for or used to.
"It's clear we're a bit unlucky right now. But the bottom line is we lost three out of four. That's not acceptable."
On the scoring front, the shutout in Detroit was the Lightning's first of the season and ended Nikita Kucherov's 11-game point streak.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks will begin a three-game road trip in Tampa, followed by games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
The Hawks' 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, the final game of a four-game homestand (1-1-2), did not go as planned for the Central Division team.
But it was Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning that stung the most. Chicago had a 3-1 lead late in the second period, but a fluky deflection by Nick Paul allowed Tampa Bay to tie the game.
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The Lightning forced overtime with a 6-on-4 power-play goal by Jake Guentzel in the final minute of regulation, before Kucherov scored the game-winner during another man advantage in overtime.
In allowing the potential victory to slip away, Chicago gave up goals on all three of their penalty kills, including the two crucial goals in the final minutes of the game.
Blackhawks winger Nick Foligno stressed the importance of continuing to push and developing a winning mentality.
"We sometimes sit back too much or don't give that extra effort to get the puck out or understand the importance of putting the puck in the net and extending our lead," said the Chicago captain. "It's about winning hockey, developing good habits, and in that game, it's about not getting scored on in the last minute because you don't want to shoot the puck."
A growing concern for the team has been their lack of shots on goal.
In back-to-back periods - the disastrous third period against the Lightning and the first period against the Wild - the Blackhawks managed only one shot on goal in each frame, while being outshot 28-2.
"We need to increase our shot volume and get more bodies to the net to create chances," said winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who leads Chicago with 17 goals. "We need to do a better job."
Connor Bedard continues to lead the team with 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists). Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro, who was called up on Thursday, recorded an assist on Sunday for his first career point.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Recap MAR 20TH 2021
Chicago rookie Dominic Kubalik netted his first career hat trick, and the Blackhawks scored five times in the third period to rally to a 5-2 win over the host Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Down 2-0 in the third period, Chicago grabbed its first lead when defenseman Slater Koekkoek -- a 2012 first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay -- scored midway through the frame.
Brandon Saad notched a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who won for the first time in three games. Corey Crawford registered 36 saves.
Chicago improved to 8-2-1 against the Atlantic Division this season, splitting the two-game season series against Tampa Bay.
Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov each recorded a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who lost a season-long fourth consecutive game for the first time since January of 2017. Curtis McElhinney stopped 22 of 26 shots.
Playing without captain Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and newly acquired Blake Coleman, the Lightning dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Scoreless after one period, Crawford kept the match scoreless with a denial of Alex Killorn's breakaway attempt 1:32 into the second, and the two-time Stanley Cup winner made another point-blank save as Carter Verhaeghe tried to score from the slot to finish a two-on-one rush with under seven minutes remaining.
Point finally broke the scoring drought when he circled through the offensive zone and zipped in his 23rd tally from the high slot that beat Crawford on the glove side at 15:31 to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Kucherov took a diagonal pass through the slot from Point and rifled home his team-leading 31st marker just 17 seconds into the third period for a 2-0 edge.
With the tally, Point has recorded points in 13 of the last 14 games he skated in. He did not play in the team's 5-3 loss against the Golden Knights in Vegas last Thursday. Kucherov has 29 points in his last 18 games, scoring in 12 straight and six straight with one game missed in between.
Saad shoved in his 20th goal on a rebound at 4:36, and Kubalik tied it 2-2 by putting in his own putback just 26 seconds later to tie it at 2. Koekkoek's long shot slipped through McElhinney's pads for Chicago's first lead at 9:56.
Kubalik scored two more times, once into an empty net, as Chicago potted five goals in a span of 12:53. Kubalik leads all rookies with 29 goals.