Chicago rookie Landon Slaggert gave Chicago their first lead of the night on a one-time shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. A Chicago shot missed the net wide but bounced around the front of the net to a waiting Ryan Donato, who extended the Blackhawks’ lead from the left side of the goal.
But Blackhawks star Connor Bedard scored the tying goal with five seconds left on Chicago’s one-man-advantage with a remarkable tight-angle shot that found a tiny opening between goaltender Jonas Johansson’s left shoulder and the crossbar.
There was just under two minutes left in the period when Slaggert scored and they took that 2-1 lead into the third. There, Ryan Donato scored one off a Seth Jones shot that bounced right to him off the end board. Once Teuvo Teravainen made it 4-1 with an empty netter, the game was sealed.
Landon Slaggert’s offensive game isn’t all that nuanced. To the Chicago Blackhawks forward, scoring goals is pretty much black-and-white. Or, better yet, blue. “Just getting to the blue paint,” he said hours before he was set to make his NHL season debut Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
For the second time in five days, the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Tuesday night tilt, which took place at Amalie Arena, is the first of a three-game road trip for the Blackhawks,
Nikita Kucherov scored 58 seconds into overtime and had two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3.
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks enter the matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning as losers of three games in a row. Tampa Bay has a 26-19-3 record overall and a 15-6-1 record in home games. The Lightning have allowed 135 goals while scoring 170 for a +35 scoring differential.
If proximity leads to familiarity, the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning should be getting to know each other pretty well.
TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Matt Tomkins from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today.
If the forward prospect can duplicate his production from AHL Syracuse, it could provide a much-needed boost for Tampa Bay.
As the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament and the resulting break loom in February, the Tampa Bay Lightning are seeking one key as January comes to a close: normalcy.