TAMPA BAY, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena on Jan. 28, looking for a needed win to boost their standings that has not been looking great in the last week. Chicago recently came off a 4-2 loss over the Minnesota Wild, while Tampa came off a 2-0 loss in Detroit against the Redwings.
Both teams headed into this matchup following losses and looked to bounce back with a win.
Jonas Johansson got the start between the pipes, as Andrei Vasilevskiy was absent due to an illness. Emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) Kyle Konin filled in as a backup; he’s done so before for the Bolts and other teams in Tampa.
Arvid Soderblom started for Chicago and was absolutely brilliant in the crease during this game.
The Lightning, starting a four-game homestand, needed a win and a boost of energy to improve their standing in the Atlantic Division. All four lines for the Bolts started the first period with focus and zone pressure, something the team has been lacking for several games.
Brayden Point opened the scoring as he netted past Soderblom from a trapezoid feed by Nikita Kucherov.
Later into the first, the Blackhawks drew a four-minute double-minor penalty, as Pat Maroon committed a board and unsportsmanlike extracurriculars after the whistle.
Regardless, the Hawks did a well-rounded job at killing the majority of the penalty off before the buzzer. The Bolts had over 20 seconds left on their second power play opportunity of game heading into the second frame.
But into the period, the Hawks successfully killed it off and kept the score 1-0. While the Hawks were on a power play into the second, Erik Cernak laid a big check on Teuvo Teravainen which resulted in an interference penalty — putting Chicago on a two-man advantage for less than two minutes.
But the Bolts killed off the extra man segment. However, the visiting team capitalized on the brief power play, as Calder Trophy recipient Connor Bedard wristed a short-side, bardown goal above Johansson to tie the game up at one.
Less than two minutes before the second concluded, Landon Slaggert for the Hawks broke the tie and gave his team a small lead heading into the final frame.
Chicago played defensive keepaway during the third and kept the Bolts on their feet the whole time. Ryan Donato gave the Blackhawks a two-goal, insurance lead after he intercepted a rebound from Seth Jones and buried it past a tangled Johansson.
Both teams had really intensive episodes in their respective o-zones of good looks on the net and breakouts, but only one held the lead. With four minutes to go in the third, Jon Cooper pulled Johansson for the extra attacker, hoping to generate a goal.
However, that wouldn’t be the case, as Soderblom made great saves after great saves to deny any goal by the Bolts. Forty seconds before the final horn, the Hawks got the empty netter, making it 4-1, and sealing the win over Tampa; Teravainen would get the final goal.
The Lightning continue their homestand this Thursday, Jan. 30, against the Los Angeles Kings, a team that is hot in the Pacific and is getting extra help with the return of Drew Doughty.
Three Stars
- Soderblom (34 saves)
- Connor Bedard (1 goal)
- Brayden Point (1 goal)
ITR 44: We Have A Champion…Again – Inside The Rink
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