If proximity leads to familiarity, the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning should be getting to know each other pretty well.
They will meet for the second time in five days on Tuesday night, this time in Florida to cap their season series.
The Lightning found their recent visit to Chicago a good one — worth every bit of their hard-earned two points.
However, their four-game, Original Six road swing was damaging in the Eastern Conference standings. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper’s club went 1-3-0, slipped from third place to fifth in the Atlantic Division, and now occupy the second wild-card spot after losing 2-0 in Detroit to end the journey.
“Sometimes you think maybe fatigue (is the problem),” said Cooper, whose team starts a five-game homestand. “That was our 14th game in 24 days, and the lion’s share of them were on the road. The guys are gaming this out, and it’s impressive to watch, but the outcome is not what we’re hoping for and are used to.
“It’s clear we’re a little snakebit right now. The bottom line is we lost three of four. That’s unacceptable.”
On the scoring front, the shutout in Detroit marked the Lightning’s first this season and ended Nikita Kucherov’s 11-game point streak.
Meanwhile, Chicago will be opening a three-game trip in Tampa, followed by stops at the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
The Blackhawks’ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild in Sunday’s finale of a four-game homestand (1-1-2) did not go well for the Central Division squad.
Yet Friday’s 4-3 overtime defeat to the Lightning probably stung the most. The Hawks led 3-1 late in the second period, only to give up a fluky deflection to Nick Paul.
The Lightning forced overtime on a 6-on-4 power-play goal by Jake Guentzel in the final minute of regulation, before Kucherov won it in overtime during another man advantage.
In letting the rare potential victory slip away, Chicago surrendered markers on all three penalty kills, including the two important final goals by the visitors.
Blackhawks winger Nick Foligno said the group must keep pushing and develop winning hockey traits.
“We almost sit back a little bit too much or we don’t get quite that extra effort to get it out or understand, if you do have a chance on your stick, to put it in the net and get that extra lead,” the Chicago captain said. “It’s winning hockey, it’s the habits that allow you to do that, and (in that game) it’s not getting scored on in the last minute because you don’t want to put a puck in.”
Of growing concern has been the club’s lack of shot production.
In back-to-back regulation periods — the disastrous third against the Lightning and first against Minnesota — the Blackhawks managed just one shot on goal in each frame and were outfired 28-2 in shots.
“We need to up our shot volume and get more guys to the net and kind of create chances,” said winger Tyler Bertuzzi, who leads Chicago with 17 goals. “We’ve got to do a lot better job.”
Connor Bedard continues to top the team with 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists). Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro, who was called up Thursday, notched an assist Sunday for his first career point.
–Field Level Media
