Blackhawks at Lightning
After having four days to rest following a five-game road trip, the Tampa Bay Lightning begin a stretch of five contests in nine days when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Ondrej Palat was quite productive on the trek, collecting four goals and three assists as the Lightning posted a 3-2-0 record to reside five points behind first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division. Palat tallied twice in Tampa Bay's 4-2 victory over Arizona on Saturday before scoring again the following night in a 5-4 setback to Colorado.
Tyler Johnson collected a goal and two assists on Sunday and Nikita Kucherov notched one of each versus the Avalanche while also tallying in the team's 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago on Nov. 11. Patrick Kane scored the lone tally in the bonus format of the first meeting but underwent surgery to repair a broken left clavicle following Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over Florida. Teuvo Teravainen made his presence felt after being recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League to replace Kane, scoring early in the first period as Chicago completed a home-and-home sweep of the Panthers with a 3-0 win on Thursday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NHLN, CSN Chicago, Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (37-20-5): Captain Jonathan Toews capped the scoring with an empty-net goal on Thursday but made a much bigger statement following the game. "That’s our goal. We want to see 'Kaner' back on the ice at some point this season," Toews said of the team's new rallying cry. Kane is expected to miss 12 weeks following surgery, tentatively putting him in line to return in the Western Conference final.
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (37-19-6): Victor Hedman caused a stir with his early exit from Thursday's practice, but coach Jon Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times that "he didn't feel right, but I'm not worried about (Friday)." Fellow defenseman Matt Carle's return won't be as soon as he slowly works his way back from abdominal surgery in mid-January. Expected to get the nod in net Friday is Ben Bishop, who made 37 saves in the first meeting but fell to 2-1-1 with a 3.49 goals-against average in four career starts versus Chicago.
OVERTIME
1. Tampa Bay recalled G Andrei Vasilevskiy from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday. The 20-year-old has posted a 4-3-1 record with a 2.46 GAA in 10 games with the Lightning this season.
2. Blackhawks G Corey Crawford made 20 saves to record his 12th career shutout on Thursday but is just 1-1-2 against the Lightning despite a 1.89 GAA.
3. Tampa Bay went 2-for-15 on the power play during its road trip and failed on all three opportunities versus Chicago in the first meeting.