Blackhawks: Tampa Bay Lightning game could be a trap

The Chicago Blackhawks are hosting the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning and if they are taken lightly then the result will not be friendly.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are coming to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in an extremely compelling matchup. The Lightning are a struggling hockey team right now. They are 9-7-2 and in sixth place in the Atlantic Division. They have played at least three fewer games than every team in the division and as many as five fewer games than a couple of them so there are definitely some points still left on the table. Even with that said, the Lightning playing like a very average team is surprising on so many levels.

Last season, the Lightning were one of the best teams in National Hockey League history. They won the Presidents Trophy by 21 points and had the League’s top seed locked up pretty much all season long. With a roster that has an elite group of forwards like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, and Tyler Johnson to go along with Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Mikhail Sergachev on defense. You also can’t forget that they have the league’s best goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy.

The fact that they have been a mediocre hockey team with all of those elite names in the mix is certainly confusing. That is why this game is a trap if the Blackhawks look at their record and take them lightly. This is a roster that is good enough to win the Stanley Cup but they have just simply underachieved. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will have their work cut out for them as they try to keep up with the forward unit that Tampa Bay presents.

These two teams battled each other for six games in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final that the Blackhawks ended up winning. There has been some turnover on each roster, especially Chicago’s, but the core of each team remains almost the same. Don’t be surprised if this game has a lot of scoring in it as these teams are capable of scoring if it becomes a track meet. Not many matchups can provide this level of an offensive matchup and that makes it must-see TV for sports fans.

There is also a chance that this is a solid goalie duel. The Blackhawks will likely use Corey Crawford in this game as Robin Lehner was in net in the 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Whoever it is that Jeremy Colliton chooses, will face Vasilevskiy who is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie. The possibilities of the type of game that could come from these two teams are endless.