The Blackhawks lost to the Lightning 4-2 in a tightly contested match that was highlighted by Dylan Strome sparking offensive chances and scoring a goal in his return from a month in concussion protocol.
The Hawks scored twice on 3 power play chances that resulted from undisciplined play by the Bolts, some of which was sparked by retribution on Connor Murphy's hit on Erik Cernak in the last tilt.
He’s back…¼ï¸@stromer19 | #CHIvsTBL pic.twitter.com/0geYyj85sb
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2021
Starting Lineup
The starting lineup was put in the blender to mix up the forward lines and D pairs:
Blackhawks' lines tonight, from what I can tell:
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 18, 2021
DeBrincat-Suter-Kane
Kubalik-Kampf-Hagel
Janmark-Carpenter-Strome
Wallmark-Soderberg-Kurashev
De Haan-Boqvist
Keith-Murphy
Zadorov-Mitchell
Lankinen
Just about that time... ⌛ï¸@budlight | #CHIvsTBL pic.twitter.com/QmA7At6PIi
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2021
Scoring Recap
1st Goal: Janmark (1-0) PP
Kubalik and Janmark connect on the power play to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in Tampa! @NBCSChicago | #CHIvsTBL pic.twitter.com/kRIt2dYaUR
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2021
2nd Goal: Killorn (1-1)
Smoooooooth, Killorn! 👠pic.twitter.com/wQJvoqiI5W
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 18, 2021
3rd Goal: Gourde (1-2) PP
Yanni can't be stopped 👊 pic.twitter.com/vL4ceOUu4l
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 19, 2021
4th Goal: Strome (2-2) PP
Stromer sticks with it!@NBCSChicago | #CHIvsTBL pic.twitter.com/sR3VFRriJO
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2021
5th Goal: Colton (2-3)
The kid is real real good 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SMNqquh7aW
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 19, 2021
6th Goal: Hedman (2-4) EN
(No video available)
Victor Hedman's defensive zone clear found the empty net from almost the opposite goal line.
--
Game Notes
Undisciplined Penalties
Barclay Goodrow tried to bait Murphy into a fight but that led to the first Hawks PP and conversion. Patrick Maroon had a retaliation hit on Alex DeBrincat that also led to another Hawks PP goal.
Dangerous Drop Passes
The drop passes in the "push 'em back" power play entries and in general need to get cleaned up or stopped altogether as they have been lazily left at dangerous spots on the ice leading to turnovers.
--
Player Notes
Connor Murphy
Murphy was clearly in the heads of Tampa Bay players looking to exact revenge against him. Not only did Goodrow goad him into a fight but Anthony Cirelli went after him at the buzzer ending the 1st and 2nd.
Adam Boqvist
How good is Adam Boqvist getting at breaking up 2-on-1's and breakaways? He gets into the passing lanes, uses his stick to disrupt the play, and doesn't stop competing to shut down the threat.
Ian Mitchell
Similarly to Nicolas Beaudin and Lucas Carlsson, Ian Mitchell is another rookie defender struggling lately with rushing the puck and defending under pressure. Growing pains hopefully.
Dylan Strome
Strome playing in the middle and crashing the net with regularity to generate several scoring chances made an impact in the game especially when considering how close the Hawks and Bolts were in key metrics.
The Blackhawks with Dylan Strome on the ice tonight (at 5-on-5):
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 19, 2021
- 13-6 in shot attempts
- 9-2 in SOG
- 8-4 in scoring chances
Add onto that a PP goal and that's a damn impressive return for Strome, despite the Hawks' loss. Story and analysis: https://t.co/6bF4sbeu1V
Shot attempts: 39-36 TB
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 19, 2021
Shots on goal: 23-21 TB
Scoring chances: 26-24 TB
Chances were 13-3 TB in the 3rd period
Roster Updates
ROSTER MOVE: Forward Brandon Pirri has been re-assigned to the Rockford IceHogs. #Blackhawks https://t.co/YD3DJUtxyR
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 18, 2021
The taxi squad consists of Reese Johnson, Madison Bowey, Lucas Carlsson, and Wyatt Kalynuk. Collin Delia is on the active roster. Matthew Highmore and Beaudin were the healthy scratches last night.
--
Rockford Updates
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Our games scheduled for Friday/Saturday vs. @IAWild have been moved to Sunday/Monday at 6 PM at the BMO. https://t.co/GMcbI46H9H
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) March 18, 2021
See you on the boards!