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Tampa Bay Lightning @ Chicago Blackhawks 8:30PM Eastern/7:30PM Central WGN/SunSports/RSN
THE BUZZ
So, the level of competition ramps up considerably for the Hawks tonight, facing the team that pushed them to six games in a tough Stanley Cup Final earlier this year. Due to injury and roster turnover, this is far from the same Hawk roster that vanquished the Lightning—but the Lightning remain a significant yardstick.
Tampa's speed and creativity could expose a Hawk defense relying heavily on less-experienced players at present.
Some added subtext, I heard a couple of days ago that the Lightning and Hawks have also had some preliminary trade talks around what would be a "significant" deal.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Tampa
Drouin Stamkos Callahan Palat Johnson Kucherov Killorn Fillipula Condra Boyle Namestnikov Paquette
Hedman Stralman Carle Garrison Coburn Sustr
Bishop
Chicago
Tikhonov Toews Hossa Panarin Anisimov Kane Teravainen Hinostroza Garbutt Desjardins Krüger Shaw
Hjalmarsson van Riemsdyk Svedberg Seabrook Daley Rundblad
Crawford
I'll recap tomorrow.