If the first two periods against Minnesota were depressingly boring, the opening 20 minutes of this game were… not that from the Blackhawks. The Lightning came out playing a physical game; they do that. Last year when they faced the Hawks in Chicago (after Connor Bedard dropped four points on them in Tampa) they bullied the Hawks all over the ice. And that was the plan tonight.
The Blackhawks gave up an early goal and then had a few moments where their speed started to show and they started to get chances. But the physical play got to two of the veteran leaders on the roster and any composure was gone. Nick Foligno went off on Zemgus Girgensons and Seth Jones got tagged for a penalty for holding back Michael Eyssimont. That resulted in a Tampa power play that the Hawks killed; Foligno got two and and a five and Jones got a minor.
Later in the period, Pat Maroon boarded Luke Glendening and then tried to get the entire Tampa roster to go. He got two for boarding and another two for unsportsmanlike conduct. If not for exceptional play by Arvid Söderblom and the penalty killers (Jason Dickinson and Frank Nazar especially), this game could have been 3 or 4 to nothing at the end of 20 minutes. It was a bad look from the Blackhawks in the first.
The second period started much better. More composed, more structure. And the Blackhawks finally got a power play — and made it count. They stayed on the pressure and the kids kept working and the Hawks took a 2-1 lead to the room after 40 minutes.
The Blackhawks played the whole bend-don’t-break approach for a few minutes early in the third and were able to score the important next goal to extend the lead to two. Teuvo Teräväinen scored into the empty net to close the books. A really strong bounce back performance.
Star 1: Arvid Söderblom
Söderblom was incredible. In the first period, this game could have rolled away from the Blackhawks. It didn’t. When the Blackhawks got a one-goal lead, he made some huge saves and held the lead until the Blackhawks extended it to two in the middle of the third. He stopped 34 of 35 in the game and was truly magnificent.
Star 2: Connor Bedard
The Blackhawks finally started to get power plays of their own in the second period. In the closing seconds of an extended advantage that included 96 seconds of 5-on-3 time, Bedard ripped this ridiculous goal to tie the game. Thru two periods, Bedard was credited with eight shot attempts (team high), three high-danger chances (team high), two hits and won 5 of 6 faceoffs.
#Blackhawks tie the game at one on the power play ? Connor Bedard ? Seth Jones, Nick Foligno cc: @SportsCenter top ten? ? pic.twitter.com/GbIiue1HOk
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 29, 2025Star 3: Landon Slaggert
The kids who got to dress for this one really showed up. Slaggert took a nice pass from Lukas Reichel and did not miss, scoring a goal in his first game back from Rockford. He had a really good night all over the ice and this was simply the icing on the cake.
LANDON SLAGGERT IS SO BACK, BABY#Blackhawks lead 2-1? Landon Slaggert ? Lukas Reichel pic.twitter.com/dW1x5EpFDB
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 29, 2025Key Takeaways
I’m going to shout out all of the guys who were on the PK in the first period, but especially Söderblom and Dickinson (and the posts/crossbar). As I noted earlier, this game could/should have been out of reach at the end of the first period with the Blackhawks lacking composure and getting clipped for everything in the first period. The PK kept them in it with a chance. Nazar, Slaggert and Teräväinen were also really good in the first. Credit where it’s due: since his name popped up in trade rumors/after his absolute tire fire performance against Calgary, Seth Jones has been playing his best hockey of the season. And he’s been putting points on the board along the way. He picked up two assists tonight, including the ricochet bank pass to Ryan Donato for the third goal of the night for the Blackhawks.#Blackhawks lead 3-1? Ryan Donato? Seth Jones, Philipp Kurashev pic.twitter.com/Lq2vQAAc26
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 29, 2025 Dickinson was credited with one of the two hits by a Blackhawks forward in the first period (the other went to Bedard). He also blocked two shots and spent an even 4:00 of his 6:25 on the ice on the penalty kill. He picked up an assist on the empty net goal for a point in a strong night. Nazar was reeeeally good tonight. His elite speed plays every night, but it’s been his effort — both defensively on the PK and on the forecheck to win pucks and keep it in the zone — was exceptional tonight. Here’s the Foligno-Jones moment in the first period:Rock em Sock em #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/oBce9EB0I8
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 29, 2025 Here’s Maroon getting clicked twice, once for a dirty hit and once for lack of composure:Composure: lacking for the #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/LFbjP2kQXg
— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) January 29, 2025 Read More Details
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