Intent on emerging from their early-season struggles, the Tampa Bay Lightning will open a three-game homestand with a visit from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
One of the NHL’s best clubs on home ice last season, the Lightning have struggled their way to one win and four total points in six games, leaving them on pace for 55 points after recording 102 last season.
The comforts of home played large for Tampa Bay last season, while it went 29-8-4 for the most wins in their own building in the Atlantic Division.
All five of the Lightning’s opponents that remain in October come from the Western Conference.
No teams in the Eastern Conference have fewer points that Tampa Bay and only the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames have less in the NHL.
“The disappointing part was the inconsistency,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of two sets of back-to-back games that ended with a 1-1-2 mark. “Consistency is the key. … I just thought there were some periods of brilliance and some periods of not-so-much.
“We’ve got to start erring on the side of brilliance a little bit.”
Cooper hopes gritty forward Zemgus Girgensons (undisclosed injury) returns for the weekend back-to-back against the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights. Defenseman Max Crozier (undisclosed) is progressing but not expected to play this weekend.
Nikita Kucherov, a star points producer for the Lightning, missed the final two games on the road trip with an illness but is expected to play against the Blackhawks.
Jake Guentzel tops Tampa Bay with six points (one goal, five assists), while Brayden Point (two goals, three assists) and Victor Hedman (five assists) each have five points.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is 0-2-2 with a 3.50 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage.
After three days off, the Blackhawks will play a lone road game before returning to Chicago for Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.
Ryan Donato scored on a 3-on-1 rush Sunday to lift the Blackhawks to a 2-1 overtime victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks, giving Chicago eight points in seven games.
Captain Nick Foligno is back with the club after leaving due to his 12-year-old daughter Milana’s follow-up surgery for congenital heart disease.
Coach Jeff Blashill said having Foligno back at practice Monday was a relief after a few days that the 37-year-old captain called “very stressful.”
“He’s our leader, so you want that presence in your locker room,” said Blashill. “I think he brings good energy, so I think it was great to have him back. Great that, considering the situation, everything went really good.”
Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks’ top two centers, each pace team scoring with seven points.
On the top line, Bedard sports two goals and five assists, while Nazar, an electrifying player in his second full season, has three goals and four assists.
Second-line right winger Teuvo Teravainen has six points and matches Bedard for the team lead in assists.
Top goalie Spencer Knight, who played in his 100th NHL game against Anaheim, has been in net during five of the seven contests and is 2-2-1. The second-year Chicago backstop has a sterling 1.96 GAA and .937 save percentage.
Left winger Landon Slaggert (lower body) made his season debut Sunday and skated 7:32 of ice time with one shot.
