The Tampa Bay Lightning's acquisition of star winger Jake Guentzel is paying off in spades, and the Bolts look like a team no one should want to face off against in the playoffs.

Kucherov wowed the crowd early in the second period when he pulled the puck to his backhand to dance around Patrick Kane and past Alex DeBrincat to get to the slot. Kucherov then lifted a wrist shot over Talbot at 1:50 to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.

Victor Hedman is in his first season as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning and now he will captain Team Sweden for the 4 Nations Face-off.

Chicago rookie Landon Slaggert gave Chicago their first lead of the night on a one-time shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. A Chicago shot missed the net wide but bounced around the front of the net to a waiting Ryan Donato, who extended the Blackhawks’ lead from the left side of the goal.

There’s no doubt the Lightning need better scoring depth from their forward group. Their top six have put up big numbers. In fact, Tampa Bay remains the only team in the NHL with four 20-goal scorers.

Lightning general manager Julian BriseBois believes that his team is playing better than last season despite their struggles.

Third period TBL 3, CHI 3 19:19 Jake Guentzel (25) - Kucherov, Raddysh - PP Guentzel redirected the game-tying goal into the Chicago net with 40 seconds remaining in regulation after a Nikita Kucherov pass.

Mikey Eyssimont was moved to the second line with Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point. With games happening almost every other night this month, the Lightning had two consecutive days off this week.

It’s no secret that January has been a grind for the Lightning. It’s that way for every team at this point in the season. But add Tampa Bay’s schedule this month — 16 games over 29 days — and it’s

Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0. Marco Kasper redirected J.T.

Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi resides in the penthouse of the league’s best specialty team players. Well, maybe one floor down. Heading into league action on Monday night, the Kingston, Ontario, resident is second in the league with 11 power-play goals scored.

The Seattle Kraken will send Philipp Grubauer to the American Hockey League if he clears waivers. Follow this tracker for the latest NHL news.