Kucherov and Tampa Bay take on Chicago
Chicago Blackhawks (27-28-8, seventh in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (40-18-5, second in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Nikita Kucherov and Tampa Bay take on Chicago. Kucherov ranks 10th in the NHL with 76 points, scoring 30 goals and recording 46 assists.
The Lightning have gone 20-8-2 in home games. Tampa Bay averages 9.5 penalty minutes per game, the eighth-most in the league. Patrick Maroon leads the team serving 66 total minutes.
The Blackhawks have gone 14-15-4 away from home. Chicago has surrendered 35 power-play goals, killing 81.4% of opponent opportunities.
In their last meeting on Nov. 21, Tampa Bay won 4-2. Anthony Cirelli recorded a team-high 2 points for the Lightning.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brayden Point leads the Lightning with a plus-28 in 59 games played this season. Kucherov has recorded six goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with 28 goals and has recorded 78 points. Dominik Kubalik has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 2-7-1, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.7 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
Lightning: 7-3-0, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.7 assists, 4.7 penalties and 10.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .908 save percentage.
INJURIES: Lightning: Steven Stamkos: day to day (lower-body), Cedric Paquette: day to day (undisclosed).
Blackhawks: Zack Smith: out (left hand).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.