ANALYSIS: Friendly Foes Abound in Returns for Johnson, Raddysh & Katchouk

The starting lineup for interim head coach Derek King and the Blackhawks on Friday was one not of strategy, but respect -- "the right thing to do," he later explained.
Tyler Johnson, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk all lined up at center ice in each's first game back in Tampa since being traded, Johnson over the summer and Raddysh and Katchouk just two weeks ago. Brandon Hagel, who went the other way in the recent trade, also drew the starting nod for his new team, lining up opposite Raddysh at center ice.
Johnson took no ceremony on the draw, winning it in his lone faceoff of the evening.
"It was really cool," Johnson said of the moment "It was actually surprising, we didn't know anything about it beforehand."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI at TBL
RECAP: Blackhawks Fall to Lightning, 5-2
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks at Lightning
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Lightning
Chicago went down a pair of goals early in the contest and fought back for a 2-2 score at the first intermission, but ultimately the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions came out victorious on the night, 5-2 with a late empty-net tally.
"That team can turn it on offensively and they can shut it down with the best of them," King said. "Eventually that's the kind of team we want to be… We competed, we did. We tried. We just can't compete with that type of team. We're not there. We don't have the players for it. But I will give our guys credit, back-to-back road (games) we stayed with it, we competed."
Despite the loss, the night was most meaningful for Johnson, who returned to his NHL home for nine seasons and the place he won back-to-back Cups before being acquired but he Blackhawks in late July. During the first TV timeout of the game, the centerman was welcomed back with a tribute video and a standing ovation from the Tampa crowd, who chanted "Ty-ler John-son" in appreciation. Johnson jumped off the Blackhawks bench, which was also standing in appreciation of their teammate's return, and took a lap around center ice to acknowledge his longtime fans.
"Obviously Tampa's always going to have a special place in my heart," he said. "So to see all the memories and kind of just be back here and have the fans support me like that, it's pretty cool."
"A nice little video for Johnny," King added. "He's done a lot for this organization and it's nice to see them notice that."

Raddysh and Katchouk, who were both in their first NHL seasons with the Lightning before the deadline trade, were also saluted later in the game. The duo spent the last three seasons with Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate in Syracuse after being selected 14 picks apart by the Lightning in the second round of 2016's NHL draft.
"It's a little bit of a whirlwind but it's part of the business," Katchouk said during the first intermission on NBC Sports Chicago. "I'm just going out there with a smile on my face and try to do my best."

On the other side, Hagel was facing his friends for the first time and acknowledged the similarly-odd feeling before the game.
"Usually when you get traded, you don't play them for awhile. It's only been two weeks and they're already back here," he said. "Obviously still a ton of my best friends on that hockey team. It's definitely going to be different, but like everyone says, there's not friends when it comes to hockey. We'll keep it that way."
Hagel skated the length of the ice to win a late battle to a loose puck in the Blackhawks end and tapped home an empty-net goal in the final seconds of play to seal the Tampa win.
"I was ready to run out on the ice and tackle him myself. I could see it coming," King joked after the game. "Good for him, I'm happy for him. We miss a guy like that but happy for him that he's on a team like this and he might have a chance to win a Stanley Cup."

LINEUP SHUFFLE

Aside from the netminding switch in the second half of the back-to-back, King made three changes to the lineup on Friday night in Tampa: bringing Johnson and Philipp Kurashev in up front and Alex Vlasic on the back end, replacing MacKenzie Entwistle, Henrik Borgstom and Erik Gustafsson, respectively.
Johnson, who returned from concussion protocol on Monday night, didn't dress in Florida as King eases him back into the lineup.
"This whole season's kind of been an on again, off again type of thing for me," he said, recovering from neck surgery that held him out most of the year in March before going into concussion protocol just six games later. "Hopefully I can try to get some rhythm and actually get into the game a little bit and kind of get back to everything. You can practice so much, but you really don't get that unless you get some game touches. I just need to try and get that.
Kurashev, Entwistle and Borgstrom are expected to continue to rotate in and out of the group over the season's final month. Vlasic skated in his third NHL game, returning to the lineup for the first time since March 20.