The Lightning fell to the Blackhawks 5-2 at AMALIE Arena on Thursday.
Tampa Bay held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the opening frame, but allowed Chicago to take control with four unanswered goals in 5:29 at the end of the first and beginning of the second.
Anthony Cirelli, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning.
Next up for Tampa Bay is a matchup against the Hurricanes at home on Saturday.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, CHI 0
3:20 Anthony Cirelli (2) – Brandon Hagel, Mikhail Sergachev – PPG
The Lightning took advantage of an early slashing call on Seth Jones, grabbing the lead at the 3:20 mark of the first. With Anthony Cirelli open in the slot, Brandon Hagel slipped him a pass through Connor Murphy’s skates to set up a one-timed goal.
TBL 1, CHI 1
4:42 Connor Bedard (6) – Philipp Kurashev
Tampa Bay held that lead for just over a minute before Connor Bedard equalized for the Blackhawks. Just as Philipp Kurashev emerged from the near corner with the puck, Bedard got free from Victor Hedman at the far post and tapped home the cross-crease feed.
TBL 2, CHI 1
12:31 Nikita Kucherov (11) – Tanner Jeannot, Victor Hedman
Tanner Jeannot misfired on a one-timer from the point but wound up sending the puck to Nikita Kucherov at the side of the net. Mrazek had come out to face Jeannot’s shot, leaving a wide open net for Kucherov to deposit his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
TBL 2, CHI 2
16:43 Kevin Korchinski (1) – Ryan Donato, Mackenzie Entwistle
Things started to go sideways for the Bolts late in the first period, beginning with Kevin Korchinski’s goal at 16:43. Korchinski fired a low shot into traffic in front of the net and got a lucky deflection off Darren Raddysh’s skate that beat Jonas Johansson.
CHI 3, TBL 2
17:38 Tyler Johnson (4) – Connor Bedard, Nick Foligno
A Lightning turnover in the neutral zone resulted in Chicago’s second goal in less than a minute. After intercepting a pass in the neutral zone, Nick Foligno poked the puck ahead for Bedard to create a 2-on-1. Bedard played the puck across to Tyler Johnson on the right for a goal to give the Blackhawks the lead.
CHI 4, TBL 2
19:52 Connor Bedard (7) – Nick Foligno, Philipp Kurashev
Bedard added his second goal and third point of the period with less than 10 seconds to play in the opening frame. His backhand attempt in tight was initially stopped by Johansson, but a backchecking Cirelli inadvertently knocked home the puck.
2nd Period
CHI 5, TBL 2
2:12 Corey Perry (3) – Connor Bedard, Nick Foligno – PPG
Chicago cashed in on a Tanner Jeannot high-sticking double minor. Corey Perry was open in front of the net and redirected a feed from Bedard past Johansson to open a three-goal Blackhawks lead.
3rd Period
CHI 5, TBL 3
17:50 Steven Stamkos (5) – Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point
Tampa Bay got back within two on a goal from Steven Stamkos with less than three minutes to play in regulation. Mrazek made a save on Brayden Point, but Cirelli kicked the rebound over to Stamkos who scored.
