Blackhawks: Three Tampa Bay Lightning players to keep an eye on tonight

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Chicago Blackhawks Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Chicago Blackhawks might not be the best hockey team anymore, but they can do better than what the NHL saw on Wednesday night.

Today’s game needs to be a step in the right direction for the Blackhawks after the effort we all saw from the team on Wednesday. The jitters of starting a new NHL season should be behind the group, and now they can focus on the task at hand.

Tampa Bay is a very skilled roster. We could put everyone on this list as players to watch out for from their team. However, three different guys stand even more prominently amongst the pack for the ‘Hawks. If the team can find a way to stop these three players, then the ‘Hawks might have a chance.

So without further ado, let’s jump in with three members of the Tampa Bay Lightning to keep an eye on tonight.

Ryan McDonagh

Ryan McDonagh quietly led the Lightning in ice time in game one. I think it is entertaining to watch McDonagh because he is one of the backbones amongst this team of stars. Yes, Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point are all very well known players, but McDonagh plays one of the most important roles on this team.

McDonagh was responsible for shutting down the Blackhawks offense, and he did a great job putting up two blocked shots for the Lightning. The way the Blackhawks’ offense failed in game one was largely thanks to McDonagh and the defense not letting Chicago set up anything in the offensive zone.

So, tonight the Blackhawks need to find a way to get things going with players like McDonagh and Hedman around trying to get the puck going the other way. Does Chicago have a tough challenge ahead? Yes, but hey, they will play Detroit in a few games.

Steven Stamkos

The way Steven Stamkos played in game one made me miss Jonathan Toews that much more. Stamkos was a leader who led the team with one goal and two assists. He won four faceoffs out of the five he took, and he constantly made the Lightning better on the ice.

Stamkos put five shots on the net during the first game. The Blackhawks need to limit his shots on goal and offensive opportunities tonight. Yes, that is a large task to ask of this team right now, but guess what? This is not training camp anymore.

The best way for the Blackhawks to limit Stamkos’s chances would be to control the puck more often. Chicago will have to do a better job of putting pucks in deep and controlling the edges when the Lightning are breaking out of their own zone, as offensive rushes are like bread and butter for the Lightning.

Stamkos’s goal tonight came on the power play. So tonight, hopefully, the Blackhawks can try and stay out of the penalty box, as power plays for the Lightning look to be in midseason form, aka automatic goals.

Shutting down Stamkos and playing physical when he tries to make a play might be the best thing the Blackhawks can do at this time to send a message that they are not going to roll over to this team as they did in game one. However, there is one other player the ‘Hawks need to beat to come away with the win.

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy looked like a brick wall in the net for the Lightning during game one. Obviously, the Blackhawks will have a hard enough time against this team, but even if the Lightning chose to pull Vasilevskiy and go with a sixth skater, I do not think the Blackhawks would stand a chance.

Like Chicago in the bubble last summer, we need to see some bounces go the Blackhawks way tonight. Tips, net-front battles, and just all around clogging up the front of the net is the only way the Blackhawks are going to score a goal. While one-timers and breakaways are great, Vasilevskiy is a brick wall.

Chicago managed to get one goal past Vasilevskiy during their first game, but it was a fluke goal from Dylan Strome, who was trying to center the puck from behind the net. Those are the types of goals the Blackhawks need to have against such a great team like Tampa, and hopefully, they will find a few more.

Even more important, Patrick Kane needs to take charge and score a goal this game. Once a team puts in one goal, the pressure might go down for this roster, so hopefully Kane and company can put one past Vasilevskiy early.

The Blackhawks season is more than just one bad game

Many expect Andrei Vasilevskiy to play a good percentage of the games this season for the Lightning, considering there are very few back-to-back games throughout this shortened season. Well, if that is the case, hopefully, the ‘Hawks can do their best to shake his confidence before embarking on the next batch of games on their schedule.

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The Chicago Blackhawks might not be the best hockey team anymore, but they can do better than what the NHL saw on Wednesday night.

Ryan McDonagh

Steven Stamkos

Andrei Vasilevskiy

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