Defensive-minded Lightning top Blackhawks in shootout

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 23, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Lightning keep piling up points in different ways, but they continue to stick with their stingy defensive mindset.

They got two points Friday night in a 2-1 win in Chicago, going five shootout rounds with the Blackhawks before rookie center Dominic James beat Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom through the five hole on a wrister from the left hash.

The Lightning are 14-0-1 in their last 15 games, their last regulation loss all the way back on Dec. 18 against the Kings.

It was the eighth straight game in which the Lightning held an opponent to two goals or fewer in regulation. And it was the second time in 14 games they were held to one goal or fewer in regulation.

The Lightning dodged disaster in overtime when Ilya Mikheyev stole the puck from Brandon Hagel and gave it to Andre Burakovsky, who found Mikheyev along the opposite post. Vasilevskiy got his right pad on the shot, but it slid across the crease behind him and Burakovsky couldn't tuck the puck inside an open right side of the goal.

Tampa Bay held the Blackhawks to just six shots on goal through the first two periods, tied for the fewest by any team this season. But the Lightning still needed a late second-period goal from Nikita Kucherov just to go into the third period tied.

They expected a push from the Blackhawks in the third after out-attempting Chicago 51-17, and they got one. The Lightning still had a chance to win in the final minutes, their best chance when Kucherov shot on an open net was blocked by Chicago defenseman Artyom Levshunov’s stick.

Kucherov has shined playing on a line with two-way linemates Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. Late in the second period, the Blackhawks were caught flat-footed in their own end, and Kucherov made them pay.

Cirelli won a puck battle along the left-side boards against Chicago defenseman Alex Vlasic and backhanded a pass to Hagel through the slot. As Hagel drew attention to him in front of the net, Kucherov slipped behind the Blackhawks defense and Hagel found him crossing the front of the net, where he beat Soderblom with a backhanded shot with 1:18 left in the second period.