Tampa Bay Lightning Host The Chicago Blackhawks (Preview)

The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in Amalie Arena. I cannot tell you how much I want the Lightning to win tonight. No, I want them to beat the ever loving snot out of the Blackhawks. Let me explain.

In full disclosure mode, I was born and raised in Chicago. I grew up a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. Showing my age a bit, I remember as a kid, seeing Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito play for the ‘Hawks. They all ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Later on in life, I saw Denis Savard and Michel Goulet play at the old Chicago Stadium and yes, they also ended up in the Hall.

I remember it being so loud in the stadium the times I saw a ‘Hawks game there that I couldn’t hear what my brother George was saying to me and that was just the national anthem. It only got louder as the game progressed.

Then I moved to Tampa. I arrived in the Sunshine State the same year the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted a kid by the name of Vincent Lecavalier. I drew a kinship with Vinny, even if it was only in my mind because we both arrived in a brand new city for our jobs in the same week.

As a hockey fan, I have grown to love the Lightning. In fact, my brothers call me a Tampa homer. Fine, I am good with that. My cousin Bobby, he himself moved from Chicago and lives in Phoenix, still roots for the Blackhawks and joins in the name calling towards me. “How sad that you turned your back on your childhood team”. You would think I committed some crime of nature or as Bobby said to me recently, “No, just a crime against the family”.

Getting back to the game, I want the Tampa Bay Lightning to kick some Blackhawk ass tonight. I want the Bolts to leave the Blackhawks bloody.

As many of you know, the Lightning only play the teams from the Western Conference twice a year, one home game and one road game. That’s it. In a game back in November at the United Center in Chicago, the Lightning lost in a shootout 3 to 2.

Patrick Kane, who is out for at least 10 weeks with a broken collarbone, scored the shootout winner past Ben Bishop. We need to even this out. Forget about the fact that the Blackhawks have won two of the last four Stanley Cups and I never hear the end of it from my brothers and cousin. Forget about the fact that they tell me all the time that the Western Conference teams are just so much better than the teams in the East.

They tell me that I’m dreaming when I say that the Tampa Bay Lightning have a chance for the Stanley Cup this year. They tell me I don’t know what I am talking about because all the Lightning have is Steven Stamkos. I tell them about Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov and they say “Who?”.

I tell them Bishop was a Vezina trophy finalist last year and they tell me something about a blind squirrel. I tell them that we have Ryan Callahan, Valtteri Filppula and Jason Garrison and they say, those guys are just other team rejects. I can’t win with these guys. In a phone call last night, Bobby asks me with all sincerity whether I think 60% or 70% of the people in the stands will have Blackhawks gear on. I ended the call right then.

I know tonight it is personal. For me, at least. I want the Tampa Bay Lightning to show my brother, my cousin and the nation (the game is on the NHL Network) that they are a team to be reckoned with this season. There are about 20 games left in the regular season and we are down to the sprint for the playoffs. This game could not come at a better time. The Lightning have had five days off since their last game. The Blackhawks played last night in Sunrise against the Panthers and beat them soundly by the score of 3 to 0.

Captain Steven Stamkos said it on the recent West Coast road trip. It is about time the other teams in the NHL start fearing playing the Lighting. They ARE one of the top teams in the league and with their youth, they should remain there for the next few years.

But to be feared, you must make a statement in a statement game. Tonight is that game. A Chicago Blackhawks team that has won the Cup twice in the last four years. A perennial playoff team. Tonight is that game to tell the Blackhawks, the Western Conference and for me, most of all, my brother and cousin that the Lightning are a team to fear.

The puck drops at 7:30. A win for the good guys and I will lord it over George and Bobby for a long time to come.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Behind Enemy Lines

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