Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks: Game preview, predictions and odds | January 24, 2025

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the road to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

Both teams are coming off losses as Tampa Bay (25-18-3) suffered a 3-2 defeat to Montreal on Tuesday while Chicago (15-28-4) lost 4-3 in overtime to Carolina on Monday.

Lightning vs Blackhawks: Head-to-head & key stats

• Tampa Bay is 35-16-5-4 all-time against Chicago
• The Lightning are allowing 2.82 goals per game
• Chicago is 10-13-1 at home
• Tampa Bay is averaging 3.6 goals per game
• The Blackhawks are averaging 2.59 goals per game
• The Lightning are 10-12-2 on the road
• Chicago is allowing 3.42 goals per game

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks: Preview

Tampa Bay is fighting for a playoff spot but is on a two-game losing streak. The Lightning are led by Nikita Kucherov's 70 points, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point's 50 points and Jake Guentzel's 47 points.

The Lightning will likely start Jonas Johansson as they will save Andrei Vasilevskiy for Saturday against Detroit. Johansson is 5-4-1 with a 3.27 GAA and a .899 SV%. In his career against Chicago, he is 1-1 with a 3.63 GAA and .837 SV%.

Meanwhile, Chicago is 1-1-2 in its last four games. The Blackhawks will start Petr Mrazek who is 9-16-2 with a 3.26 GAA and a .896 SV%. In his career against Tampa Bay, he is 4-13-3 with a 3.27 GAA and a .884 SV%.

Chicago is led by Connor Bedard who has 41 points, Teuvo Tervainen with 33 points, Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Donato with 27 points and Taylor Hall with 24 points.

Lightning vs Blackhawks: Odds & Prediction

Tampa Bay is a -220 favorite and Chicago is a +180 underdog. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals.

The Lightning have not played well lately and are on the the first game of a back-to-back set. Johansson has had his struggles, but this is a good spot for the Bolts to get a win.

Chicago has been inconsistent defensively and the Lightning offense should be able to lead the way for the victory.

Prediction: Tampa Bay 5, Chicago 3.

Lightning vs Blackhawks: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Tampa Bay ML (-220)

Tip 2: Tampa Bay -1.5 (+118)

Tip 3: Over 6.5 goals (+104)