Inside The Rink Gameday Graphic
The Chicago Blackhawks visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with puck drop set for 7:00 PM EST.
Matchup: Chicago Blackhawks (4-11-1, 9 points in 2026-27) at Tampa Bay Lightning (9-3-2, 20 points in 2026-27)
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
Puck drop: 7:00 PM EST
Venue: Benchmark International Arena
How to watch: TBL: The Spot · CHI: CHSN
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Chicago Blackhawks News & Notes
The Blackhawks are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Panthers last night. The loss was their fourth straight and their seventh in their last eight. During the eight game skid they’re averaging 1.9 goals per game while allowing 3.9 goals per game.
Tampa Bay Lightning News & Notes
The Lightning got back in the win column on Tuesday with a 4-2 win over Detroit. They’re 2-1-2 in their last five games, currently riding a four-game point streak, averaging 4.5 goals per game while allowing four goals per game.
Chicago Blackhawks Projected Lines
Line 1: Roman Kantserov – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Line 2: Oliver Moore – Frank Nazar – Ryan Donato
Line 3: Cole Smith – Anton Frondell – Teuvo Teravainen
Line 4: Dillon Boucher – Ryan Greene – Jordan Greenway
Pair 1: Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Pair 2: Alex Vlasic – Ian Cole
Pair 3: Ethan Del Mastro – Sam Rinzel
Goaltenders: Spencer Knight – Arvid Soderblom
Chicago Blackhawks Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Frank Nazar – Roman Kantserov – Anton Frondell – Connor Bedard – Artyom Levshunov
Power play, Second unit: Tyler Bertuzzi – Ryan Donato – Oliver Moore – Teuvo Teravainen – Sam Rinzel
Penalty kill, First unit: Anton Frondell – Teuvo Teravainen – Alex Vlasic – Ian Cole
Penalty kill, Second unit: Ryan Greene – Cole Smith – Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines
Line 1: Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Line 2: Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli
Line 3: Ilya Mikheyev – Dominic James – Pontus Holmberg
Line 4: Jeffrey Viel – Conor Geekie – Gage Goncalves
Pair 1: J.J. Moser – Maxwell Crozier
Pair 2: Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Pair 3: Victor Hedman – John Carlson
Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy – Dennis Hildeby
Tampa Bay Lightning Special Teams
Power play, First unit: Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov – Anthony Cirelli – Charle-Edouard D’Astous
Power play, Second unit: Pontus Holmberg – Conor Geekie – Gage Goncalves – Brandon Hagel – John Carlson
Penalty kill, First unit: Anthony Cirelli – Brandon Hagel – Ryan McDonagh – Maxwell Crozier
Penalty kill, Second unit: Dominic James – Ilya Mikheyev – Victor Hedman – J.J. Moser
Players To Watch
Connor Bedard — Chicago Blackhawks
Bedard put up two assists on four shots in 22:25 last time out, and he’s the one Blackhawk driving play: Box Score Junkie has him at 57.6% Corsi-for with 66.4 shot attempts for per 60 through 185 minutes in 2026-27, with four goals on 4.0 expected. On a team full of sub-46% possession numbers, he’s the shots prop to target.
Brayden Point — Tampa Bay Lightning
Point scored twice on four shots last time out and leads Tampa’s possession picture, per Box Score Junkie’s 2026-27 numbers: 62.4% Corsi-for, 79.3 shot attempts for per 60 and 10.5 high-danger xG generated across 271 minutes. Five goals on 5.7 expected says the production is earned, not luck, against a Chicago group bleeding attempts.
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
Bowen Byram (D) — Injured Reserve, Upper Body, expected back Saturday, November 7
Patrick Kane (RW) — Out, Upper Body, expected back Thursday, November 12
Tampa Bay Lightning
Yanni Gourde (C) — Injured Reserve, Hip, expected back Saturday, November 7
Zemgus Girgensons (C) — Day-To-Day, Lower Body, expected back Thursday, November 5
Betting Odds
Moneyline (DraftKings, as of November 5 at 4:10 AM ET): Chicago Blackhawks +310, Tampa Bay Lightning -395.
Odds change through the day; check the sportsbook before betting. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Next Up
Chicago Blackhawks: visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, November 7.
Tampa Bay Lightning: visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, November 7.