Landon Slaggert’s offensive game isn’t all that nuanced. To the Chicago Blackhawks forward, scoring goals is pretty much black-and-white. Or, better yet, blue. “Just getting to the blue paint,” he said hours before he was set to make his NHL season debut Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning will be without one of their top players against the Blackhawks. The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will not play against the Chicago Blackhawks due to an illness.

After a brutal schedule of games in the month of January, the Lightning are back home at Amalie Arena for the foreseeable future ahead of the 4 Nations break. They'll open their five-game homestand with a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks who they faced just last week.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks enter the matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning as losers of three games in a row. Tampa Bay has a 26-19-3 record overall and a 15-6-1 record in home games. The Lightning have allowed 135 goals while scoring 170 for a +35 scoring differential.

Two teams with recent struggles face off as the Chicago Blackhawks face the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Blackhawks-Lightning prediction and pick. the Blackhawks come into the game at 15-29-5 on the year,

Tampa Bay’s schedule has been a grind, and that’s what makes this upcoming five-game home stand even more critical.

If proximity leads to familiarity, the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning should be getting to know each other pretty well.

Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg gets hit with a punishment for his hit during a game over the weekend against the Red Wings.

The Chicago Blackhawks have an embarrassing history against the Minnesota Wild, but they nearly outdid themselves Sunday at the United Center.

When defensemen Ethan Del Mastro and Nolan Allan were roommates in Rockford, Del Mastro used to do most of the cooking. “But he’s always helpful with the dishes afterward, so that’s good,” he told the Tribune.

The Chicago Blackhawks were still smarting a bit Saturday from a couple of letdowns the night before. Not only did they lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime — after leading 3-1 — but they also felt the absence of forward Taylor Hall,