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NHL on NBCSN: ‘Out of sync’ Lightning look to end three-game losing skid against ‘Hawks

Tampa Bay Lightning v Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 24: Tyler Johnson #9 of the Tampa Bay Lightning moves against Brent Seabrook #7 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on January 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Lightning defeated the Blackhawks 5-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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NBCSN’s coverage of the 2017-18 NHL season continues on Monday, as the Chicago Blackhawks will host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 8:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online by clicking here.

As of last night, the Tampa Bay Lightning were no longer in first place in the NHL. That honor now belongs to the Vegas Golden Knights. But the Bolts can jump back into first place with a win over the ‘Hawks tonight.

Things have been tough for the Lightning lately. They’ve been without top defenseman Victor Hedman, they’ve lost three games in a row and this is the second game of an eight-game road trip (thankfully for Tampa, the trip will be broken up by next weekend’s All-Star break).

“We’re out of sync,” head coach Jon Cooper said, per The Tampa Times. “The guys didn’t forget how to play hockey in the last week and a half.

“We didn’t get where we are today by fluke, but we’ve got better in us, we know that.”

As if they didn’t have enough problems, they also found out that Ondrej Palat is going to miss an indefinite period of time because of a lower-body injury.

The Blackhawks have been going through a similar difficult stretch of late. They’ve been without starting netminder Corey Crawford and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back anytime soon. Chicago has dropped each of their last two games against the Red Wings (4-0) and Islanders (7-3).

“Time’s ticking,” said defenseman Duncan Keith, per The Chicago Tribune. “We know that the urgency has to be there. … We can talk all we want, but it’s got to come down to us doing it in the game. I’m responsible in that too.”

The alarming part for the Blackhawks, is that they’re falling out of the playoff picture in a hurry. They’re now five points out of the final Wild Card spot in the West and they’re nine points behind the St. Louis Blues for third spot in the Central Division.

The ‘Hawks will play their next two games at home before they play four straight games on the road in Detroit, Nashville, Vancouver and Calgary.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.