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TAMPA BAY, Fla. -- It will make all the highlight shows but was it legal?

Martin St. Louis’ shootout goal propelled the Tampa bay Lightning to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

St. Louis performed a spin-o-rama and then brought the puck back to his backhand before roofing one past a stunned Corey Crawford.

“It was pretty close,” Crawford said after the game. “It looked like maybe he stopped for a second and then kept going. They think they made the right decision so we just have to live with it.”

Rule 24.2 covering penalty shots and shootout attempts states “the puck must be kept in motion towards the opponent’s goal line and once it is shot, the play shall be considered complete.”

Whether the puck was kept in motion towards the goal on St. Louis' tally is the big question. Continuation is a word used often in these situations. Replays show a distinct, but quick, new move.

“I need an explanation on that last goal in the shootout,” Joel coach Quenneville said. “That’s something I need someone to tell me exactly what the rule is. You can’t lose your forward motion or momentum. It looked like it was a complete stop.”

Quenneville did not think the move by St. Louis was reviewable and never did get an explanation from a referee. The spin-o-rama part of the sequence is allowed as stated in the rules, “the spin-o-rama type move where the player completes a 360 degrees turn as he approaches the goal, shall be permitted as this involves continuous motion.”

As for St. Louis, this one ranks up there for him.

“I find I have more success when I have fun with it,” he said. “If I try to keep it simple, I beat myself. I was just thinking about the All-Star game. That one is probably my favorite. It worked.”

Other players weren’t sure which way to think.

“I would have to see it again,” Jonathan Toews said. “As far as I’m concerned I think you can still see his left foot moving forward so it looked alright to me. You want to argue as much as you can there is evidence there to call it back bit it sucks.”

Except it’s not the feet that have to keep moving towards the goal, it’s the puck.

Two of the three shooters from Tampa Bay tried a spin-o-rama move and one succeeded in winning the game. But was it legal? Hopefully the NHL will tell us if it wasn’t.

The Blackhawks rallied in the third period but lost to the Lightning in a shootout on Wednesday. Here's a quick look at an entertaining game.

How it happened: The Hawks hung tough after getting down 3-1, tying the game early in the third period. The hottest line in the league kept it going as Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews scored all three regulation goals for the visitors. Steven Stamkos and company were just as formidable as he and Martin St. Louis had early goals but the Lightning were unable to pull away. After a scoreless overtime period, St. Louis was the only shooter to register a goal during the shootout. Tampa goalie Dwayne Roloson thrwarted all three Hawks' shooters -- Toews, Kane and Marian Hossa.

What it means: It was a gutsy effort against an elite team. Although the Hawks played far from perfect in the first half of the game, they hung in there, playing without one of their better defensive forwards for the final two periods. They grinded out the comeback after demoralizing late first period and early second period scores by Tampa Bay. The Hawks have played 33 back-to-back games in the last two years, failing to get at least a point in game 2 in just four of them.

Injury news: Dave Bolland missed the final 40 minutes of the game after apparently taking an elbow to the head in the first period.

What’s Next: Before the Hawks take the ice again in Washington on Sunday they will celebrate their Stanley Cup championship of a year ago by visiting the White House on Friday afternoon. President Obama will honor them in an afternoon ceremony after the Hawks visit Walter Reed Hospital the day before.

TAMPA BAY -- The Chicago Blackhawks trail the Tampa bay Lightning 3-2 after the second period at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The two teams exchanged goals in the middle 20 minutes. First, Teddy Purcell put a backhander in after a blocked shot from the point, to give the Lightning a two goal advantage. But the Hawks top line scored a second goal of the game with Patrick Sharp netting one after grabbing a puck Patrick Kane left in front of the net, after going around it.

The Lightning scored twice in the opening period, including one goal with just 16 seconds remaining. Their third goal came 1:20 into the second period. Kane has the Hawks’ other goal, coming late in the first period.

Crawford held the Lightning from scoring a fourth goal, late in the second, when he went right to left post stopping Steven Stamkos from scoring a second time in the game.

Dave Bolland did not take a shift in the second period and was not on the bench during play. There was no official word on his condition.

TAMPA BAY -- The Chicago Blackhawks trail the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 after the first period at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Lightning got on the board first with a Steven Stamkos goal midway through the period. The league’s leading scorer tallied his 42nd of the season after making a nice move to the middle of the ice and then firing one past Corey Crawford.

The Hawks countered with a top-line goal of their own when Jonathan Toews and Patrick sharp assisted Patrick Kane on his 23rd of the season. He also had the puck in the middle of the ice sending a wrist shot by goalie Dwayne Roloson.

For the second night in a row, though, the opposition scored in the final seconds as Martin St. Louis grabbed a loose puck which three Hawks were hovering around. St. Louis stick-handled one past Crawford as the Lightning re-took the lead with just 15 seconds remaining in the period.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Nick Boynton apologized for a throat-slashing gesture he made toward Tampa Bay Lightning center Blair Jones that cost him a one-game suspension.

Read the entire story.

The Blackhawks will play their first game since winning the Stanley Cup title on Wednesday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in their preseason opener.

Patrick Sharp was born in Winnipeg while captain Jonathan Toews grew up there and continues to reside there in the offseason. Duncan Keith is from the area as well. All three will play in the game while Marty Turco will make his Blackhawk debut.

"I'm very excited," Toews said Tuesday afternoon. "I can't remember the last time I played a real game at home. It hasn't been since I was about 15 years old. It will be a lot of fun to have a lot of family and friends at that game."

It wasn't that long ago that Toews brought the Stanley Cup to Winnipeg.

"No doubt about it, there will be a lot of Hawks fans there," he said. "Obviously a lot of people came out to see the Cup and showed their support this summer. They've been advertising a lot over the summer so it's a city that's hungry to see some good NHL hockey. It should be a good atmosphere."

Joel Quenneville acknowledged this might be a home game, calling Toews "the equalizer," but there's more than a preseason win at stake.

"You always play to win, but it's a great opportunity to find things out," Quenneville said. "As the game progresses, you just have to go with your gut ... usually you can [do both]."

Turco will split the game with Hannu Toivonen. Highly regarded prospects Igor Makarov and Jeremy Morin will play as well.

The Hawks released a roster for the game which includes 17 forwards, 8 defensemen and 3 goalies. On the roster are forwards Kyle Beach, Fernando Pisani, Jack Skille, Troy Brouwer, Viktor Stalberg, Jake Dowell, Bryan Bickell, Evan Brophey, Rob Klinkhammer, Nick Tarnasky, David Gilbert, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Kane, to go along with Sharp, Toews, Makarov, and Morin.

Defensemen who could play include Jassen Cullimore, Jordan Hendry, Brent Seabrook, Nick Boynton, Nick Leddy, Brian Campbell, Brian Connelly, and Keith.

Goalie Corey Crawford is on the roster but isn’t scheduled to play.

Patrick Kane bobblehead night may have to be canceled. Last year, Kane said he lost his teeth. This time it was nearly an eye.

With 6:59 left in the first period against the Tampa Bay Lightningon Sunday, and the Hawks on the power play, Kane was tripped into the boards by defenseman Matt Smaby. He landed on the butt of his stick, near his left eye.

He knows he dodged a bullet.

“It was a little scary,” Kane said on Monday at the Hawks' holiday party. “Anytime something has to do with your eye or your face or anything like that with your vision, I think it’s pretty scary, but overall I’m pretty excited about the outcome.”

Kane left the game and did not return, though he wasn’t needed as the Hawks went on to win 4-0.

“It was pretty blurry last [Sunday] night,” Kane said. “But after the game it cleared up pretty good. It’s just something you don’t want to risk, I guess.”

Kane had seven stitches and was sporting a shiner on his left eye when he showed up for the holiday party. All in all, he was in good spirits.

“Hopefully the girls love it. Hopefully, the chicks love it,” Kane joked. “I can deal with that for a little bit, but overall my vision is pretty good.”

“Last year I had my teeth come out,” he said. “That was pretty cool, and it actually worked out better because my teeth are better now than they were before. So now I add a scar to my face, like I said, hopefully, the girls love it.”

He probably didn’t need a scar to get more love. Kane scored his team-leading 10th goal before leaving on Sunday. He expects to play Wednesday when the Hawks play host to the St. Louis Blues.

The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 Sunday but got another injury scare when a star player went face-first into the boards.

Patrick Kanescored the game’s first goal but later in that opening period was tripped by Lightning defenseman Matt Smabyas he chased down a puck in the corner.

After the game, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said he thought Kane would be OK.

“He’s not bad,” Quenneville said. “He got cut above his eye there, and they had to stitch it up and his vision was impaired, but I think he’s going to be all right.”

Kane snapped off a wrist shot for his team-leading 10th goal before getting hit and leaving the game for good with 6:59 left in the first period. Quenneville said if he was a “betting man,” he thinks Kane will play Wednesday when the Hawks play host to the St. Louis Blues.

Lost in the Kane scare was Antti Niemi, who earned his third shutout of the season in just his seventh start. He only needed to stop 18 shots but made some big saves early in the game when it was still in doubt.

The game got chippy as the Hawks pulled away. Smaby also hit Jonathan Toewsin the second period with what looked like a late hit near the head. Later in the third, Todd Fedoruck took an extra step to stop as Niemi covered a puck and Fedoruck bumped him.

“That’s what happens in hockey games,” Brent Seabrook said after the game. “Teams get frustrated. We get frustrated, too. It’s just how it goes. We’re a tight group. We’re going to stick up for each other and help each other out.”

The Hawks scored more than three goals in regulation for the first time since Nov. 25. Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist. His goal came when he caught a puck and then hit it out of mid-air as he dropped it to his stick for one of the more skilled plays of the season.