Lightning beat Blackhawks 2-1 in shootout in their 15th straight game without a regulation loss

CHICAGO (AP) — Dominic James scored in the fifth round of a shootout and the Tampa Bay Lightning made it 15 straight games without a regulation loss, outlasting the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Friday night.

Tampa Bay is on a 14-0-1 tear, winning three straight after a shootout loss a week ago in St. Louis. The Lighting are 32-13-4 overall.

Nikita Kucherov tied it at 1 late in the second period with his 25th goal of the season and also scored in the shootout. Gage Goncalves scored in the fourth round of the tiebreaker to keep Tampa Bay alive and, after Oliver Moore failed for Chicago, James slipped the winner past Arvid Soderblom.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots for Tampa Bay.

Ryan Greene scored for Chicago, and Soderblom made 30 saves. Chicago had won two straight, beating Carolina 4-3 in shootout Friday night in Raleigh.

Andre Burakovsky nearly ended it for Chicago in overtime, but couldn’t get the puck in at the side of that net as it slid across the crease.

Tampa Bay outshot Chicago 13-2 in the second period and had a 21-6 overall advantage through 40 minutes. Both teams were 0 for 3 on the power play.

Kucherov tied it with 1:18 left in the second. He cut through the slot, taking Brandon Hagel's pass on his forehand and lifting in a backhander.

Greene opened the scoring on a power play with 2:18 left in the first period with a goal that withstood a lengthy review after the Lightning challenged for offsides. Greene cut across the front and beat Vasilevskiy with a forehand shot.

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno fought Jack Finley early in the first, with Finley getting an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Lightning: At Columbus on Saturday night.

Blackhawks: Host Florida on Sunday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save on the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks center Oliver Moore (11) and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Max Crozier (24) crash against the boards during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Louis Crevier (46) and Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) fight for control of the puck in front of the net during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh (43) handles the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Landon Slaggert (84) collides with Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has slashed by about 80% the fee for Americans to formally renounce their U.S. citizenship.

After years of legal battles with several groups representing Americans wanting to give up their citizenship, the department on Friday published a final rule in the Federal Register that reduces the cost from $2,350 to $450.

The new fee, which took effect on Friday, had been promised in 2023 but had never been implemented. The cost is now the same as it was when the State Department first started charging Americans to formally renounce their citizenship in 2010.

Renouncing U.S. citizenship can be an intensive and lengthy process. Applicants must repeatedly confirm in multiple written and verbal attestations to a State Department consular officer that they understand the implications of the step before being allowed to take a formal oath of renunciation. It must then be reviewed by the department.

The fee was raised from $450 to $2,350 in 2015 to cover the administrative expenses as the number of people wanting to renounce their citizenship surged in part due to new U.S. tax reporting requirements for American expatriates that angered many.

That dramatic fee increase drew significant opposition from groups such as the France-based Association of Accidental Americans, which represents people mainly living abroad whose U.S. citizenship is due purely to their having been born in the United States.

The association filed several lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the fee, including one that remains pending that argues there should be no cost at all for renouncing one’s citizenship.

“The Association of Accidental Americans welcomes this decision, which acknowledges the necessity of making this fundamental right accessible to all,” its president, Fabien Lehagre, said in a statement. “This victory is the direct result of six years of relentless legal action and advocacy.”

In court, the association said since the 2023 announcement that the fee would be reduced at least 8,755 Americans had paid the full $2,350 to renounce their citizenship. The State Department did not provide numbers for the total number of Americans who have renounced their citizenship.

This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the association's president. It is Lehagre, not Lahagre.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a working lunch at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)