CHICAGO (AP) Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks finally broke out of a frustrating tailspin Authentic Artturi Lehkonen Jersey , and they did it convincingly against one of the NHL’s top teams.Toews had a goal and two assists and the Blackhawks ripped the Washington Capitals 7-1 on Saturday night to end an eight-game losing streak.Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad and Ryan Hartman each added a goal and an assist in a 44-shot attack that took advantage of Washington breakdowns and powered Chicago to its first win since Jan. 30 at Nashville. Nick Schmaltz, Artem Anisimov and rookie Alex DeBrincat also scored to help the Blackhawks snap a seven-game slide at home before season-high crowd of 22,066 at the United Center.Article continues below ...”A nice way to get over the hump,” Toews said. ”You might just win a 2-1 game or grind it out, but nice for us to fill the net the way we did tonight.”Breakdowns, bad bounces and an inability to hold leads doomed the Blackhawks during their slide, their longest since a nine-game skid in early 2012. But in this one, Washington made the mistakes, and Chicago capitalized to pull away with goals from seven different players.”We put our foot on the gas and got some insurance goals,” said Kane, whose assist was his 500th. ”Nice to get a little bit of a breakout with a lot of different goal scorers and everyone chipping in. A big game for us against a good team.”Tom Wilson scored for the Capitals, whose first-place lead in the Metropolitan Division over Pittsburgh slipped to one point.Even more sour for Washington: The Capitals said a group of fans directed racial taunts toward forward Devante Smith-Pelly in the penalty box in the third period as he served a fighting major.A Capitals spokesman said the group of four yelled ”basketball, basketball, basketball” toward Smith-Pelly, who is black. The Blackhawks confirmed in a statement the fans were ”immediately removed.”Smith-Pelly was not available for comment, but coach Barry Trotz said the player was ”a little upset,” even though Trotz hadn’t yet talked to him in detail.”There’s absolutely no place in the game of hockey or our country for racism,” Trotz said. ”I think it’s disgusting.”Trotz coached his 1,500th NHL game. He joined four others in reaching that mark, including Chicago’s Joel Queneville.Chicago’s Anton Forsberg stopped 19 shots. Washington’s Braden Holtby allowed six goals on 33 shots through two periods. Philipp Grubauer took over in goal to start the third and gave up a goal on 11 shots.Trotz made the switch after he had seen enough.”We weren’t very good,” he said. ”We got beat in every aspect of the game tonight. It’s a tough game, it’s a humbling game and we got humbled tonight.”Kane’s goal was his first in five games and just his second in 12.The Blackhawks took a 3-1 lead in the first period, outshooting Washington 21-6.Toews opened the scoring 6:19 in Carey Price Jersey , connecting on a sharp-angle shot from the left boards that hit Holtby’s left pad and deflected in between his legs.Wilson tied it at 1 just under 4 minutes later when he was left open in front and connected on a nifty, waist-high deflection of Matt Niskanen’s shot from the point.Saad put Chicago back in front at 12:47, firing in a loose puck after Holtby had foiled Vinnie Hinostroza point-blank by poking the puck off Hinostroza’s stick.With 30 seconds left in the period and Holtby out of position, Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov slipped behind his goalie and blocked Tommy Wingels‘ shot.But Schmaltz scored with 0.8 seconds left in the first from the right side of the net to make it 3-1 after taking Carl Dahlstrom’s cross-ice feed.Kane, Hartman and Anisomov scored 2:07 apart on consecutive shots late in the second to extend Chicago’s lead to 6-1.Kane buried a rebound of Toews’ shot with 3:38 left in the period to make it 4-1 after Toews picked off Brooks Orpik’s pass, and both he and Kane broke in alone.Hartman weaved down the slot – and past three Washington defenders – then scored on a backhander 1:10 later. Anisimov’s power-play goal from the left circle with 1:31 left in the second capped the outburst.Set up by Hartman, DeBrincat’s tap-in midway through the third made it 7-1.NOTES: Besides Trotz and Quenneville, others to coach 1,500 games in the NHL are Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour and Ken Hitchcock. … DeBrincat’s 22nd goal gave him three in his last four games. … Dahlstrom, a recent call-up, assisted on Schmaltz’s goal for his first NHL point. … The Blackhawks’ longest overall losing streak in one season is 12 games, set at the end of the 1950-51. The skid extended to 13 games when Chicago lost its opener to start 1951-52. DETROIT — Controversy abounds for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they prepare to open the 2018-19 NHL season against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.There had already rampant speculation about the future of Columbus goaltender and two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky and left winger and 2017-18 team leading scorer Artemi Panarin. Both are in the final season of their contracts and failed to sign extensions during the summer.And on Wednesday, coach John Tortorella told Columbus radio station 97.1 The Fan that he will start backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo on Thursday night instead of Bobrovsky, who struggled during the preseason.Article continues below ...Tortella said Bobrovsky will play in the Blue Jackets’ home opener against Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at Nationwide Arena. .Columbus, which was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, will also be without star defensemen Seth Jones, who will miss six to eight weeks because of a sprained MCL suffered during the preseason.But defenseman Zach Werenski returns from shoulder surgery, which he underwent on May 3.“I worked hard this summer, I’ve rehabbed it a long time and it’s finally coming together,” Werenski said on the team’s website.The Blue Jackets activated defenseman Ryan Murray off injured reserve and placed defenseman Scott Harrington on injured reserve on Wednesday.Detroit, which has missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, is injecting youth into what had been a veteran-laden roster. Five players could make their NHL debut on Thursday night.Defensemen Dennis Cholowski, 20 and Libor Sulak Jeff Petry Jersey Kids , 24; and forwards Michael Rasmussen, 19; and Christoffer Ehn, 22, will definitely be in the lineup against Columbus. Defenseman Filip Hronek, 20, could be called up from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League and play, depending on injuries to veteran defensemen Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson.Defenseman Joe Hicketts, 22, could also be called up. He played five games for the Red Wings in 2017-18.Cholowski was the most impressive of the rookies during the preseason. He averaged more than 20 minutes in six games, including considerable power play and penalty kill time. Cholowski had two goals and four assists for six points and was plus-5.“I’ve liked him lots, I like his skill set, I like what he’s good at, we need what he’s good at it,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said on www.mlive.com about Cholowski. “Pro experience matters, but so does talent. So if he’s good enough and can make an impact, he should be here.”This is Cholowski’s first pro season after being Detroit’s first-round pick (20th overall) in 2016.Red Wings defenseman Mike Green will be out for more than a month, according to Blashill, as he recovers from a virus that attacked his liver during the preseason.With the retirement of captain Henrik Zetterberg because of a bad back at the beginning of training camp, Detroit named two more alternate captains on Wednesday. Center Dylan Larkin will wear an “A” during home games and center Frans Nielsen will be the third alternate captain for road games. They join Kronwall and left winger Justin Abdelkader as alternate captains.Larkin, 22, led Detroit with 63 points last season and signed five-year, $30.5 million extension during the offseason.“I think his basic leadership skills are on the ice,” Nielsen said about Larkin. “The way he brings it and the way he competes every night.”Larkin is expected to be the Red Wings’ next captain.
