Prior to last night, the lowly Chicago Blackhawks had zero wins and only one point in the month of February. That all changed on Saturday when the Hawks unleashed an offensive blitzkrieg on the Washington Capitals in a 7-1 thrashing in front of a United Center crowd that actually had something to cheer for. Patrick Kane recorded his 500th career assist and Ryan Hartman snapped a 15-game goalless drought in Chicago’s best offensive performance since January 9, in which the Blackhawks beat Ottawa 8-2.
Coach Quenneville’s squad will get Sunday off before taking on the Los Angeles Kings on Monday at 7:30 p.m. CT on WGN.
BLACKHAWKS
**RECAP: Blackhawks come to life with stunning blowout of Capitals (SCH)
**Patrick Kane registered his 500th career assist on Saturday night (Committed Indians)
**Blackhawks fans ejected for racist taunts at Capitals player (WGN-TV)
**Fallen Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer was honored last night (NBC Chicago)
**Corey Crawford may have sustained a career-ending injury (Blackhawk Up)
**Ville Pokka trade a reminder of Hawks’ struggle to develop defensemen (SCH)
**Column: Blackhawks find the end of a dynasty isn’t pretty (Daily Herald)
**Column: Chicago may have benefited from not being able to play in the Olympics (Blackhawk Up)
CENTRAL DIVISION
**RECAP: Blues’ Central Division lead shrinking after loss to Stars (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
**Should the Blues be buyers or sellers at the deadline? (St. Louis Game Time)
**RECAP: Predators fail to mount comeback in 3-1 loss to Red Wings (On The Forecheck
**RECAP: Wild collapse in epic 11-round shootout loss to Ducks (Hockey Wilderness)
**Who might the Winnipeg Jets trade away? (Jets Nation)
**How Tyler Seguin’s evolution led Dallas back to the playoff picture (DMN)
**Column: Dallas should focus trade deadline efforts on improving power play (DBD)
**How does the Avalanche’s schedule set them up for wildcard race? (Mile High Hockey)
**Column: Avalanche are approaching NHL trade deadline with uncertainty (Denver Post)
NHL
**NHL trade deadline tracker (The Athletic)
**RECAP: Bruins hinder Atlantic Division playoff chances with 6-1 loss to Canucks (SCOC)
**RECAP: Penguins inch closer to Metropolitan top with 5-3 win over Detroit (Pensburgh)
**RECAP: Devils outlast Conference-leading Lightning in 4-3 win (AATJ)
**RECAP: Golden Knights keep rolling, beat Canadiens 6-3 (Knights on Ice)
**Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon set for return after missing eight games (PHT)
**Oilers’ Cam Talbot calls goaltender interference rule ‘f**king ridiculous’ (SBN)
**Columbus, ever inconsistent, remains confident (The Hockey Writers)
HOCKEY WORLD
**Olympic Roundup: Czech Republic defeat Canada in shootout, USA beat 4-0 by Russia (The Hockey News)
**Blame the NHL for Team USA getting crushed by Russia (SBN)
**USA, Russia hockey coaches don’t shake hands after Russia blowout (CBS Sports)
**Finland cruises past Sweeden in Olympic quarterfinals (The Ice Garden)
**No NHL players means more mistakes and goals at Olympics (PHT)