Blackhawks end eight-game losing streak with win against Capitals

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks ended an eight-game losing streak when they defeated the Washington Capitals 7-1 at United Center on Saturday.
"Certainly feels 100 times better than coming in and trying to explain how we had a lead and were unable to sustain it," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The complete 60 minutes, three periods the right way, more consistency in our game, way more pace than we've seen recently, composure with the puck, shooting around the net.

"It was fun, but that's one. Let's see how we respond to this because there's a lot of hockey left."
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Jonathan Toews had a goal and two assists, and Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for the Blackhawks (25-26-8), who won at home for the first time since Jan. 12 (1-6-1).

"It's a nice way to get over the hump," Toews said. "Sometimes you might just win a 2-1 game or just kind of grind it out, but it was nice for us to fill the net the way we did tonight."
Tom Wilson scored for the Capitals (33-18-7), whose point streak ended at five games (3-0-2). Braden Holtby allowed six goals on 33 shots and was replaced by Philipp Grubauer to start the third period. Grubauer made 10 saves.

"Obviously it doesn't sit well. This group is much better than it showed tonight," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "This game is probably going to go in the garbage can, and I expect a really good response from this group."
After trading goals in the first period, the Blackhawks scored six unanswered, including three in 2:07 during the second.
Nick Schmaltz scored at 19:58 of the first when he scored on a rebound to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead.
"It's always nice to get a goal like that with a second left or whatever it was," Toews said. "Kind of kicks teams when they're down. I think it made it 3-1 at that point; it's nice to get those sneaky ones late in the periods."
Patrick Kane made it 4-1 at 16:22 of the second period when he cleaned up a rebound from Toews, his first point in six games. Ryan Hartman gave the Blackhawks a 5-1 lead at 17:32 when he scored on a breakaway to end an 18-game goal drought.
Artem Anisimov extended the Blackhawks lead to 6-1 at 18:29 with a power-play goal.

"It was only a matter of time," said Kane, who got his 500th NHL assist on Anisimov's goal. "Nice to have that kind of breakout. That's a huge win for us too. We obviously have some games here at home that we can capitalize on, we're playing some good teams but get some confidence. It's nice to get a win in here and get a good feeling."
Alex DeBrincat made it 7-1 at 8:22 of the third period for his eighth goal in 11 games. He is tied for second among NHL rookies with 22 goals.
Toews scored at 6:19 of the first before Wilson tied it 1-1 at 10:03. Brandon Saad scored 2:44 later to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead.

Goal of the game

Schmaltz's goal at 19:58 of the first period.

Save of the game

Forsberg's save against T.J. Oshie at 13:52 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Hartman's goal at 17:32 of the second period.

They said it

"Obviously that's not a performance we'd like to have, and it starts with me on that first goal. It's never a very good way to start off with your team. It's just one of those things I need to be better at." -- Capitals goalie Braden Holtby
"I thought we played well throughout the whole game. We saw ourselves in a similar situation where we were up 2-1 and maybe it could've went either way, but we put our foot on the gas and got some insurance goals, so that was nice to see. ... It was a big game for us against a good team. Maybe we take some confidence from this and keep building." -- Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane

Need to know

It was the second time this month the Capitals allowed seven goals in a game. They lost 7-4 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 2. ... Trotz coached his 1,500th NHL game. ... Blackhawks defenseman Carl Dahlstrom had his first NHL point when he assisted on Schmaltz's goal. ... Quenneville said DeBrincat is "fine" after he left the game in the third.

What's next

Capitals: At the Buffalo Sabres on Monday (3 p.m. ET; SN1, MSG-B, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, WGN, FS-W, NHL.TV)