A temporary reprieve or a sign of things to come?

The answer didn't seem to matter to the Chicago Blackhawks after a 7-1 win over the Washington Capitals, one that snapped an eight-game losing streak and featured an offensive outburst that captain Jonathan Toews said was "a long time coming," per Mark Lazerus of the Sun Times.

The sentiment was shared by head coach Joel Quenneville:

The win, while encouraging, still leaves the Blackhawks with quite a hole to climb out of. Through 59 games, Chicago has posted a 25-26-8 record with a minus-1 goal differential, and there remains an 11-point gap between the Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild, who hold the second wild-card spot in the West.

Quenneville, for one, remains hopeful:

Chicago's next game is Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tuukka Rask's night ended much earlier than expected Saturday.

The Boston Bruins goaltender had an uncharacteristically lackluster opening period against the Vancouver Canucks, who scored four times in less than 17 minutes to seal Rask's fate for the evening.

Anton Khudobin replaced him to start the second frame, and Canucks forward Nic Dowd scored on him less than three minutes into the period to make it 5-0.

Rask made only five saves on nine shots in his 20 minutes of work.

Loui Eriksson, Daniel Sedin, Bo Horvat, and Sven Baertschi tallied for the Canucks in the first.

Rask had won nine of his last 10 games before Saturday's hiccup.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Last season, it was Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary who seemed to come out of nowhere to make a big impact for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Now, it appears it's Zach Aston-Reese's turn.

Recently recalled from the AHL, the 23-year-old undrafted forward was placed on a line with Sheary and Sidney Crosby, and has made good on the opportunity with three goals in his past three games, including this one scored Saturday against Toronto:

Aston-Reese signed an entry-level deal with the Penguins 11 months ago after a stellar season at Northeastern University in which he recorded 31 goals and 32 assists in 38 games and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

He kicked off his pro career with 12 goals and 37 points through 51 AHL games before getting the call from the Penguins, and if Pittsburgh is going to make good on its aspirations for a three-peat, don't be surprised if Aston-Reese has something to do with it.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have turned it up to 11 on home ice.

A 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night gave the Penguins their fourth straight win overall, and their 11th consecutive victory at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

That's the longest active home win streak in the NHL, and the fourth time in franchise history that they've won at least 11 in a row in their own building.

The Penguins are now two wins shy of the team record, which was accomplished between Nov. 15, 2013 and Jan. 15, 2014.

Pittsburgh hasn't lost at home since Jan. 4, when the club was shut out 4-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust chipped in three points apiece in Saturday night's victory.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood made his presence felt in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

First, Wood leveled Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov from behind, and then left defenseman Andrej Sustr with a huge gash in his face after breaking his visor in a retaliatory fight.

Wood was assessed two minor penalties, one for boarding and the other for roughing, while both Namestnikov and Sustr skated off to receive medical attention.

The pair did return for the third period.

Wood could very well be hearing from the NHL Department of Player Safety after this one.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

(Warning: Story contains coarse language)

Cam Talbot is fed up.

The Edmonton Oilers netminder didn't mince words after a 1-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday in which Patrick Maroon's late tying goal was wiped out following a coach's challenge for goaltender interference.

"There's no consistency and I'm fucking sick of it," Talbot said postgame, according to the Edmonton Sun and Edmonton Journal's Rob Tychkowski. "It's fucking ridiculous. You can quote me, they can fine me, I don't give a fuck anymore."

Maroon scored to temporarily knot the game at 1-1 with 8:52 left in the third period, but the Coyotes successfully challenged and ultimately hung on for a 1-0 victory.

Here's a look at the play in question, on which Maroon makes contact with Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta:

Here was the league's explanation:

After reviewing all available replays and consulting with NHL hockey operations staff, the referee determined that Maroon interfered with Raanta before the puck crossed the goal line. According to Rule 78.7, "The standard for overturning the call in the event of a 'GOAL' call on the ice is that the referee, after reviewing any and all available replays and consulting with the Toronto video room, determines that the goal should have been disallowed due to 'interference on the goalkeeper,' as described in Rules 69.1, 69.3 and 69.4."

Therefore the original call is overturned - no goal Edmonton Oilers.

Talbot has voiced his displeasure with reviews in the past. He implied he should start flopping to draw calls

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin. That's the complete list of players to record 900 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins after Malkin recorded a goal and an assist in the first period of Saturday's game against Toronto.

The milestone point came on a goal scored on Frederik Andersen:

He's also one of a handful of Russian-born players to reach that mark.

Despite his elite play, Malkin was somehow not included in the NHL's list of the top 100 players named last year.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes are finally getting the kind of goaltending they were hoping for out of Antti Raanta.

Acquired last summer to replace longtime starter Mike Smith, Raanta's tenure in the desert got off to a rough start with an early-season injury that was followed by a scorpion infestation and a recent car accident.

His luck, however, appears to be turning.

In 15 starts since Jan. 1, Raanta has posted a record of 7-3-4 and a .937 save percentage, including his first shutout of the season, the result of a 39-save effort against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Raanta is in the final year of a contract that pays him a scant $1 million, and his recent play could make him attractive to other teams in advance of the Feb. 26 trade deadline. Coyotes general manager John Chayka might want to make sure he sticks around for a while longer.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nathan MacKinnon is back.

The star forward will make his return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers, the Avalanche confirmed Saturday.

MacKinnon suffered an apparent shoulder injury in a loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30.

He was ruled out for two-to-four weeks back on Feb. 1, so he'll return on the early end of that timetable.

The 22-year-old amassed 24 goals and 37 assists in 49 games before the injury.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Adam Larsson returned to action for the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday in his first game since the death of his father last month.

Larsson was inserted into the Oilers' starting lineup for their afternoon affair against the Arizona Coyotes.

The defenseman took a leave of absence in early February following the sudden passing of his father, Robert, in late January.

Larsson was away from the Oilers for eight games.

Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.