Blackhawks put end to 8-game slide

Chicago’s Jeremy Colliton got his first win as an NHL head coach when Corey Crawford made 28 saves to help the Blackhawks beat St. Louis 1-0 in Chicago on Wednesday, stopping an eight-game losing streak.

Chicago’s slide began with a 7-3 loss at St. Louis on Oct. 27, and Colliton took over the job after Joel Quenneville was fired Nov. 6. The Blackhawks then dropped Colliton’s first three games behind the bench before shutting down the Blues.

“This group needed some good things to happen,” Colliton said. “They needed it.”

Crawford’s shutout, No. 24 for his career, was his first in more than a year. He missed the final 47 games last season and the first five games this season because of a concussion.

Chicago scored when St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester kicked the rebound of Brent Seabrook’s shot past goalie Jake Allen in the second.

Avalanche 6, Bruins 3:

Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead during host Colorado’s four-goal third period as the Avalanche won their second in a row after a five-game losing streak. Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara exited in the first period because of a lower-body injury.

Golden Knights 5, Ducks 0:

Cody Eakin scored twice during a three-goal second period and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots for his third shutout of the season for host Vegas.

Jets 3, Capitals 1:

Ben Chiarot scored the tie-breaking goal with 7:09 left as host Winnipeg won its third in a row. Washington has lost three of four.

Suspension ends:

Forward Austin Watson was reinstated to the Predators’ roster after serving a suspension for domestic abuse. Commissioner Gary Bettman suspended Watson for 27 games on Sept. 12, but arbitrator Shyam Das reduced the suspension to 18 games.

Briefly:

Defenseman Paul Martin, whose final year of his contract was bought out by the Sharks in June after he played three seasons with the team, announced his retirement, the Athletic reported. Martin, 37, had 50 goals and 270 assists during 14 NHL seasons . ... Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler, hit in the face by a puck Monday during a game against the Predators, will have surgery Friday and is out indefinitely, the team said . ... Dallas forward Devin Shore, who is tied for third on the team with five goals, is expected to be sidelined for at least a week because of a lower-body injury . ... Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford signed a three-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season, then traded forward Carl Hagelin to the Kings for forward Tanner Pearson. Hagelin has one goal and two assists this season. Pearson has zero goals and one assist in 17 games.