The Latest Breaking News from Seth Jones

This year’s All-Star weekend in Florida lacked energy and pizzazz. But Jones still looked like one of the more eager participants Saturday, tallying three points.

Jones enjoyed his most productive stretch this month since spring 2018 with the Blue Jackets. However, his tendency to “back up” on opponents’ offensive zone entries remains an issue.

The Hawks’ streak of six wins in seven games — now firmly in the past after consecutive lethargic losses — did move them out of last place in the NHL, but only barely. With 36 games left, there’s plenty of time to slide back down again.

Jones scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals, doubling his season goal total in a four-minute span, as the Hawks rallied for a 4-3 victory.

Cech joined Hawks practice on the ice Tuesday after some soccer antics with Mrazek and teammates Monday. The 40-year-old former Chelsea and Arsenal star now plays third-division professional hockey in England.

But the Horned Frogs are 12½-point underdogs, the largest spread for the season finale in nine years of the College Football Playoff.

McCabe played one of his best games Friday and has been arguably the Hawks’ best defenseman all season. But he has become the right player at the wrong time.

Someone from the last-place Hawks had to be chosen, and Jones was the lucky — or unlucky — man. He’s now headed to Florida on Feb. 3-4, but he remains dissatisfied with his actual performance this season.

CHICAGO — Opening their three-game road trip Tuesday night against the league’s worst team, the Lightning had plenty of opportunities to pull away from the Blackhawks at the United Center, but found themselves going into the final period of regulation still deadlocked at 1.

It has been 122 games since a Blackhawks defenseman scored a power-play goal. A particularly dismal power-play performance Saturday — 0-for-5 with two short-handed goals allowed — guaranteed the streak will extends into its third calendar year.

The Hawks were generally clean and efficient in all three zones Thursday. But an inexplicable error by Boris Katchouk and a continued lack of goal-scoring doomed them to a 3-1 loss.