Pittsburgh — Artemi Panarin and Richard Panik started a four-goal first period for Chicago, and the Blackhawks moved closer to locking up the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa also scored during an explosive first period as the Blackhawks moved nine points clear of second-place Minnesota with five games left in the regular season. Tanner Nero added a breakaway goal in the third. Patrick Kane picked up two assists to move past Sidney Crosby and into second place in the NHL scoring race.

Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for Chicago, which beat the Penguins in regulation on the road for the first time since 1997.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 31 saves but received little help outside of Bryan Rust’s third-period goal.

The defending Stanley Cup champions saw their winless streak reach four games, and their chances to catch first-place Washington atop the Metropolitan Division took another hit.

NHL Will Release Teams’ Expansion Draft Lists

New York — After further consideration, the NHL will release teams’ protected and available lists to the public before the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft in June.

The league announced the decision on Twitter on Wednesday despite NHL general managers expressing a desire to keep the lists private. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said there was more internal discussion at the league office and that none of the GMs expressed strong views on the subject.

All 30 existing teams must submit their list of protected players by 5 p.m. EDT June 17. Vegas must submit its selections by 5 p.m. June 20, with the announcement of those picks made June 21.

The league said the timing of the lists being released was still to be determined. Each team can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or eight skaters of any position and one goaltender.

The Golden Knights begin play next season.