Viktor Stalberg and captain Jonathan Toews recorded a goal and an assist apiece as the Chicago Blackhawks skated to a 4-3 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
Dave Bolland and rookie Andrew Shaw both scored for the Blackhawks, who improved to 3-0-2 over their last five and moved atop the Central Division with the victory.
Toews snapped a 2-2 deadlock with 7:06 left in the second period. Patrick Kane dumped the puck behind the Chicago net and had Stalberg chase it down. Stalberg flicked it right back to Kane, who hit Toews with a perfect feed on the doorstep for his 24th goal of the season.
Shaw gave Chicago some breathing room at the 2:37 mark of the third, leaping over former Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi to get his own rebound and tap it into the open net.
The Sharks cut it to 4-3 when Tommy Wingels netted his first NHL goal with 4:57 left. They had a power play over the final 1:07, but could not knot it again.
The Blackhawks had taken an early 2-0 lead on tallies by Bolland and Stalberg. San Jose tied it up with a pair of goals 26 seconds apart early in the second period.
San Jose | Chicago | |
Torrey Mitchell 2 | Points | Viktor Stalberg 2 |
Jamie McGinn 1 | Goals | Viktor Stalberg 1 |
Torrey Mitchell 2 | Assists | Viktor Stalberg 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Antti Niemi .900 | Save Percentage | Corey Crawford .875 |
Antti Niemi 36 | Saves | Corey Crawford 21 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
San Jose | 24 | 3 | 0-3 | 1-1 | 7 | 24 |
Chicago | 40 | 4 | 0-1 | 3-3 | 11 | 33 |