Chicago 5, San Jose 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Where: SAP Center at San Jose, San Jose, California
Referees:
Dean Morton, Garrett Rank
Linesmen:
Kiel Murchison, Vaughan Rody
Attendance:
17562
By The Sports Xchange
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks' befuddling struggles at home continued Wednesday night while the Chicago Blackhawks looked plenty refreshed after a side trip to Las Vegas.
Returning from a historic 6-0 road trip, San Jose was a step behind the defending Stanley Cup champs all night during a 5-2 loss.
"Obviously we'd like to come out of the gate a little bit better," Sharks goalie Martin Jones said. "But they're a good team. It didn't seem like there was a lot of room out there for us to make plays, and we ended up turning a lot of pucks over. Against that team that gets you in trouble."
Conversely, the Blackhawks were satisfied with their start, that included a 2-1 lead after a period filled with Sharks turnovers, and the fact Chicago managed the first eight shots of the contest.
"We knew this team was hot coming in," said Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, who extended his points streak to 17 straight with a pair of assists. "We know they're a fast-starting team at home. We start off not giving them a shot for a little while. It's a good start to the game. We were happy with our start and it kind of rolled through the rest of the game."
The Sharks lost three straight on home ice, and four of the last five. While boasting a 10-3 record on foreign ice, San Jose is only 3-6 at home.
"Obviously we've got to find a way to get some home wins," Jones said. "I think we've played some good hockey at home, we just need to translate that into wins."
Left winger Patrick Marleau scored his eighth goal of the season at 11:20 of the third period to cut Chicago's lead to a goal. But the visitors answered back, and it was an ex-Shark who supplied the finishing touches. Left winger Andrew Desjardins pounced on a rebound to score on the backhand at 12:27 for a 4-2 advantage. Desjardins was traded from San Jose to Chicago at last season's trade deadline.
"I think you could tell by my reaction, I'm not much for (celebrations)," Desjardins said. "I just yelled as loud as I could. It felt good. It was kind of a long time coming. It felt awesome."
Center Andrew Shaw added an empty-net goal at 19:17 to close out the scoring.
Chicago scored the only goal of the middle period to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith simply wristed a shot from the left boards above the circle that slipped past Jones, who was screened in front by Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Keith's third goal of the season came at 12:20.
"There were a couple bodies, I didn't really pick it up off the wall," Jones said.
The Blackhawks dominated territorial play and the shot clock to escape the opening period with a 2-1 lead.
Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook scored his fifth goal of the season on a shot from the left point that beat Jones, who was screened again. Kane extended his points streak to 17 games with the primary assist on the goal scored at 8:39.
The Sharks, who were outshot 8-0 before recording their first shot at 13:08, struck on the power play for the first time at home at 14:56 when Brent Burns scored his league-leading ninth goal from a defenseman. Burns one-timed a cross-ice feed from center Joe Pavelski to snap an 0-for-21 drought on the power play on home ice to start the season.
"We got one early, and we got some looks throughout the game, but we didn't do enough with them," Pavelski said of the team's five power plays.
Chicago struck again at 16:24 when center Jonathan Toews capped a two-on-one break with a shot into the top right corner over Jones' shoulder. Sharks defenseman Mirco Mueller was alone as partner Matt Tennyson made an ill-advised pinch inside the Blackhawks' blue line.
"Maybe on the road it was our best complete game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought we had a really good game in Vancouver with nothing to show for it. Tonight we got rewarded. Good back-to-back efforts as far as playing the right way and doing a lot of good things."
NOTES: LW Dainius Zubrus made his debut for San Jose after signing a one-year, two-way contract with the team Monday. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Zubrus, 37, becomes the oldest member of the team as he joins his sixth organization after having spent the previous eight seasons with New Jersey. Zubrus is expected to fill a fourth-line role and contribute to the penalty kill. ... Blackhawks C Teuvo Teravainen missed his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Coach Joel Quenneville said he expects Teravainen to return Friday. ... Sharks D Justin Braun missed a game for the first time this season due to an upper-body injury. Coach Peter DeBoer termed him day-to-day. ... Chicago caps its six-game road trip with games in Anaheim on Friday and Los Angeles on Saturday. ... The Sharks, who next host Calgary on Saturday, play three of their next four at home. ... RW Viktor Tikhonov and D David Rundblad were healthy scratches for Chicago, while C Ben Smith (concussion) and LW Micheal Haley did not dress for San Jose.
Top Game Performances
Chicago |
|
San Jose |
Andrew Shaw 2 |
Points |
Brent Burns 2 |
Andrew Shaw 1 |
Goals |
Brent Burns 1 |
Patrick Kane 2 |
Assists |
Brent Burns 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Brent Burns 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Corey Crawford .931 |
Save Percentage |
Martin Jones .840 |
Corey Crawford 27 |
Saves |
Martin Jones 21 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Chicago
|
26 |
5 |
0-3 |
4-5 |
10 |
29 |
San Jose
|
29 |
2 |
1-5 |
3-3 |
6 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Sharks have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .556 after a loss.
-
Chicago will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .600 after a loss.