Sharks knock off Blackhawks to end 5-game slide
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Patrick Marleau celebrated his 800th consecutive game by scoring a goal, and the San Jose Sharks snapped a five-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Sharks had been outscored 22-8 during the skid and failed to earn a point or hold a lead at any point during a stretch that left last season's Western Conference runners-up near the bottom of the standings.
Marleau gave San Jose its first lead in six games shortly after the Blackhawks had killed off a penalty early in the second period. Timo Meier sent a shot from the slot toward the net and it deflected off Marleau's skate and past Robin Lehner.
It was Marleau's third goal of the season, with all three coming against Chicago. Longtime teammate Joe Thornton got the second assist on the goal, his first on a score by Marleau since the 2017 playoffs. Thornton has assisted on 122 of Marleau's 554 career goals.
Marleau signed with Toronto in the summer of 2017 before returning to his original team early this season in time to score twice in a win at Chicago on Oct. 10.
Evander Kane added a short-handed goal later in the second when he won a race to a loose puck against Dominik Kubalik and beat Lehner to the short side for his ninth of the season.
Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier also scored for the Sharks. Martin Jones made 19 saves, including one against Kubalik on a breakaway early in the third period.
The Blackhawks looked flat most of the night in the final game of a four-game road trip, getting outshot 23-3 at one point. But they got late goals from Brandon Saad and Duncan Keith to make it a one-goal game with 1:54 to play.
Meier sealed it with an empty-netter.
Lehner made 28 saves.
NOTES: The only player to score more goals off assists from Thornton is Joe Pavelski with 127, according to NBC Sports California. ... San Jose D Radim Simek returned to the lineup for the first time since injuring his knee last March 12. ... Sharks forward Melker Karlsson missed the game with an upper-body injury. ... Chicago went 1-2-1 on the trip.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
Sharks: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
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