Sharks explode in third to beat Blackhawks

[March 04, 2019]  Melker Karlsson scored twice in the third period as the San Jose Sharks won back-to-back games for the first time in nearly three weeks, defeating the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 Sunday night.

Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier and Marcus Sorensen also scored for the Sharks, who had alternated wins and losses for their previous eight games. San Jose pulled within three points of Pacific Division-leading Calgary. Micheal Haley, Joonas Donskoi and Tim Heed each had two assists.

Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 28 saves.

Dylan Strome and Erik Gustafsson scored for the Blackhawks and goalie Cam Ward stopped 29 of 33 shots. Chicago went 1-2 on its three-game California trip. The Blackhawks won 4-3 Wednesday at Anaheim before suffering a 6-3 defeat Saturday at Los Angeles, as the Kings snapped a 10-game losing streak.

The Sharks scored three times in the third to break a 2-2 tie.

Sorensen got what proved to be the winner at 4:27 of the period, taking a pass from Joe Thornton in the high slot and snapping a shot past Ward.

Karlsson made it 4-2 at 8:16, tipping a shot from Brent Burns into the net.

Karlsson added an empty-netter at 17:38 to cap the scoring.

The Sharks took a lead in each of the first two periods before the Blackhawks tied it up each time.

Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) controls the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Hertl gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 12:16 of the first, but Strome tied it with just 28 seconds left in the period, wristing a shot over Jones' blocker on a two-on-one break.

Meier scored just 1:38 into the second to make it 2-1 for the Sharks before Gustafsson tied it at 6:40.

All of the goals were scored at even strength, as the Blackhawks went 0-for-3 on the power play and the Sharks were 0-for-1.

The Blackhawks' top line of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad were limited to one assist.

--Field Level Media

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.