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 After the game, van Riemsdyk learned that his older brother,
James, had scored career goal No. 101 several hundred miles away in
a win for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"It was a good day for the family," Trevor van Riemsdyk said with a
smile.
It was a good day for the Blackhawks, too.
The Blackhawks (8-6-1) scored three goals in a span of 2 minutes, 34
seconds in the first period to snap a three-game losing streak on
home ice. Defensemen Van Riemsdyk, Brent Seabrook and Niklas
Hjalmarsson scored in quick succession, and left winger Bryan
Bickell and center Jonathan Toews added third period goals to seal
the win.
Center Joe Pavelski scored both goals for the Sharks (8-6-2), who
lost in regulation for only the second time in the past seven games.
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 32 of 34 shots for
the win.
Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi stopped 32 of 36 shots to fall to
6-4-1 on the season.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan said his players could not recover from a
poor start. The Blackhawks outshot San Jose by a margin of 20-9 in
the first period.
 "I saw a team that wasn't prepared to compete, lacked catalysts,
guys that were going to settle the game down and make us play the
right way," McLellan said. "And, as a result, we're down by three."
Van Riemsdyk opened the scoring with his first career goal with
eight minutes remaining in the first period. Toews won a faceoff and
caromed the puck off of the boards to van Riemsdyk, who ripped a
slap shot past Niemi's glove side.
Seabrook increased the lead to 2-0 on a slap shot from the point
with 5:50 remaining in the first period. Twenty-four seconds later,
Hjalmarsson pinched toward the net, took a pass from right winger
Marian Hossa and snapped a wrist shot past Niemi to increase the
lead to 3-0.
"We didn't play well in the first period," Sharks defenseman
Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "We didn't do anything right. Falling
behind 3-0, it's tough to come back against a team like that."
The Sharks cut the deficit to 3-1 on a deflection by Pavelski with
4:28 remaining in the first period. Pavelski parked in front of the
crease and redirected a shot from the point by defenseman Justin
Braun for his sixth goal of the season.
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Pavelski struck again with a power-play goal with 15:09 remaining
in the second period to slice the Blackhawks' lead to 3-2. Sharks
center Joe Thornton slipped a pass across the crease to Pavelski,
who one-timed a low slap shot beneath Crawford's glove.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said the Sharks' second period
rally could offer as a lesson.
"You could see where the confidence, tight games, playing the right
way, doing the right things is a work in progress right now,"
Quenneville said. "I think that there's probably a little hesitation
on our part knowing that we lost some tough games that we
traditionally win. Finding a way to do the right things, being
comfortable and making the right decisions is what we're working
through."
The Blackhawks increased the lead to 4-2 when Bryan Bickell netted
his second goal of the season with 4:42 remaining in the third
period. Toews' empty-netter with 1:57 remaining sealed the win.
NOTES: Blackhawks LW Daniel Carcillo (upper body) missed his eighth
consecutive game, but he has taken part in skating drills and is on
track to return later this month. ... San Jose RW Mike Brown (upper
body) missed his 14th consecutive game. ... Blackhawks D David
Rundblad earned the final spot in the lineup ahead of fellow D
Michal Rozsival, who was a healthy scratch. ... The game marked a
homecoming for Sharks C Tommy Wingels, who grew up in the northern
Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Ill. ... Blackhawks coach Joel
Quenneville shuffled his lines in an attempt to generate more
offense, pairing veteran RW Marian Hossa with C Marcus Kruger and LW
Ben Smith. ... San Jose's healthy scratches included D Matt Irwin,
LW Tye McGinn and LW John Scott.
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