Kane's two goals lead Blackhawks past Sharks

[March 12, 2020]    Patrick Kane scored twice and Alex DeBrincat tallied three assists to help the host Chicago Blackhawks defeat the slumping San Jose Sharks 6-2 on Wednesday night to snap a two-game losing streak.

Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) scores a goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell (30) in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Duncan Keith, Brandon Saad, Alex Nylander and Dominik Kubalik also scored for Chicago (32-30-8, 72 points), which moved within six points of the final Western Conference wild-card spot with 12 games to play.

Keith and Nylander also added an assist, while Jonathan Toews had two assists. Keith ignited a spurt of four straight goals to erase the Sharks' early 1-0 lead. Kubalik, a rookie, capped the scoring with his 30th goal of the season.

Making his 10th successive start, Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 34 of 36 shots to steer Chicago to its fifth win in seven games.

The Sharks (29-36-5, 63 points) lost their fourth game in a row as they opened a four-game road trip against Central Division foes.

Evander Kane opened the scoring at 10:49 of the first period, converting on a 5-on-3 power play on assists from Joe Thornton and Timo Meier.

Chicago recovered by scoring six of the next seven goals, tallying three apiece in the second and third periods.

San Jose was unable to secure a sweep of the season series against the Blackhawks. The Sharks edged the Blackhawks 5-4 in Chicago on Oct. 10 before topping Chicago 4-2 in San Jose on Nov. 5.

While those victories snapped respective Sharks losing streaks of four and five games, the Blackhawks didn't prove to be the cure for San Jose struggles this time, despite the promising start. The Sharks fell to 3-8-1 in their past 12 games.

Meier has five assists in a four-game point streak, while Patrick Kane has six points in his past five games.

Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell stopped 39 of 45 shots.

Sharks forward Logan Couture, who is in concussion protocol after a puck off of Meier's stick struck him in the face during Sunday's home loss to Colorado, didn't travel but may join the team during its trip.

Forward Brandon Hagel and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin made their NHL debuts for Chicago, while rookie defenseman Lucas Carlsson returned after missing two games with a concussion.

--Field Level Media

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