Former Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi was 3-0 against his former teammates this year, but the Blackhawks said "no more" tonight; Niemi was yanked at 7:25 into the second period after allowing four goals, three in that period alone, and the Blackhawks beat the Sharks 6-3 at the United Center, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Marian Hossa scored twice and Patrick Sharp had four assists; Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Viktor Stalberg and Niklas Hjalmarsson added goals for the Hawks, who scored six goals for the second time this month. The win put the Hawks back in sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference with 84 points in the tightly packed standings. as the Chicago Blackhawks dominated the San Jose Sharks, 6-3, at United Center. Kane's goal was the 100th of his NHL career.
Corey Crawford stopped 16 shots in the third period alone and had 33 saves overall in a gritty performance against the Pacific Division-leading Sharks, who stand one place ahead of the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings.
The Blackhawks now take a couple of well-deserved days off before leaving for a quick road trip that will take them to Dallas to face the Stars on Thursday, and then Phoenix to play the Coyotes on Sunday. This is the second straight year that the Blackhawks have played in Phoenix during baseball spring training, an event that last year had red-clad Blackhawks fans (who are in the area to see Cubs and White Sox games) taking over Jobing.com Arena, and it is likely to be a similar scene this year.
Thursday's game will be televised on CSN Chicago and Sunday's contest will be on WGN.