CHICAGO _ Jean-Francois Berube stood out and Jan Rutta's goal stood up Friday during the Blackhawks' 3-1 victory against the Sharks, their second in a row and third in four games.
Nick Schmaltz added a goal on his 22nd birthday for good measure.
Making his first NHL start in nearly a year, and his first for the Blackhawks, Berube stopped a career-high 42 shots, including three during a 14-second span in the first after seeing none during the first five minutes.
Hours after he was activated from injured reserve, Rutta scored with 14 minutes, 14 seconds left in the second on a second chance after his first attempt was blocked. He had missed the previous eight games before scoring his sixth goal of the season, tops among Hawks defensemen.
The Sharks' Timo Meier's scored on the team's 40th shot of the night 12:09 into the third to cut it to 2-1. Artem Anisimov scored an empty-net goal late in the third.
The Hawks moved to 27-27-8, while the Sharks fell to 33-21-8.
