March 15--The summary
Patrick Sharp had two goals, Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa each a goal and an assist and Bryan Bickell and Duncan Keith also scored to propel the Blackhawks to a 6-2 victory over the Sharks on Saturday at the SAP Center as the Hawks prevailed for the sixth time in their last eight games. Antoine Vermette and Brent Seabrook each added two assists and Corey Crawford earned the victory in goal. Melker Karlsson and Joe Thornton had goals for the Sharks but the Hawks shelled net-minder Antti Niemi.
Tribune's three stars
1. Sharp: Snapped a 19-game goalless skid with the first score of the game and was a plus-3.
2. Saad: Scored early in the third period to record his team-leading sixth game-winning goal.
3. Crawford: Made 33 saves in his fifth consecutive start and also recorded his first assist of the season.
The quote
"(The Sharks) are the fastest-starting team in the league and that first 10 minutes you have to get through it. We were fortunate to get one and I thought we got better as the game progressed." -- Hawks coach Joel Quenneville
Key number
14: Seasons of 50 or more points for Hossa.
Lineup shuffle
Andrew Desjardins drew back into the Hawks' lineup against his former Sharks teammates while Joakim Nordstrom served the first of a two-game suspension. The forward was hit with the suspension by the NHL on Friday for boarding the Coyotes' Oliver Ekman-Larsson during Thursday night's game.
Quenneville had little to say about the NHL's decision to punish Nordstrom.
"I don't really want to comment on it," Quenneville said. "He got two games and we'll deal with it."
Healthy scratches for the Hawks were Daniel Carcillo and David Rundblad. Sitting for the Sharks were Scott Hannan and Daniil Tarasov.
Up next
Vs. Islanders at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the United Center.
