The Chicago Blackhawks faced off with the Sharks in San Jose on Wednesday night fresh off a 2 day Vegas mind eraser following two embarrassing losses. The game was back and forth until the 7:25 mark when Dan Carcillo was tripped and the Hawks went to the power play. The penalty came just after a Sharks turnover led to a glorious scoring chance by Marian Hossa but he shot it over the net while in alone. Antti Niemi robbed Jonathan Toews on the power play and the Hawks failed to get on the board first on the man advantage. Bryan Bickell was stopped by Niemi on another Hawks breakaway with under 8 minutes to play in the period. The Hawks went back to the power play when Dan Boyle went off for boarding at 13:12. The Hawks had multiple scoring opportunities but former Hawks net minder Antti Niemi shut the door. The Hawks looked sloppy for the first couple of minutes in the period but got stronger as the period progressed and carried the play in the second half of the period. The Hawks outshot the Sharks 10-5 in the opening period of play.
The Sharks went to the power play early in the second period as Viktor Stalberg went off for interference on Joe Thornton. The Hawks were aggressive on the kill and had more chances than the Sharks. The game remained scoreless. Dan Boyle shot the puck into the crowd at 10:10 and the Hawks went back to the power play on the delay of game minor. Good penalty killing by the Sharks and then the Hawks missed an open net and the Sharks killed off the penalty. The Hawks put a shooting gallery on Niemi but couldn’t dent the net. Late in the period it was the Sharks going to the man advantage with Dave Bolland off for hooking at 17:04. The Sharks scored right off the faceoff when Jason Demers blasted a point shot that bounced at beat Corey Crawford. In a game the Hawks had dominated the Sharks held a 1-0 lead. At 18:52 Patrick Kane getting interfered with in front of the net got his stick up and clipped Joe Pavelski and went off for hooking sending the Sharks right back to the power play. The Hawks survived the remainder of the period to head to the room down 1-0 after two periods of play. Chicago outshot San Jose 13-6 in the period. Antti Niemi was the difference in the game through the first forty minutes of play stopping 23 Chicago shots.
The Hawks killed the 52 seconds of carry over time from the late Kane penalty. The Sharks took it to the Hawks early in the third after being outplayed for the first two periods. Just when the Hawks looked to be gaining some momentum with under 8 minutes to play the Sharks went to the power play on a Steve Montador cross checking minor. Joe Pavelski went off for goaltender interference to nullify the Sharks power play. After 55 seconds of 4 on 4 hockey the Hawks went back to the power play. The Hawks had their chances but failed to convert. The Hawks outshot San Jose 11-10 for the third period and fell 1-0 on the road.
Chicago falls to 1-3-0 on the Circus Trip. The Hawks played a lot better defensively and dominated the Sharks but Antti Niemi was the story of the game stopping 34 of 34 for a shutout against his former team. The Hawks were 0-4 on the power play and in a game like this you have to score on the man advantage. The Hawks were dominate on the 3 of 4 penalty kills but a faceoff win and shot by Demers that bounced off two Hawks and in was the difference in the hockey game.
Chicago will take Thanksgiving off before playing in Anaheim on Friday afternoon. The Hawks will look to salvage the final two games of the Circus Trip in the Los Angeles area as they face the Kings on Saturday night.
The Blackhawks fall to 12-7-3 on the season and their road record dips to 5-6-1. The Hawks will take on an Anaheim team on Friday that is just 6-11-4 overall and 4-6-0 on home ice. Hopefully the Hawks are in the mood for Duck on Friday and right the ship in the final two games of this trip.
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