San Jose Sharks 9, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (Game 61)

The Sharks (59-1-0) traveled to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks (14-34-10) for the fourth meeting of the season between the two clubs. The Sharks had won all three of the previous meetings this season against the Blackhawks. 

The first meeting between the teams at HP Pavilion saw Sharks Mike Ricci register a goal and an assist, Patrick Marleau score two goals and Evgeni Nabokov stop all 24 Chicago shots as the Sharks blanked the Blackhawks 6-0. 

The second meeting, again at HP Pavilion, was the Sharks' largest margin of victory of the season until that point. Jonathan Cheechoo register two goals, one assist, and a +6 rating, Marco Sturm scored a hat trick and registered a +4 rating, and Evgeni Nabokov shut out the Blackhawks for the second straight meeting as the Sharks won the game 11-0. The Sharks also set season-high marks in number of goals scored in the 1st period (7), and a season-high seven different Sharks scored a goal in the game. 
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The third meeting of the season took place in Chicago. Early in the 1st period, Kyle Calder scored the first goal of the game and the first Blackhawk goal against the Sharks this season. Alexei Zhamnov ended the period with a last-minute wraparound goal, shocking the Sharks and giving the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead heading into the 2nd period. It was only the second time this season that the Sharks experienced a two-goal deficit in a game (the first was earlier in the season against the New Jersey Devils, a game in which the Sharks were losing 3-1 in the 2nd period of the game but eventually won the game 5-3). After being shut out in the 1st period, the Sharks scored four straight shorthanded goals to take a 4-2 lead midway through the 2nd period. Marco Sturm capitalized on the powerplay to give the Sharks a 5-2 lead, and Alexander Korolyuk completed a hat trick with his season-high three shorthanded goals, all in the 2nd period, to give the Sharks a 6-2 lead entering the 2nd intermission. The Sharks added three goals in the 3rd period for a total of 9 unanswered goals to defeat the Blackhawks 9-2, despite the Blackhawks outshooting the Sharks 35-32. 

Tonight's game saw the Blackhawks again open the scoring, with Eric Daze burying a feed deep in the slot from Theoren Fleury. However, similar to their last meeting, the Sharks would go on to score six straight goals, with six different Sharks registering a goal (Thornton, Davison and Marleau in the 1st period, Sturm in the 2nd period, and Korolyuk and Damphousse in the 3rd period). The Blackhawks again outshot the Sharks, 28-26, becoming the first team to outshoot the Sharks in consecutive meetings this season.

​The Sharks will now travel back home to HP Pavilion to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, whom the Sharks have beaten in all three contests this season.