Gameday 18 (Tue, 05 Feb) - Results

NY Rangers v New Jersey 1-3 - New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur reminded forward David Clarkson before the season started that if he wanted to score 30 goals again he would have to ramp up his pace from a year ago, when he didn't hit the mark until he played in his 79th game. Clarkson is listening. He's on pace for 37 goals. He scored twice Tuesday, giving him seven goals in nine games, to help the Devils to a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Prudential Center. Clarkson also had an assist on Adam Henrique's goal that opened the scoring five minutes into the game and Brodeur made 24 saves in a first-star effort for his 47th career win over the Rangers. Patrik Elias assisted on all three goals for his second three-point game of the season as the Devils improved to 5-1-3. Devils coach Peter DeBoer didn't put together the line of Henrique between Elias and Clarkson until the morning skate Tuesday. They had instant chemistry and combined for seven points. The Rangers, who were playing without injured defenseman Dan Girardi for the first time in 121 regular-season games, got only a third-period goal from rookie Chris Kreider. Brad Richards had an assist, but combined with Rick Nash and Marian Gaborik, the Rangers' big three was minus-5. Making things worse for the Rangers was their power play, which has been problematic all season. They went 0-for-5 with only three shots on goal Tuesday. They got the three shots on goal in four failed power-play chances during the first period. The Rangers are now 3-for-35 (8.6 percent) on the power play this season. The Devils would like to think their penalty killing had something to do with it. They are 15-for-15 in the last three games; and the PK has helped them win the last two games by going 12-for-12. Brodeur preserved the Devils' early 1-0 lead with a dazzling right pad save on Marc Staal during a Rangers' power play with 4:22 left in the first period. With Devils defenseman Andy Greene in the penalty box serving a double minor for high-sticking Arron Asham, Staal received a cross-slot pass from Kreider and tried to deposit the puck into the net, but Brodeur cut across the crease, stuck out his leg and got a piece of the shot before falling on top of the puck. Two minutes after Greene was released, Nash fumbled the puck at his feet, leaving it alone in the slot for Clarkson to hammer past Lundqvist. Clarkson gave the Devils a 3-0 lead with his fourth power-play goal of the season 2:53 into the third period. Kreider, playing in his first game since Jan. 23, scored less than four minutes later when he took a pass from Richards in the left circle and beat Brodeur high to the stick side for his first goal of the season and his first in an NHL regular-season game, though he had five for New York in last spring's playoffs. However, Brodeur kept the score at 3-1 when he came up with a sterling glove save on Carl Hagelin's redirect attempt off a Nash centering feed with 7:28 left in the third. Clearly looking for an offensive jump, Tortorella switched up his lines with just over three minutes left in the second period, moving Richards away from Nash and Gaborik. He spent the rest of the night mixing and matching among a handful of forwards, including rookies Kreider and J.T. Miller, who was making his NHL debut and had been centering the fourth line. Tortorella used Miller on the wing when he moved him up in the lineup. Kreider and Miller combined for 17 shifts in the third period after combining for only 19 through the first two periods.

Pittsburgh v NY Islanders 4-2 - Revenge was sweet for the Pittsburgh Penguins. One week after the New York Islanders came to Consol Energy Center and stifled the Penguins in a 4-1 win, Pittsburgh returned the favor by coming to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and defeating New York 4-2 on Tuesday night. Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was pulled in last week's loss after allowing four goals in two periods, looked sharp in making 32 saves. The Islanders got their goals 35 seconds apart early in the third period; Michael Grabner tapped in a feed from Kyle Okposo at 3:14 and Brad Boyes slid home a backhander at 3:49. But by then, the Penguins owned a 3-0 lead; Brandon Sutter scored on a 2-on-1 break 90 seconds before Grabner's goal to give Pittsburgh its three-goal margin. After the Islanders' quick flurry, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma called his timeout to calm things down. The Penguins limited the Islanders' chances before Pascal Dupuis added an empty-netter with 39 seconds left as Pittsburgh won its fourth in a row and improved to 7-3-0 after 10 games. Sidney Crosby left the game briefly in the second period after he was struck in the face by the puck. He returned after missing a couple of shifts and wound up playing 16:09. The Islanders' special teams were the biggest reason for their 4-2-1 start, but they've come up empty in back-to-back losses to the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh. The power play was 0-for-7 for the second straight game. New York hadn't been 0-for-7 on power plays in consecutive games since March 28-30, 2003. The penalty killers also allowed an early goal, by James Neal 2:58 into the game. The Islanders won the draw after Marty Reasoner was called for holding, but Crosby cut off Travis Hamonic's attempted clear along the left half-wall and zipped a pass to Neal in the slot. Neal spun and snapped a shot past Evgeni Nabokov for his sixth of the season. The Islanders dominated play for the rest of the period, outshooting the Penguins 12-6 in the first 20 minutes. But Pittsburgh killed off two power plays in the opening 20 minutes and four more in the second period before Simon Despres' goal at the 16-minute mark made it 2-0. Sutter's stoppable shot from near the left faceoff dot got past Nabokov, who made 22 saves, before Grabner's goal ended the Islanders' scoreless streak at 103 minutes, 14 seconds.

Toronto v Washington 3-2 - The woes continued for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. James van Riemsdyk scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season, and Ben Scrivens made 24 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs handed the Capitals a 3-2 loss at Verizon Center. Korbinian Holzer also scored for Toronto, which improved to 4-1 on the road this season and snapped a two-game skid. The Maple Leafs are 1-4 on home ice. Marcus Johansson and Mike Ribeiro scored power-play goals for the Capitals, who have lost eight of 10 to start the season under new coach Adam Oates and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Two-time League MVP Alex Ovechkin had an assist Tuesday night to give him five points (two goals, three assists) thus far. Michal Neuvirth made 18 saves for Washington, which fell to 2-7-1. The Capitals got off to 1-8-1 starts in each of their first two seasons in the National Hockey League (1974-75). They'll need to turn things around in a hurry if they plan on qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Neuvirth allowed Holzer to go five-hole with a slap shot from near the blue line midway through the second period, giving the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead and the German defenseman his first NHL goal in his fifth game. The Capitals were strong early in the first period, giving Scrivens all he could handle on a power play that included a save on a blast by Ovechkin from the left circle. But shortly after the penalty was killed, a mistake at the other end gave the Maple Leafs the first goal of the game. Neuvirth went behind the net to play the puck and left it for defenseman Tom Poti. Van Riemsdyk swooped in between the two, took the puck and put it in on a wraparound before Neuvirth had any chance to get back in position. Van Riemsdyk put in a second-chance rebound less than 3 minutes later to give the Maple Leafs a two-goal lead. It took a mad scramble in front of the net on a power play for the Capitals to get one past Scrivens. Tomas Kundratek, getting his first NHL point, slid a pass to Johansson, who was stationed by the crease to knock in his first goal of the season. After Holzer gave the Maple Leafs a two-goal lead, the Capitals pulled within one again on Ribeiro's power-play goal with 13:13 to play. Scrivens, getting the call over James Reimer as the Maple Leafs played the second night of a back-to-back, stopped another drive from Ribeiro a few minutes later and raised his arm to stop a shot from Poti late in the period as Toronto held on for the win.

Los Angeles v Columbus 4-2 - Jeff Carter was getting booed by the opposing fans even before he scored from behind the goal line. Carter had one of the Los Angeles Kings' three second-period goals against his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, in a 4-2 win Tuesday night. Carter, signed by Columbus as a free agent but traded last February, 39 games into his first season with the Blue Jackets, broke a 1-1 tie by scoring from behind the net. After goalie Steve Mason failed to control a rebound, Carter gathered the puck and flipped a shot that deflected in off the skate of defenseman Fedor Tyutin. Carter was booed consistently by the crowd of 11,019 at Nationwide Arena. The defending Stanley Cup champions were coming off a 7-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and are now 3-3-2. Anze Kopitar and Slava Voynov also scored during the dominant second period, when Los Angeles outshot Columbus 17-2. Voynov's goal made it 3-2 at 10:26. His long shot from inside the blue line on the right-wing boards sailed past two Blue Jackets on its way inside Mason's right post. Carter's high-sticking penalty against Vinny Prospal gave the Blue Jackets a four-minute power play early in the third period, but Columbus managed just one shot on goal during the long advantage. Derek McKenzie's first goal of the season gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 13:02 of the first period. He chipped a deflection off defenseman Rob Scuderi past Jonathan Quick. Kopitar tied the game in the opening minute of the second period before Carter's fluky goal. Columbus answered at 5:36 with a backhand goal from the slot by Derrick Broussard, who converted a pass from Tim Erixon. Later in the period, Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky picked up 20 penalty minutes and Kings forward Mike Richards got 19 after fighting following Dubinsky's check of Scuderi into the end boards. Dubinsky received majors for boarding and fighting, plus a game misconduct. Scuderi was shaken up but remained in the game. Richards scored the final goal at 13:44 of the third, tipping in another goal-bound puck off Tyutin's skate from the crease. Justin Williams had his third assist.

Buffalo v Ottawa 3-4 - Craig Anderson had his poorest game of the season, but it was still good enough to allow the Ottawa Senators to win. Anderson allowed a goal after the first period for the first time this season, but the Senators compensated by finding enough offense to beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 at Scotiabank Place on Tuesday night. Erik Karlsson, Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Neil scored goals for Ottawa (6-3-1), while Peter Regin contributed two assists. Anderson stopped 20 shots, but he was scored on after the opening period for the first time in his nine starts this season. Anderson also allowed more than two goals for the first time in 2012-13. Tyler Ennis, Jordan Leopold and Jason Pominville scored for Buffalo (3-6-1) which lost its third straight game. Anderson and the Senators did manage to hold NHL scoring leader Tomas Vanek off the scoresheet for the first time this season. Vanek had at least one point in all eight games he had played and had piled up 10 points in his last four games. Ottawa struck first on the power play after Adam Pardy was called for holding at 7:48 of the opening period. Karlsson took a pass from Kyle Turris up the left boards. He skated along the blue line and fired a shot from dead center that sailed through traffic and beat Jhonas Enroth to the stick side at 8:15. The Sabres tied the game 21 seconds later when Anderson bobbled Drew Stafford's shot from the top of the right circle. As the puck fell to the ice, Ennis pounced and sent a quick backhander into the net. Ennis now has 10 points in 10 career games against Ottawa, and points in each of his last six games against the Senators. It was the second consecutive game in which the Senators gave up a goal within a minute of scoring one. Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson acknowledged that these letdowns are an issue. The Senators took command with two more goals before the period was over. Regin's clean faceoff win went to Phillips at the point, and the veteran defenseman fired a wrist shot that Enroth appeared to stop, only to have the puck dribble past his left pad and across the goal line at 11:05. The oldest and youngest Senators teamed up for the third Ottawa goal. Nineteen-year-old Mika Zibanejad stole the puck from Cody Hodgson along the half-wall and dished a gorgeous backhand pass to 40-year-old Alfredsson, who beat Enroth from the slot at 14:15 for a 3-1 lead. Ottawa made it 4-1 at 8:12 in the second period thanks to some solid work by the third line. Regin dished the puck from the left corner to Neil, who was waiting in the slot, and Neil fired a wrist shot past Enroth's stick. Buffalo answered 57 seconds later, as Jochen Hecht tried a wraparound and Leopold was able to redirect the puck into the net. Buffalo cut Ottawa's lead to 4-3 with 6:05 remaining in the third after pressuring the Senators through the first half of the period. Hodgson's shot from the corner was deflected by Pominville and went past beating Anderson. It was a frustrating night for Enroth, who came in with a 3-0-1 career record against the Senators. Tuesday marked the goaltender's 15th straight appearance without recording a win. Enroth's last victory came against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 26, 2011.

Tampa Bay v Philadelphia 1-2 - On the ice Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center was a dazzling array of offensive talent. The Tampa Bay Lightning roster featured Rocket Richard winner Steven Stamkos and Hart Trophy winner Martin St. Louis, while the Philadelphia Flyers boasted all-star scorers Claude Giroux and Danny Briere, and there were a number of other high-end offensive players on both sides. Instead, the game's leading scorer entered the night with two career goals and a scratch five times in nine games this season. Philadelphia's Tom Sestito had the first two-goal game of his NHL career, and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 21 of 22 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers won their second straight game with a 2-1 victory. The goals were Sestito's first in an NHL game since Dec. 23, 2010. Between the goals he had 140 penalty minutes, including 10 fights, in 30 games. Benoit Pouliot scored for the Lightning, and goalie Anders Lindback made 22 saves. It's been a rough season for Sestito, who still was recovering from a bout of the mumps when training camp opened. After a scoreless first period that featured highlight-reel saves by both goalies, the Flyers got the game's first goal when they capitalized on a defensive-zone mistake. Stamkos fumbled a puck along the wall on the left side of the Tampa Bay end and the Flyers' Jakub Voracek jumped on it. He threaded a pass through the slot to Sestito on the far side, and the burly forward made a quick forehand-to-backhand deke and flipped the puck between Lindback's pads. The way Bryzgalov was playing, it looked like the goal would hold up, but Tampa Bay, which entered the night as the League's highest-scoring team at 4.88 goals per game, finally got on the board at 9:30 of the third period on Pouliot's third goal of the season. Teddy Purcell beat three Flyers in a battle for the puck behind the Philadelphia goal and backhanded a no-look pass in front, where Pouliot was alone for a one-timer. Moments later, though, Sestito came through again. Maxime Talbot rushed the puck along the right side into the Tampa Bay zone, creating a 3-on-2 rush, and centered a pass intended for Ruslan Fedotenko. The puck went off his stick to Sestito, who used the same forehand-to-backhand deke to again beat Lindback between his pads at 11:49 to put the Flyers ahead 2-1. After Sestito's offensive explosion, Bryzgalov and a strong defensive effort took care of the rest. The Flyers limited the Lightning to just 22 shots, a season-low, and their penalty killing came up big, stopping the Lightning on all four chances. Bryzgalov was at his best when the Lightning's best players had prime scoring opportunities. With 3:08 left in the first period, Stamkos found himself open in the left circle, his prime scoring location. St. Louis fed a backhand pass through the slot to him, but Bryzgalov went post-to-post to catch the shot with his upper body. Then with 1:50 left in the second, Stamkos pounced on a Flyers turnover behind the Philadelphia net and walked in front to Bryzgalov's left. The Philadelphia goalie sprawled forward to poke the puck off Stamkos' stick, and then somehow recovered to get across to the other post to keep the rebound from bouncing off the skates of the Lightning's Adam Hall and into the goal. He made a pair of great stop to deny rookie Cory Conacher with 15:43 left in the third, and stymied the Lightning on a pair of power plays in the final 4:50 of regulation. The Lightning, who started a four-game road trip Tuesday, played most of the game with just 11 forwards due to an injury to B.J. Crombeen. Crombeen and the Flyers' Zac Rinaldo fought at 6:19 of the first period, and as Crombeen was going to the penalty box, he appeared to have some difficulty and instead was taken to the locker room. The Lightning announced he would not return for precautionary reasons, but Boucher said it was his decision to bench Crombeen.

Calgary v Detroit 4-1 - The Calgary Flames got a win but may have lost their goaltender. Playing just their second road game of the season, the Flames handled the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena with the help of Jarome Iginla's first goal of the season. The Flames opened the season with five of their first six games at home but won just one while starting 1-3-2. However, they may be going forward with goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who suffered a lower-body injury near the end of the second period when he and Detroit's Johan Franzen collided near the net. Kiprusoff played the first two periods before Leland Irving took over in the third, stopping all six shots he faced. Losing Kiprusoff would be a body blow to an already-struggling team. Kiprusoff has played in 70 or more games in each of the last seven seasons. The Flames played perhaps their best game of the season in a 3-2 shootout loss to Calgary on Saturday The Flames took a 2-0 first-period lead on Iginla's first of the season at 3:24 and Curtis Glencross' fourth at 10:35. Calgary built a 3-1 edge with 24 seconds left in the second on a 5-on-3 goal by Dennis Wideman. Iginla was stopped by Jimmy Howard on a penalty shot prior to Wideman's goal. Mark Giordano's power-play goal with 4:02 remaining in the third finished the scoring. Johan Franzen had a power-play goal for Detroit at 12:37 of the second period, but the Red Wings dropped their second straight for the first time after winning two in a row for the first time. Iginla had four assists prior to Tuesday. It was his longest goal-less drought to start a season since he scored in the 12th game of the 1999-2000 season, his third in the League. The Flames' all-time leading scorer has scored at least 30 goals for 11 straight seasons. Calgary, the last-place team in the Western Conference, is on a three-game road trip that includes visits to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Flames forward Jiri Hudler was playing for the first time against Detroit, where he spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career. He signed with Calgary as a free agent this offseason.

Florida v Winnipeg 2-3 - When the Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets met last week in South Florida, the Panthers overtook the Jets in the third period to snap a losing streak. In the return engagement, Winnipeg repaid the favor. The Jets overcame two deficits before scoring a power-play goal with 15.2 seconds left in overtime to beat the Panthers 3-2 Tuesday night at MTS Centre and snap a three-game losing streak. Winnipeg's Evander Kane forced Panthers defenseman Filip Kuba to take him down during a rush with 2:10 left in overtime. After a slow start on the man-advantage, Winnipeg's Bryan Little took a feed from Zach Redmond, moved into the high slot and ripped a glove-side shot high past Florida goaltender Scott Clemmensen. Tomas Fleischmann and Jonathan Huberdeau each chipped in their third goals of the season for the Panthers (3-5-1), who received an 18–save night from Clemmensen. In winning back-to-back games after a 1-5-0 start, the Panthers had shown a knack for erasing deficits. Florida scored five goals in the third period against Winnipeg last Thursday and wiped out two one-goal deficits on the way to a 6-3 victory at the BB&T Center. The Panthers then overcame a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 at Buffalo on Sunday. The Jets (4-4-1) limited Kris Versteeg, who began the game with eight goals in his previous six games against the Winnipeg franchise, to one assist. Meanwhile, Winnipeg countered with goals from Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart. Ondrej Pavelec made his eighth start in Winnipeg's first nine games and made 17 saves. Little and Wheeler both hit the 200-point mark in their careers. A three-game road trip last week had dampened a promising 3-1-1 for the Jets. A blown lead at Montreal and an 8-3 thrashing from Tampa Bay sandwiched the Jets' meltdown on the road against the Panthers last Thursday. In making do without injured defensive anchors Zach Bogosian and Dustin Byfuglien, the Jets surrendered eight power-play goals in 16 shorthanded situations in the three losses, but held Florida scoreless on two man-advantages back on Winnipeg ice. Noel and Dineen both agreed that late-game fatigue affected their clubs. The teams' uneven starts to the 48-game season and a Southeast Division matchup made for some desperate late-game hockey, especially in overtime. Two Panthers rookies combined to open the scoring with 1:48 left in the period. Having notched his first professional point on Sunday against the Sabres, Drew Shore danced around Jets defenseman Tobias Enstrom and put a shot on net. Pavelec kicked the puck right to Huberdeau, who pounded home the rebound for a 1-0 lead. Huberdeau's tally marked the seventh time in nine games that the Jets have allowed the first goal. Florida outshot Winnipeg 7-3 in the opening period, and the Jets did not manage a shot against Clemmensen until 5:08 remained. While Florida frustrated Winnipeg in the first period, they were unable to contain a Winnipeg team desperate to reverse its slumping fortunes. Winnipeg outshot the Panthers 14-5 in a second period in which the hosts overcame two Florida leads. The Jets came out with a much stronger effort in the second and tied the game 2:28 into the period. Enstrom hit Wheeler with a long outlet pass to the Florida blue line. Wheeler stepped over the line and fired a far-side shot from the right boards that beat Clemmensen. Enstrom's assist gave him a career-best seven-game point streak over which he has posted a pair of goals to go with nine assists. Clemmensen returned to action for Florida for the first time since Jan. 26 when he allowed four goals in a 7-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Panthers regained the lead 1:24 later. Fleischmann, the Panthers' leading scorer who had three assists when the teams met last Thursday, fired a screened wrist shot past Pavelec. The Jets received an unlikely offensive contribution from Stuart that tied the game midway through the middle period. Stuart sent a long left-point shot that skidded through Clemmensen's pads for a 2-2 game that set up overtime after a scoreless third period. The goal halted Stuart's 65-game run without a goal that dated to Dec. 3, 2011. Redmond, taking the place of Byfuglien on the Winnipeg blue line, picked up his first career NHL point.

Nashville v St Louis 6-1 - The Nashville Predators completed one of the franchise's longest trips in impressive fashion. And they did so on one of the toughest ice surfaces for a visiting team to pick up victories. The Predators, who matched a franchise record with their seventh straight game away from Bridgestone Arena, won for the third time in succession by knocking off the St. Louis Blues 6-1 Tuesday night at Scottrade Center. It's Nashville's first win in five tries against the Blues dating back to last season. Ryan Ellis, Rich Clune and Nick Spaling set the tone, scoring goals in the first period, and the goal-challenged Predators, who had scored only seven times in the previous six road games, erupted against the team with the best record on home ice since the start of the 2011-12 season. Nashville, which ended its trip 4-2-1, did to the Blues what St. Louis typically does to its opponents. Kevin Klein and Gabriel Bourque added their first goals of the season in the second period, Erat also scored late and Pekka Rinne stopped 31 shots for the Predators' most impressive win of the season. Colin Wilson had three assists and Jonathon Blum added two assists and Ellis added a helper. The Blues came in 33-6-5 on home ice in the last 44 games, outscoring their opponents 133-73 in that span but were given a hard dose of reality with a Predators' onslaught. Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues, who allowed five goals or more at home for only the third time in the last 51 games dating back to the 2010-11 season. It's the first time since a 6-0 loss to Calgary on March 11, 2011 that the Blues allowed six goals at home. The Predators had a decisive edge in play in the first period, where the Blues had been so dominant early. Ellis started it off early, sliding a puck between Brian Elliott's pads after the puck deflected off the stick of Pietrangelo just 2:10 into the game for a 1-0 lead. It was the seventh time in nine games the Blues allowed a power-play goal and Nashville's first goal at St. Louis in the last 184:54 dating back to Matt Halischuk's goal on Dec. 30, 2011. Clune, playing in his 22nd career game, scored his first National Hockey League goal when he poked in Wilson's one-timer that squirted through the pads of Elliott at 15:53 of the opening period. Spaling completed the scoring in the first period when he roofed a shot over Elliott with 47 seconds to play for a 3-0 Predators lead after being all over the Blues in their zone during the shift. It got progressively worse for the Blues and better for the Predators, who added to their lead in the second when Klein's shot from the right circle chased Elliott from the game at the 9:09 mark. Elliott allowed four goals on only 11 shots and was pulled from a start for the first time as a Blue. Bourque made it 5-0 exactly a minute after Klein's goal, pushing the puck past Jake Allen, recalled Monday for the injured Jaroslav Halak and making his NHL debut. Pietrangelo got the Blues on the board with a backhand power play goal at 13:09 of the second, and the Blues outshot the Predators 14-3 in the period but were outscored 2-1. Nashville, which has been outshot 56-32 in two games in St. Louis, only had 19 shots Tuesday. Erat scored off a rebound with 3:26 remaining to cap off a trip that lasted 15 days. Nashville will finally play at home Thursday.

Chicago v San Jose 5-3 - The puck had barely dropped Tuesday night at HP Pavilion, and the Chicago Blackhawks were already staring at a 2-0 deficit in their showdown with the San Jose Sharks. So with nearly 15 minutes still left in the first period, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville called a timeout to talk things over with his team. The Blackhawks rallied to pull even at 3-3 before the end of a wild first period and went on to beat the Sharks 5-3 in a battle of Western Conference powers. Patrick Kane scored two goals for the Blackhawks, the eventual game-winner in the second period and an empty-net goal late in the third. In the first period, Chicago's Brandon Saad scored his first career National Hockey League goal, and the Blackhawks also had goals from Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger. The Blackhawks entered the game with a League-leading 16 points (one more than San Jose), and added two more to their total. They improved to 8-0-2 and remained the NHL's only team without a loss in regulation. Kane broke a 3-3 tie at 11:52 of the second period, giving the Blackhawks their first lead of the night. Jonathan Toews stole the puck from Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray deep in San Jose's zone, just left of the crease, and whipped a pass to Kane in the right circle. Kane quickly blasted a shot past Antti Niemi. Kane added an empty-net goal with 1:13 left to play. Joe Pavelski, Tommy Wingels and Michal Handzus scored for the Sharks, who were coming off a 2-1 loss Monday night at Anaheim and fell for the third straight game. Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 30 shots. Niemi, who helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup in 2010, stopped 27. The Sharks and Blackhawks skated to a 3-3 tie in a first period that included the final four goals in a span of 89 seconds. But at 8:48 of the second period, Sharks fourth-line forward Andrew Desjardins received a match penalty, ending his night, for what linesman Jonny Murray ruled was a hit to the head of former Shark Jamal Mayers. Just seconds after the big hit, Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith instigated a fight with Desjardins. Keith received two minutes for instigating and two for instigating while wearing a face shield. He was also hit with a five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct. Pavelski put the Sharks ahead 1-0 when he batted a rebound out of the air from close range and past Crawford just 2:54 into the game. Wingels, a Chicago-area native, made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season, taking a cross-ice pass in the left circle from Handzus and ripping a shot past Crawford at 5:18. The puck appeared to deflect off Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy, leaving Crawford helpless. Saad cut the Sharks' lead to 2-1 at 10:08 of the first with his first NHL goal. He took a backhand pass from Brent Seabrook in the slot and hammered the puck past Niemi. The Sharks answered quickly as Handzus scored his first goal of the season, jumping San Jose's lead to 3-1 at 10:47 of the period. Wingels zipped a cross-ice pass to Handzus, who ripped the puck past Crawford from the faceoff dot in the left circle. Eight seconds later, Shaw scored from the low slot, slicing San Jose's lead to 3-2. Bryan Bickell hit Shaw with a pass from behind the net, and Shaw beat Niemi to his glove side. The Blackhawks pulled even at 11:37 on Kruger's unassisted goal. Niemi stopped one shot, but when defenseman Justin Braun tried to clear the puck from in front of the net, he skated into Wingels. The puck bounced off Wingels' skate to Kruger, who tallied his first goal of the season. The Sharks haven't had much fun recently. They went 0-for-3 on the power play and are 1-for-21 over their past four games. The Sharks did, however, kill four more penalties, extending their streak to 31. After missing one game with an injury to his lower right leg, Chicago's Dave Bolland returned to center the second line. Sharks veteran defenseman Dan Boyle was back in the lineup after missing Monday's game at Anaheim due to the flu. After the Sharks scored a combined two goals in their previous two games, both losses, McLellan shuffled his lines against Chicago. His biggest move was splitting top-line wing Patrick Marleau and Thornton. Marleau dropped to the second line, switching places with Ryane Clowe, and skated with center Logan Couture and Martin Havlat. Clowe entered the game with zero goals and four points. Marleau and Thornton were slumping after fast starts. Marleau had nine goals and 14 points in the Sharks' first five games, but had zero goals and one point in the past four heading into Tuesday. After racking up 11 assists and 14 points in the first five, Thornton had zero goals and one assist in the next four. Thornton and Marleau both went without a point Tuesday, while Clowe had an assist.