San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks Pick & Prediction OCTOBER 17th 2024
Preview and Prediction
After enduring a difficult start to the season with only one win in their first four games on the road, the Chicago Blackhawks will look to regroup and find their footing on home ice as they face off against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
Chicago's journey through Utah, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary resulted in a record of 1-2-1. Despite showing determination and competitiveness throughout the trip, the Blackhawks were unable to secure more victories and suffered a heartbreaking loss in overtime against Winnipeg.
According to Chicago captain Nick Foligno, these are simply the facts and should not be used as a rallying point for the team.
See also:
"8-Year, $66M Extension Secured for G Jake Oettinger by Stars"
See also:
"Recap of NHL Action: Evgeni Malkin and Penguins Make History"
"We are a stronger team than we were last year, that is the reality," Foligno stated. "But with that comes higher expectations. We have talked about it and we can no longer settle for moral victories."
In Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Calgary, the Blackhawks displayed resilience early on. After the Flames' Matt Coronato scored the first goal of the game, Foligno answered back just 10 seconds later with a redirect from a shot by Seth Jones.
Chicago dominated the second period with seven of the first eight shots on goal, but were ultimately shut down by Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, who made 31 saves, including a crucial stop on Joey Anderson's short-handed breakaway.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson acknowledged the team's strong performance in the first half of the game but felt they struggled after getting into penalty trouble and were unable to keep things simple.
San Jose put up a strong fight against Dallas on Tuesday but ultimately fell short in a 3-2 shootout loss, unable to stop the Stars' perfect start to the season.
Tyler Toffoli and Ty Dellandrea scored for the Sharks, and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made 36 saves. Despite the loss, Dellandrea believes the team is moving in the right direction and needs to focus on closing out games.
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is still searching for his first career victory and feels the team has shown some positive signs, but needs to improve and be more consistent.
See also:
'Sidney Crosby (1,600 points) and Evgeni Malkin (500 goals) Reach Career Milestones'
See also:
'Panthers come out on top in NHL recap while Jackets pay tribute to Johnny Gaudreau'
San Jose was missing their No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini in Tuesday's game against Dallas, as he was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He could potentially return on Friday when the Sharks face off against Winnipeg.
Chicago's Seth Jones, Connor Bedard, and Teuvo Teravainen are currently leading the team with five points each through four games, with Jones and Bedard both recording four assists and Teravainen scoring three goals.
The Blackhawks were victorious in all three meetings against the Sharks last season, winning one game in overtime and another in a shootout.
San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Patrick Kane scored twice and Alex DeBrincat tallied three assists to help the host Chicago Blackhawks defeat the slumping San Jose Sharks 6-2 on Wednesday night to snap a two-game losing streak.
Duncan Keith, Brandon Saad, Alex Nylander and Dominik Kubalik also scored for Chicago (32-30-8, 72 points), which moved within six points of the final Western Conference wild card spot with 12 games to play.
Keith and Nylander also added an assist, while Jonathan Toews had two assists. Keith ignited a spurt of four straight goals to erase the Sharks' early 1-0 lead. Kubalik, a rookie, capped the scoring with his 30th goal of the season.
Making his 10th successive start, Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 34 of 36 shots to steer Chicago to its fifth win in seven games.
The Sharks (29-36-5, 63 points) lost their fourth game in a row as they opened a four-game road trip against Central Division foes.
Evander Kane opened the scoring at 10:49 of the first period, converting on a 5-on-3 power play on assists from Joe Thornton and Timo Meier.
Chicago recovered by scoring six of the next seven goals, tallying three apiece in the second and third periods.
San Jose was unable to secure a sweep of the season series against the Blackhawks. The Sharks edged the Blackhawks 5-4 in Chicago on Oct. 10 before topping Chicago 4-2 in San Jose on Nov. 5.
While those victories snapped respective Sharks losing streaks of four and five games, the Blackhawks didn't prove to be the cure for San Jose struggles this time, despite the promising start. The Sharks fell to 3-8-1 in their past 12 games.
Meier has five assists in a four-game point streak, while Patrick Kane has six points in his past five games.
Sharks goaltender Aaron Dell stopped 39 of 45 shots.
Sharks forward Logan Couture, who is in concussion protocol after a puck off of Meier's stick struck him in the face during Sunday's home loss to Colorado, didn't travel but may join the team during its trip.
Forward Brandon Hagel and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin made their NHL debuts for Chicago, while rookie defenseman Lucas Carlsson returned after missing two games with a concussion.