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National Hockey League
San Jose 2, Chicago 0
When: 8:30 PM ET, Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Tom Kowal, Steve Kozari
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 21753

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane raised the blade of his stick and unloaded a signature slap shot toward the net.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones saw the puck all the way, and he turned aside Kane's power-play blast. A few seconds later, the Sharks gave their goaltender a rest by clearing the puck out of the zone.

"That was kind of the theme all night," Jones said. "Guys did a great job in front of the net."

Jones stopped all 33 shots he faced, leading the Sharks to a 2-0 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. He made 10 saves in the first period, 12 saves in the second period and 11 saves in the third period to post his fifth shutout of the season and the 12th of his career.

In addition to stopping Kane's slap shot early in the third period, Jones denied Blackhawks right winger Marian Hossa on a point-blank opportunity late in the second period.

"He has been huge," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said of Jones. "We want to be aggressive. When you're aggressive, there are some breakdowns. When there are breakdowns, you need a save. I thought he gave us at least a couple of those tonight."

Centers Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton each scored for the Sharks. San Jose (28-20-4) earned its 10th win in the past 14 games and improved to 18-8-2 on the road.

The loss ended a seven-game winning streak on home ice for Chicago (36-17-4). The Blackhawks lost at the United Center for the first time since Dec. 27 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 25 of 26 shots.

"We didn't have the same jump that we usually do," Crawford said. "We had some chances. Brought the puck hard to the net and had some other good plays in tight around the net. It was just one of those games where the puck wasn't going in."

San Jose opened the scoring on a power-play goal by Marleau with 10:51 to go in the second period. Center Logan Couture zipped a backhand pass to Marleau, who ripped a one-timer from in front of the blue line for his 16th goal of the season and his first goal in the past seven games.

Marleau chuckled when asked whether he believed that his goal midway through the game would prove to be the difference.

"You don't think that going against these guys, with all the talent that they have over there," Marleau said. "But Jonesy played a (heck) of a game for us. It ended up being what we needed."

DeBoer praised Marleau for remaining positive despite a lengthy scoring slump. Marleau scored for only the second time since Dec. 30 after scoring 14 goals in his first 35 games.

"It was nice for him to get rewarded," DeBoer said.

Thornton added an empty-net goal with 1:42 left in the third period to extend the lead. San Jose improved to 1-1-1 against Chicago in the teams' third and final meeting of the regular season.

Chicago left winger Brandon Mashinter thought he scored with 2:37 remaining in the first period, but referees overturned the call after a video review. San Jose successfully challenged that Blackhawks center Dennis Rasmussen interfered with Jones in the crease before the puck crossed the goal line. The no-goal ruling prompted an angry outburst from Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.

After the game, Quenneville remained frustrated about the ruling.

"It's gone to a different level," Quenneville said. "I don't know the rules anymore or something's changed because my understanding, played a lot of hockey, that, I don't know. I think everybody has an interpretation of what's a good goal and what's a bad goal, but I can't believe it."

Jones said he believed Rasmussen interfered with him.

"It was a bouncing puck in front of the net, and their guy, my glove got caught in his leg," Jones said.

San Jose scored on its only power-play opportunity. Chicago was 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

NOTES: Blackhawks LW Artemi Panarin missed his first game of the season because of an illness. The 24-year-old rookie from Russia has 18 goals and 34 assists in 56 games this season. ... Sharks RW Mike Brown was a healthy scratch for the fifth consecutive game. Brown has one goal and two assists in 42 games this season. ... Blackhawks LW Jiri Sekac replaced Panarin in the lineup after sitting out the past two games. Sekac has appeared in three games since Chicago acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 21 in exchange for LW Ryan Garbutt. ... Sharks D Matt Tennyson was a healthy scratch. Tennyson has not played since Dec. 8 against Calgary.
Top Game Performances
 
San Jose   Chicago
Joe Thornton 2 Points N/A
Joe Thornton 1 Goals N/A
Joe Thornton 1 Assists N/A
Patrick Marleau 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Martin Jones 1.000 Save Percentage Corey Crawford .962
Martin Jones 33 Saves Corey Crawford 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
San Jose 27 2 1-1 3-3 6 22
Chicago 33 0 0-3 0-1 2 34
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .649 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Sharks have a W/L % of .519 after a win and .560 after a loss.