Meier, Kahkonen help Sharks defeat Blackhawks

SAN JOSE-- Timo Meier scored his 34th goal of the season, and the San Jose Sharks won 4-1 against the Chicago Blackhawks at SAP Center on Saturday.

"I think we were okay, we found a way to win," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "First period, our first 10 minutes were really good. Then we got away from our game a bit, gave them a few too many opportunities. We turned pucks over ... but found some goals in the second [period] kind of off of broken plays, and then we shut it down in the third. Pretty good."
Meier also had an assist, and Jasper Weatherby, Tomas Hertl and Nick Bonino scored for the Sharks (31-35-12), who have won two of their past three games after a 10-game losing streak. Kaapo Kahkonen made 27 saves in his second win since being acquired by the Sharks from the Minnesota Wild on March 21.
"The only off period he might have had with us was maybe that Dallas game at home where we weren't good in front of him," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said of Kahkonen. "But other than that, I think even in his losses he's competed hard. I think he's done a great job since he has come in. He fits in the room nicely."

Tyler Johnson scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 15 saves for the Blackhawks (26-42-11), who have lost four of their past five.
"The guys were trying, it's not from a lack of effort," Blackhawks interim coach Derek King said. "I think the one-on-one stuff, guys are trying to beat [opposing players] or trying things that maybe give us a spark... or trying to be the hero and it ends up backfiring sometimes. That's where we need to bring it in and start playing more of a team game when we're down like that."
Weatherby put San Jose up 1-0 at 6:03 of the first period when the rebound of an attempt by Sasha Chmelevski was tipped in his direction by Scott Reedy.
"We've got to play a [much] simpler game," Johnson said. "We turn the puck over way too much and when you do that, teams are going to beat you. It doesn't matter how good your team is, if you're not playing in structure, you're going to lose."
Hertl made it 2-0 at 1:08 of the second period. Meier forced a turnover that led to a 2-on-1 and he set the forward up with a cross-ice shot.
"There were a couple of guys, then me and Timo got the 2-on-1 and he just made a good play and I finally put it in," Hertl said.

Meier made it 3-0 at 10:34 after being set up by Alexander Barabanov.
"The first period wasn't great but after that I think [Hertl, Meier and Barabanov] settled in," Boughner said. "It looked like they had a lot more zone time and did some good things and obviously it paid off."
Johnson put Chicago on the board 3-1 at 15:38 when he was set up by Jonathan Toews.
Bonino made it 4-1 at 6:19 of the third period on a power play.
"Our compete and everything's there, it's just our decision-making," Johnson said. "We make the game way too difficult. We're all over the ice. We just kind of play 1-on-1 battles instead of playing as a team."
NOTES: Meier extended his career high in goals. His previous best was 30 goals in 2018-19. … It was the first time in Sharks history that a goal was scored involving all rookies (Weatherby, Reedy, Chmelevski) in the same game as a goal that was scored involving all 750-plus NHL game veterans (Bonino, Brent Burns, Couture).