Mrazek stops 45, Blackhawks top Sharks in shootout for 5th win in row

SAN JOSE --Petr Mrazek made 45 saves for the Chicago Blackhawks in their fifth straight win, 4-3 in a shootout against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

"It was a good team effort to win, especially on the road," Mrazek said. "There have been a lot of good players, good leadership in the locker room all year long. So, we're going to keep doing that."
David Gust scored in his NHL debut for the Blackhawks (21-32-5), who healthy scratched forwards Patrick Kane and Sam Lafferty due to roster management. Chicago played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
"We got it done somehow," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "Sometimes it's just not conventional, not necessarily ugly, but it was a little bit sloppy at some times. But it's a road game. Guys scraped it out. Guys were banged up and we got the win."

Erik Karlsson scored, Nico Sturm had two assists, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the Sharks (18-30-12), who are 1-2-1 during a season-long seven-game homestand.
"I thought we played well," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "Good pace, good tempo. The penalty situation wasn't in our favor (four power plays for Chicago, one for San Jose), which was frustrating."
The Sharks
retired the No. 12 of former forward Patrick Marleau
in a pregame ceremony, the first retired number in their history. Marleau, who ranks first in NHL history in games played (1,779), played 21 seasons for San Jose and is its all-time leader in a number of categories, including games played (1,607), goals (522) and points (1,111).
"It's a night I'll never forget," Quinn said. "Even if you don't know him, there were moments we all got a little emotional for that man. It was a special night."
Max Domi gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead 16 seconds into the third period when he skated down the left wing and scored from the face-off circle on a partial breakaway.

Noah Gregor appeared to tie it at 3:36 with a tap-in, but a video review determined Martin Kaut preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
However, Karlsson did tie it 3-3 at 17:49 with a slap shot through traffic from the left point during a 6-on-5. He ranks first among NHL defensemen with 19 goals this season.
"We had a good [offensive-zone] shift," Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. "Erik comes on the ice, and it's not a bad thing to give it to Karlsson this year. You give it to him and it will eventually be in the back of the net."

Gust gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 2:14 of the first period, tapping in a centering pass from Colin Blackwell from behind the net. The forward, who turned 29 on Tuesday, agreed to a two-year contract and was called up from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
"Can't write it up any better," said Gust, who is from Orland Park, Illinois. "Good first game. It's good to get that out of the way."
Nick Bonino tied it 1-1 at 4:17, scoring on the rebound of a shot by Jacob MacDonald.
Brett Seney responded for the Blackhawks to make it 2-1 at 5:12. He scored glove side from the left face-off circle for his first goal since Feb. 9. 2019, when he played for the New Jersey Devils.
Evgeny Svechnikov tied it 2-2 at 10:52 after receiving a centering pass from Sturm from behind the net.
"Good to fight back at the end and get a goal late," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "But when you don't win it [stinks]. We would have liked to get that win."
NOTES:Gust is the second Illinois-born player to score in his NHL debut with the Blackhawks, joining Eddie Olczyk (Chicago). … Domi extended his point streak to six games (four goals, eight assists). … San Jose forward Timo Meier missed his third game with an upper-body injury. … Svechnikov has four goals in his past seven games. He had four goals in the first 37 games of the season.