Blackhawks defeat Sharks in shootout to end eight-game skid

CHICAGO --The Chicago Blackhawks won for the first time in nine games when Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 shootout victory against the San Jose Sharks at United Center on Thursday.

Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist, and Alex DeBrincat had three assists and scored the only goal in the shootout for the Blackhawks (25-38-11), who were 0-6-2 during their eight-game skid. Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves.
"Feels good," Kane said. "Obviously, (it) changes the vibe in the room a little bit when you win a game. Everyone's excited, everyone's upbeat in the room after that one and it's nice to get two points on a night like tonight too."
Timo Meier had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (29-33-11), who have lost eight in a row (0-5-3) and were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. James Reimer made 28 saves, including four in overtime.
"Guys playing hard and being in the fight until middle of the season, I think we ran into about a month-and-a-half where we had seven, eight, nine veterans out of the lineup," San Jose coach Bob Boughner said. "If you're behind the race after Christmas, you guys (the media) know this, it's not a good sign statistically. We just couldn't stay healthy. When we did, we battled, we played hard, we were in a lot of games."
Kane scored at 1:18 of the first period on a 3-on-1 rush with DeBrincat and Strome to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
"A weird game," Boughner said. "We go out there and have a great first shift, have some great chances. Turnover (by Brent Burns) leads to a 3-on-1 goal. Not the guy you want on the back door tapping it in."

Meier tied it 1-1 at 4:45 on a rebound of Burns' shot from the right point.
Taylor Raddysh gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead on a power play at 13:35 of the second period on a redirection of Seth Jones' shot from the right face-off circle, but Scott Reedy tied it 2-2 at 15:53 when his shot from the slot deflected off Chicago defenseman Calvin de Haan and into the net.
De Haan tipped a shot from Kane to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead at 18:42 during a 4-on-4 situation, and Strome scored on a passing play with Jones and DeBrincat to make it 4-2 at 4:07 of the third period.
Chicago coach Derek King reunited the top line of Kane, Strome and DeBrincat after splitting it up for two games.
"[Lankinen] played well and obviously the genius coaching I am of putting those three back together paid off," King joked. "Yeah, we try different things. They were a little dry there when I split them up and just thought they were cheating the game a little bit, always looking for each other. Obviously that's what they do, but we just thought we'd spread the wealth a little bit. But it wasn't paying off, so (I) swallowed my pride and was like, 'All right you guys can go back together.' But they were good tonight. That's what they do, right?"

The Sharks, who outshot the Blackhawks 16-6 in the third, rallied when Rudolfs Balcers cut it to 4-3 at 5:40, and Jaycob Megna tied it 4-4 at 16:35.
Megna spent part of his childhood in Northbrook, Illinois, about 25 miles from Chicago.
"It was amazing," he said. "This is a building I've come to since I was a little kid. I played in-between periods (at United Center) when I was a little kid. I think I was a little nervous starting the game. The nerves were definitely getting to me, but I think as the game went on, I calmed down a bit and tried to just play my game. It was a dream come true. It was an awesome feeling."
NOTES:San Jose defenseman Radim Simek left the game in the first period because of a lower-body injury. There was no further update. … It was Chicago's second-longest skid this season after it started with nine straight losses (0-7-2). … Kane tied Bobby Hull for third in Blackhawks history with his 312th multipoint game. The only players with more are Stan Mikita (403) and Denis Savard (326).