Blackhawks fall 2-0 to Niemi, Sharks
The Blackhawks are on a milestone road trip.
In Friday night's impressive 4-1 victory over the Ducks in Anaheim, California, Duncan Keith scored in the second period to notch his 400th career point.
Against the Sharks on Saturday night in San Jose, coach Joel Quenneville was shooting for his 300th win with the Hawks.
Quenneville also is close to becoming just the third coach in NHL history to win 300 games with two different franchises. Quenneville had 307 victories with the St. Louis Blues from 1996-2004.
With the Blackhawks, Quenneville still is stuck on 299 wins following a 2-0 loss to the Sharks.
San Jose took a 1-0 lead in the first period after Keith accidentally swatted the puck past goalie Antti Raanta at the 5:09 mark, and San Jose's Melker Karlsson was credited with the goal.
Joe Thornton scored an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the outcome.
Antti Niemi stopped all 31 shots the Hawks put on net to earn the shutout.
In typical fashion, Quenneville downplayed his chase for another 300 wins.
"I did not know that, but I've been fortunate to be on some nice teams and in some great organizations," Quenneville told reporters before the game.
"I've had some great players and very good coaches also. I'm very happy to be here in Chicago with a great organization, a wonderful team to work with. We've had some fun here."
The Hawks had a better time than normal in Friday's win over the Ducks, soundly beating the NHL's best team on their home ice.
In addition to Keith's memorable score, Patrick Kane had 2 goals and an assist and Patrick Sharp matched his career high with 4 assists.
"They're the best team in the NHL this year, but we knew they were coming off a back-to-back games and three in four nights," Kane said of Anaheim. "We played a perfect road game. It was a fun game."
Kane took the ice in San Jose with 56 points, ranking him second in the league behind Flyers winger Jakub Voracek (58).
"Kaner has had the hot stick all season long," Sharp told reporters. "I feel comfortable with him, and we've had a good stretch of games."
Raanta made his first start since Jan. 20, and the Hawks' backup goalie was 6-1-0 with a 1.81 goals-against average in his previous seven games. He was facing San Jose for the first time in his career.