Chicago Blackhawks lose second straight; Toews leaves with injuries
Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Logan Couture and Joel Ward scored in the first period and the San Jose Sharks gave the Chicago Blackhawks their second straight loss with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.
Artemi Panarin scored for the Blackhawks, who suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since opening the season 0-2.
Martin Jones, who had his 15th career shutout Monday night, stopped 33 shots for his 10th win of the year.
Corey Crawford saved 33 shots for the Blackhawks, who entered the contest with points in 10 of their last 12 games against San Jose.
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews left with an unspecified injury after the second period. He leads the league with 292 faceoff wins and had a game-high eight after two periods.
The Sharks scored twice in the first period for the second consecutive game, getting a power-play goal from Couture at 11:32 and a short-handed goal from Ward three minutes later.
Couture, who scored for the third time in four games after netting three goals over his first 16, beat Crawford to the glove side after taking a sharp pass from Joe Pavelski.
Chris Tierney, from behind the net, threw the puck down the center of the ice and Ward got the jump on Brent Seabrook, who slipped going after the puck. Ward patiently worked the puck deep and got Crawford on the ice for an easy tap in.
The Blackhawks responded with a goal in the second period. Niklas Hjalmarsson dug out the puck from along the boards and flipped a pass to a streaking Artem Anisimov, who found Panarin. The second-year wing clanked the puck off the right side post and into the net.
Crawford, who has allowed 13 goals in his last four games, was a rock over the final 45 minutes, though Jones was also up to the task.
NOTES: Pavelski has points in each of his last four games. ... The Sharks have recorded a short-handed goal in two straight. ... Hjalmarsson recorded his 12th point in 26 games against the Sharks. ... Anisimov claimed his second point over his last seven games after scoring in each of his previous 11.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Complete their seven-game trip with back-to-back games at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
Sharks: Continue their homestand with a game against the New York Islanders on Friday.