Blackhawks make short work of Sharks; Hossa scores twice

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Blackhawks don't need Marian Hossa to be great right away, but he was close to it Wednesday night in his long-awaited debut.

Hossa scored twice, including 1 of the Hawks' 3 short-handed goals, in a 7-2 romp over the Sharks to extend their winning streak to eight games.

Playing an NHL game for the first time since last June in the Stanley Cup Finals while he was with Detroit because of shoulder surgery in July, Hossa beat goalie Evgeni Nabokov in alone at 4:57 of the second period on a feed from Jonathan Toews.

He got his second goal - the 63rd 2-goal game of his career - in the third period, busting to the net to take a pass from Brent Sopel.

The Hawks' bench exploded in celebration when Hossa scored on his second shot of the night in the second period.

"It's a bonus that I scored the goals," Hossa said. "I was just trying to get into game shape, trying to make good plays and keep it simple. We played a great game overall, everybody. It was huge."

The 3 short-handed goals tied a team record accomplished four other times.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville spoke before the game of not expecting too much from Hossa right away.

"He hasn't played in a long time and we want him playing, but we don't want to have to think that he has to be our go-to guy," Quenneville said. "We've got a lot of guys that can score and a lot of guys that can make plays."

Troy Brouwer got the first short-handed goal at 17:45 of the first period. After Hossa's shorty made it 2-0, Patrick Sharp got the third short-handed goal 28 seconds later.

Hossa skated at right wing on a line with Toews and Patrick Kane.

"Hopefully we can stay together a lot of years and do some damage," Kane said. "If you watch him in practice it seems like he scores every shot on the goalie. He's a great finisher and finds the open areas."

The Hawks were excited to have one of the game's top goal scorers join their lineup, but even they realized it still might take Hossa a little time to find his groove.

"We're excited to have him back, but it's his first game and it's going to be a process," defenseman Brian Campbell said.

"In my opinion, when somebody comes back from an injury they're usually really good the first couple nights and then they tail off a bit," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.

Hossa said his shoulder felt fine and stood up to several good hits.

"He is very much a professional," McLellan said. "He's been around the league for a long time and I don't think he's going to sneak himself back in the lineup unless he's physically prepared."

Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Seabrook and John Madden also scored for the Hawks, who can tie the team record of nine straight wins set last season on Friday afternoon at Anaheim.

"I like the approach of our group," Quenneville said. "I like the enthusiasm we have going into games. I like the way we start with energy on the bench."

Cristobal Huet was strong again in goal, winning for the seventh straight time.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Blackhawks 7, Sharks 2</p> <p class="leadin">Three stars</p> <p class="News">1. Marian Hossa, Hawks: Scored 2 goals in a memorable debut and played almost 17 minutes.</p> <p class="News">2. Duncan Keith, Hawks: Plus-4 with 3 more assists and a top-rate defensive job against the Joe Thornton-Dany Heatley line.</p> <p class="News">3. Troy Brouwer, Hawks: Scored the first of 3 short-handed goals by the Hawks to start the onslaught and finished plus-3.</p> <p class="leadin">Key stat</p> <p class="News">The Hawks outshot the Sharks 41-24 and blocked 16 San Jose shots, including 7 by Niklas Hjalmarsson.</p> <p class="leadin">Let's go streaking</p> <p class="News">That's eight wins in a row for the Hawks, putting them within 1 of the team record set last season. They are 4-0 on their six-game circus road trip with two stops to go in Anaheim and Los Angeles.</p>