Blackhawks still alive - barely - in playoff chase after 5-4 win over Sharks
Alex DeBrincat scored twice and Chris Kunitz provided the game-winner as the Blackhawks kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 5-4 victory at San Jose on Thursday.
The Hawks (34-33-10, 78 points) are now 5 points behind Colorado, which sits in the second wild-card spot. They are also 3 points behind Arizona and 1 behind Minnesota. All of those teams have five games remaining.
DeBrincat now has 40 goals on the season and is just 1 behind Patrick Kane.
This is the first time the Hawks have had two 40-goal scorers since 1990-91 when Steve Larmer (44) and Jeremy Roenick (41) accomplished the feat.
The Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by DeBrincat at 4:10, Connor Murphy at 6:19 and Jonathan Toews at 10:59.
Second-period penalties by Slater Koekkoek, Brent Seabrook and Murphy allowed San Jose to get back in the game.
The Sharks converted twice, then tied things up at 4-4 on a Timo Meier goal at 16:06 of the second period.
Kunitz notched the game-winner with 1:52 remaining in the second period when he redirected a long Kane backhander past Sharks goalie Martin Jones.
Kunitz has 4 goals on the season, 3 of which have come in his last 15 games.
Corey Crawford made 26 saves in net to improve to 14-18-3. Kane, Brandon Saad and Erik Gustafsson had 2 assists each, and Murphy had 6 of the Hawks' 20 blocked shots.
San Jose has lost seven straight.
The Hawks close out their three-game road trip at Los Angeles on Saturday.
Crawford nominated:
The Blackhawks' chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association nominated Corey Crawford for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Crawford missed the final 47 games of the 2017-18 season with a concussion and also missed more than two months this season with a concussion.
After PHWA members vote on the 31 Masterton nominees, the list will be narrowed to three finalists.
The winner will be announced at the NHL awards in June.