Blackhawks rally to victory, keep San Jose Sharks in last place of NHL
Mar 17, 2024, 5:58 PM | Updated: Mar 18, 2024, 8:11 am
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 17: Goalie Devin Cooley #1 of the San Jose Sharks falls down in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on March 17, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)
Ryan Donato, Kevin Korchinski and Joey Anderson scored in an 83-second span midway through the third period to lift the host Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
The Blackhawks’ barrage spoiled the NHL debut of San Jose goaltender Devin Cooley, a California native who grew up rooting for the Sharks and attended a 2019 Blackhawks prospect camp while a student at the University of Denver.
Donato tied the score at 2 at 10:39 of the third, gathering the puck after taking a rebound off his lower body and firing it past Cooley. Korchinski gave Chicago the lead 1:12 later, as his shot from the point deflected off a Shark and into the net.
Anderson made it 4-2 11 seconds after that, backhanding a puck through his legs and into the net to cap an odd-man rush.
Connor Bedard accounted for the final margin with an empty-net goal with 0.3 seconds left. Bedard and Philipp Kurashev both had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Johnson had two assists.
Ryan Carpenter and Klim Kostin scored for San Jose, which lost its fourth straight and remained at 39 points, four behind Chicago and fewest in the NHL.
The Blackhawks finished 3-1 on a four-game homestand.
Carpenter opened the scoring at 10:33 of the first period, burying a rebound of Alexander Barabanov’s shot past Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek while moving in on a two-on-one. Kostin made it 2-0 about six minutes later, converting Mikael Granlund’s centering pass from behind the net, which eluded Chicago defenseman Alex Vlasic.
Kostin has four points in five games with San Jose.
Chicago, which outshot San Jose 31-27 in the game, had just eight shots in the first period.
Kurashev drew the Blackhawks to within 2-1 at 14:02 of the second.
Bedard carried the puck down the left wing from the defensive zone to the neutral zone before sliding a pass to Johnson, who passed to Kurashev in front of the net. Kurashev tipped the puck over Cooley’s right shoulder and into the net.
Mrazek made 25 saves compared to 26 for Cooley.
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–Field Level Media
