Blackhawks sink Sharks 5-3 as offenses ignite in first period
BY MARK LAZERUS mlazerus@suntimes.com February 5, 2013 11:29PM
Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad, second from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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Updated: February 6, 2013 12:27AM
SAN JOSE, Calif. — In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s showdown of the top two teams in the NHL, both the Blackhawks and Sharks talked about how the league was tightening up, how teams were settling into their schemes, how defense was taking over and how the wild shootouts of the first week or so were a thing of the past. ‘‘The first few games for us were fantasy games,’’ Sharks coach Todd McLellan said before adding, ‘‘This is reality.’’ The Hawks and Sharks proceeded to go out and score six goals in the first period, including four in an 89-second span. Call it an alternate reality. And it turns out former Hawk and current Shark Adam Burish was right when he said the last thing you want to do is get into a shootout with the Hawks. Despite falling behind 2-0 and 3-1 early in the first period, the Hawks pulled out a 5-3 victory to continue their remarkable start to the season. They’re now 8-0-2 despite playing just two home games. As alarming as the early lack of defense and goaltending were, the offensive surge was just as encouraging for the Hawks, who had been struggling to score of late. After scoring just three goals in their last eight periods (plus three overtimes), the Hawks scored three goals in 89 seconds in a wild first-period sequence.
Things were only getting started. Thirty-nine seconds later, the good vibes for the Hawks disappeared when former Hawk Michael Handzus beat Corey Crawford from the left circle, a bad goal for Crawford, who’s been so sharp all season. But just eight seconds after that — with the crowd still dancing in the aisles over the Handzus goal — Andrew Shaw scored to cut the Sharks’ lead to 3-2.
The game took a turn in the second period as the teams finally settled down. Then Sharks center Andrew Desjardins leveled Jamal Mayers with a high hit. While Mayers was slow to get up, Duncan Keith — who has only fought twice since 2006 — attacked Desjardins, drawing an instigator minor, an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, a fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct penalty. Desjardins earned a match penalty and a major for the high hit, along with five for fighting.
