Sharks-Blackhawks: Sharks Slip by Emerging Blackhawk Team, Beat Chigago 6-5

If the Sharks' goal going into Sunday's game in Chicago was to show their dads how to get a lead, blow a lead, yet comeback and win, well, they were successful. 

Before the beginning of this short two-game trip, the Sharks invited the fathers of their players and coaching staff to join them on their annual father-son road-trip.

The opening game of back-to-backs may not have gone exactly according to plan, but the dads were treated to a highly entertaining hockey game.  The Sharks slipped past a young and talented Blackhawk team with a 6-5 victory at the United Center Sunday in Chicago.

Milan Michalek got the Sharks on the board early, less than a minute in, with his third goal in the past two games.  Joe Pavelski won the face-off in the Blackhawks' zone and drew it back to Michalek who was set up in the slot.  Milan wristed one top corner past Blackhawks goaltender Cristobal Huet at the 0:42 mark of the first period.

The same Sharks' power play that turned things around against Calgary got off to an inauspicious start against Chicago.  Sharks goaltender Brian Boucher mishandled the puck behind his own net, allowing Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg to steal the puck and slide it into the unprotected Sharks net for a 1-1 tie.

However, it didn't take much time at all for the Sharks' power-play to get re-organized.  Joe Thornton converted on the same power play just 24 seconds later, giving the Sharks back their one-goal advantage.

Thornton was the beneficiary of a rebound of a Devin Setoguchi shot after the Sharks had broken into the zone three-on-two.  Joe deposited the rebound in the top corner for his fourth of the season

The lead would last only a little over eight minutes as the Blackhawks tied things up at 2-2 before the end of the first period.  At the 17:32 mark, former Shark Brian Campbell one-timed a point shot past Boucher to tie the score.

In the second period, things started to go the Sharks' way, just like in many of the contests so far this season.  Dan Boyle converted on a sweet backhand feed from Joe Pavelski on the power-play, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead at 5:51 of the middle period.  Less than four minutes later, Jeremy Roenick got off the schnide, with his first goal of the season.

Another inauspicious give-away, this time by a Blackhawks defender, gave Jeremy Roenick an open look at the net.  Roenick skated in on Huet and made a nice deke to his back-hand giving the Sharks a two-goal lead at 4-2.

That would be the end of the good times for the Sharks in the second period, as the Blackhawks scored three unanswered goals.  First, at 10:53, Kris Versteeg got his second of the game, once again scoring while Boucher was out of position.

The play started when Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews made a nice move around the Sharks defense and got Boucher to go down.  Boucher made the stop but Versteeg picked up the loose puck behind the net and banked it off Boucher to bring Chicago within one.

Things only got worse for the Sharks, as Tomas Plihal was called for a mysterious high-sticking penalty. (Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda said their broadcast team couldn't locate where the apparent "high-stick" took place.) Nonetheless, the Blackhawks went on the power-play and just 28 seconds later Cam Barker tied the score at four apiece with his third of the year.

And then, only nine seconds after Chicago tied the game, Joe Thornton took a terrible penalty when he slashed a Blackhawk forward in the back of the leg for no apparent reason.

Again, only nine seconds later, Chicago scored on the power play.  This time it gave them a 5-4 advantage as Patrick Kane floated a one-timer top corner past Boucher on an excellent shot-pass from Brian Campbell.

The Sharks were able to tie the score early in the third period due to some poor penalties taken by Chicago.  Considering the recent hot streak of the Sharks' power play, this was not such a good idea.  Exactly a minute into the third, Dan Boyle scored his second of the game, once again on a feed from Joe Pavelski.

This time the Sharks had a fake shot by Vlasic, pass to Pavelski, fake shot by Joe, and a pass to the streaking Boyle, once again on the weak-side; Boyle deposited it top shelf to tie the score at five.

The game went back and forth for the majority of the third period, both teams exchanging chances until the Sharks once again went back on the power-play when Blackhawk Dustin Byfuglien was called for tripping at 14:31.

This time it was Devin Setoguchi's turn to find the back of the net.  After circling up at the blue-line to support the defense, Setoguchi took a feed from Ehrhoff, took his time, and wired a slap-shot past Huet at 15:45 to give the Sharks a 6-5 lead.

The Sharks survived a Blackhawk power-play within the last three and a half minutes and held on to secure their 15th victory in 19 games, and now have earned 31 of a possible 38 points on the season.  Their 15-3-0-1 record has them in front of the entire NHL.

It is games like this that past Sharks teams couldn't find a way to win.  When they're not playing their best against a team they should beat, this team still finds ways to win.  That is a major sign of a good hockey team.  If it weren't for a newcomer in Dan Boyle and a second-year player in Devin Setoguchi, the Sharks wouldn't have won this game. 

This win is a testament to the job Doug Wilson has done putting this team and this coaching staff together.

Next game: tomorrow night in Nashville