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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) – It didn't take long for Scott Thornton to get
back in the groove.
Playing for the first time since Jan. 27, Thornton scored two
goals and had an assist Wednesday night as the San Jose Sharks
routed the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-0.
"I just tried to play smart," said Thornton, who missed five
games with a sore neck. "I took a couple of hits early and gave a
couple of hits early, and that made me feel a little more
comfortable out there."
The victory extended San Jose's unbeaten streak on the road to a
franchise-record nine games. The Sharks also ran their overall
unbeaten streak to four games.
Jeff Montgomery added a goal – his first since December 1995 –
and two assists for the Sharks, who are 2-0-2 without suspended
captain Owen Nolan and injured center Vincent Damphousse, their two
leading scorers.
"This ain't rocket science," Sharks coach Darryl Sutter said.
"If you don't have a star factor, you better have contributions
from everybody else."
And the Sharks sure got that. Alex Korolyuk and Marco Sturm
each had a goal and an assist, while Todd Harvey, Gary Suter and
Brad Stuart added two assists apiece.
Steve Shields, making his season-high fourth straight start,
continued his mastery of the Blackhawks. After beating the
Blackhawks in his last start, he posted his second shutout in three
games.
Shields is 2-0-2 since he replaced rookie Evgeni Nabokov in
goal.
"I feel like I've taken a step forward from where I was at the
beginning of the season," Shields said. "I'm a better player than
I was. I've put a few games together, and I'm really happy with the
way my game's coming along."
As for the Blackhawks, they've got a ways to go if they want to
do more than talk about chasing a playoff spot. Playing at home for
the first time after an eight-game road trip, the players expected
to be a little shaky at first.
But this?
"I can't put my finger on any one thing," Tony Amonte said.
"I thought we were ready. But we got behind the 8-ball early and
we fell apart."
The Blackhawks were booed off the ice after the second period,
when they were down 5-0. Most fans didn't bother sticking around
for San Jose's two goals in the third.
The Sharks got all the offense they needed in the first period,
with Thornton starting things off. The Blackhawks were trying to
clear the puck at 6:56 in the first period when Jim Montgomery fed
Thornton, who poked it into the net.
The goal was his 12th of the season, and his first since Dec.
30.
And Thornton wasn't done. With the Sharks on the power play with
three minutes left in the first, he tied his career high with his
12th assist, helping out on Montgomery's first goal of the season.
Thornton scored his second goal 17:14 into third period, giving
him a career-high 13 on the season.
"We wanted to play a real tight defensive hockey game and, as
ironic as that is, we opened the scoring up a bit," Thornton said.
The Sharks also gave their power play numbers a boost. San Jose
came into the game struggling, converting just 14.4 percent of
their power-play tries (24th in the league).
But the Sharks looked as if they had a two- or three-man
advantage against the Blackhawks' weak defense, converting two of
three attempts.
The Hawks' power plays woes, meanwhile, continue. Chicago is the
second-worst team in the NHL on the power play, converting just 12
percent of their chances. That stat is going to sink even further
after they failed to get anything off their five chances against
the Sharks.
"I didn't expect that. Most of the guys didn't show up,"
Blackhawks coach Alpo Suhonen said. "No energy, no nothing. The
best thing is just to forget this."
Game notes
Nolan, Sharks president Greg Jamison and GM Dean Lombardi
will meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday in hopes of
reducing Nolan's 11-game suspension. Nolan was suspended for a
forearm-elbow blow that gave Dallas forward Grant Marshall a
concussion. ... Sharks RW Tony Granato and Blackhawks RW Steve
Dubinsky both received game misconducts for a mini-brawl with about
2½ minutes left in the second. Granato was tossed for boarding
Nolan Baumgartner, and Dubinsky for cross-checking. ... Sharks D Marcus Ragnarsson and RW Matt Bradley sat out the last two periods
with shoulder soreness and will be re-evaluated Friday. Ragnarsson
played 58 seconds in the first period, and Bradley 44 seconds. ...
After the game, Chicago sent Baumgartner and center Josef Marha to
Norfolk of the AHL and recalled Reto Von Arx.
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NHL Scoreboard
San Jose Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Carolina 3
Florida 4
Phoenix 3
Ottawa 3
New Jersey 2
Philadelphia 3
NY Islanders 1
Pittsburgh 2
Minnesota 1
Columbus 2
Toronto 2
San Jose 7
Chicago 0
Dallas 4
Los Angeles 2
Washington 4
Vancouver 3
Edmonton 3
Anaheim 3
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