The All-Star break didn’t wash away the Blackhawks’ problems in third periods.
The Hawks entered the third tied with the Sharks, but lost 3-1 after San Jose got a go-ahead goal from Tomas Hertl 17 minutes, 57 seconds into the period.
Hertl capitalized off a puck that bounced to him in front of the net off the back boards. It was a fortunate bounce for the Sharks, but one they earned after pinning the Hawks in their own end.
“We had a couple shifts where we weren’t good at getting the puck out even though we weren’t looking to make a play,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Those have to be sure outs. That’s something we talk about a lot.”
At the top of the list of discussion has to be their play in third periods. The Hawks lost two games in regulation before the All-Star break and failed to come out of San Jose with at least a point despite a strong effort for much of the game.
“I thought it was a lot better than the two previous games,” Duncan Keith said. “We did a lot of good things but it’s just a tough way to lose the last couple minutes Betboo there. We ended up running around and couldn’t get it out.”
The Hawks and Sharks looked well-rested and played at a fast pace for much of the night.
“That’s as close to a playoff game in the regular season as you’re going to get,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said.
The Sharks appeared to get on the board first when Patrick Marleau got a shot past the post at 11:41 of the second period. But Quenneville challenged the call, arguing the Sharks were offsides. The officials agreed and reversed the call to keep the game scoreless.
However, Marleau got his revenge at 14:06 when he scored on a power play to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. It was the 499th goal of his career.
The Hawks wasted little time in answering when center Dennis Rasmussen scored on a wrist shot from the right circle that deflected off the post and in at 16:53.
But that was the only score of the night for the Hawks, who did not get any production from their top lines. Quenneville even broke up the normally reliable line of Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov in the third period and put Panarin with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa for a stretch.
“We need them to be productive and effective and dangerous and have the puck a little bit more,” Quenneville said. “I thought we were pretty loose with the puck tonight, not just that line.”
The good news for the Hawks is that the woeful Coyotes are next on the schedule – a welcome sight for a Hawks team that let points slip away again Tuesday.
chine@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
Chris Hine’s three stars:
1. Tomas Hertl, Sharks: Scored winning goal 17:57 into third.
2. Martin Jones, Sharks: Had a strong night in net with 23 saves.
3. Patrick Marleau, Sharks: Scored a goal, had another one erased.
Up next
At Coyotes, 8 p.m. Thursday; CSN.
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