Collin Graf scored two goals and Will Smith had a goal and an assist in the San Jose Sharks' 4-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. The Sharks ended a three-game losing streak overall, and a five-game skid on home ice. San Jose's 22 home points (from a 10-20-2 record) are the fewest in the NHL.
Chicago's 19 away points (7-22-5) also rank last in the league. The Blackhawks are 0-2-1 in the first three stops on their four-game road trip. Sharks goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped 24 of 26 shots to earn his 13th win of the season.
Tyler Toffoli scored the Sharks' other goal, an empty-net tally with 33 seconds left. Graf recorded the first multi-point performance of his 30-game NHL career. Smith is on a five-game point streak, and the forward has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his last nine games.
Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev scored for Chicago, and Spencer Knight stopped 21 of 24 shots. Connor Bedard was issued a 10-minute misconduct penalty for verbal abuse of officials midway through the third period. Missing their points leader for most of the period, the Blackhawks weren't able to find the late equalizer.
San Jose built a 2-0 lead in the first period off a pair of one-timers. Smith converted from the upper slot 3:48 into the game, and Graf followed up with a wrist shot at the 10:16 mark that deflected off the post and past Knight. The Blackhawks struck back just 10 seconds after winning the second period's opening face-off.
The puck was quickly mo.
