Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Andrew Ladd scored twice in regulation and Patrick Kane tallied the game-winning goal in the shootout, as Chicago hung on to defeat San Jose, 6-5, at United Center.
Kane, who was the first shooter, used a backhander to beat Evgeni Nabokov. Joe Pavelski's shot went off the crossbar for San Jose, and Jonathan Toews' wrister went though the legs of Nabokov to put the Blackhawks up 2-0 in the shootout. Jeremy Roenick was the Sharks' last hope, but his wrister went off the body of Nikolai Khabibulin.
Martin Havlat, Dustin Byfuglien and Toews also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won two in a row for the first time since early this month. Cameron Barker had two assists, while Dave Bolland had three. Khabibulin turned aside 23 shots to pick up the win.
Chicago sits in the fourth spot in the Western Conference. With 89 points, the club is one point behind Calgary for the third position.
"It's nice to get a couple goals, but it's better to get two points," said Ladd.
Devin Setoguchi lit the lamp twice to pace the Sharks, who had won their previous three games. Jamie McGinn, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Joe Thornton also scored for San Jose. Nabokov stopped 27 shots in the loss.
Despite the loss, the Sharks picked up a point to move into a tie with Detroit for the top spot in the West.
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"Simple game when you work hard and stick to your plan," said Setoguchi. "We didn't start out that way and were down 4-1 before we got down to the basics."
Havlat's 25th goal of the season put Chicago ahead 1-0 just 1:07 into the game , but San Jose tied the contest over three minutes later on a power-play goal from Setoguchi. Setoguchi's slapshot from the point beat Khabibulin stick-side.
The Blackhawks regained the lead on a goal from Byfuglien at the 8:43 mark. Byfuglien's wrister from the left circle deflected off the left shoulder of Nabokov and trickled into the net.
Just over a minute later, Ladd lit the lamp to extend the home team's margin to 3-1. Ladd's shot from in front of the net beat Nabokov glove slide before hitting off the right post and into the goal.
Toews' 30th goal of the year gave Chicago a comfortable 4-1 advantage at the 8:27 mark of the second stanza, but the Sharks responded with two straight goals to cut the deficit to one, 4-3. McGinn lit the lamp at the 8:42 mark, while Vlasic scored with 8:23 left.
Ladd's second goal of the game at the 5:35 mark of the third frame put the Blackhawks ahead 5-3. Bolland collected the disc and skated down the left side of the ice into San Jose's zone. Bolland backhanded a pass to a trailing Ladd, who fired a shot from the left circle.
The Sharks cut the gap to 5-4 on Setoguchi's second score of the tilt with 5:07 left to play. Pavelski's pass to Setoguchi set up a breakaway. Setoguchi skated down the left side before making a sharp turn at the goal and lifting the puck into the upper right-hand corner of the net.
With just 2:08 to go, Thornton got past his defender at the right circle and made a sharp turn to the left, backhanded a shot past Khabibulin.
Both netminders were solid in the five-minute overtime, stopping two shots each.
