Chicago (10-4-5) at San Jose (17-3-1), 10:30 p.m. EST
SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Teams have had difficulty
defeating the San Jose Sharks thus far - especially at the HP
Pavilion.
San Jose goes for its fifth straight win when it hosts the
Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
The Sharks have outscored opponents, 23-9, during the winning
streak, which includes Saturday's 7-2 triumph over the
Washington Capitals.
Defenseman Rob Blake had four assists and Ryane Clowe scored
twice for San Jose, which is 11-0-1 at home.
Chicago has won the first three games on its current six-game
road trip, including Saturday's 5-4 overtime triumph at Toronto.
Dave Bolland scored the game-winner 49 seconds into the extra
session and Patrick Sharp tallied twice to bring his
team-leading total up to 12 in Saturday's triumph.
San Jose is second in the league at 3.71 goals per game with
Chicago ranked third at 3.63.
Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov will be in charge of stopping
the Blackhawks' offense as he makes his first start since
November 6, when he suffered a lower-body injury in a 5-4
shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues. Backup Brian Boucher
was 5-1-1 in seven games in place of Nabokov.