Game Notes: Feb. 23 vs. San Jose Sharks

LAST GAME
The Blackhawks defeated the Senators 3-2 in the seventh round of the shootout on Wednesday night at the United Center. Chicago is now 1-1 in the shootout and 19-10-5 when scoring first this season. Joel Quenneville coached in his 1,600th career NHL game. He is the third coach (Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman) in league history to accomplish that feat. He is seven games away from reaching Arbour on the list for second all-time. Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov tallied goals in regulation, while Nick Schmaltz netted the shootout winner. Anton Forsberg made 32 saves in the victory. It was his first shootout win since his first career NHL victory on Jan. 2, 2016 (5-4 vs. WSH) with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
VS. SHARKS
Chicago holds a 41-40-5-8 mark all-time against San Jose, including a 25-17-2-3 record at home. The Blackhawks went 1-2-0 in three meetings against the Sharks last season. Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza both registered one goal and one assist in those three matchups. Jonathan Toews (13G, 14A) leads the team with 27 career points in 32 games played against San Jose. Forsberg has not faced the Sharks in his career.
THE GUSTY CITY
Erik Gustafsson recorded an assist and matched a season high with four shots on goal in the win against Ottawa. He has two helpers over his last three games and four points (1G, 3A) in 14 games this year.
DEPENDABLE DEBRINCAT
Alex DeBrincat is one of eight NHL rookies to appear in every game for their team this season. He shares second in goals (22) and is tied for sixth in points (39) among rookies during the 2017-18 campaign. The last rookie forward to play in all 82 games in a season for Chicago was Kane (2007-08).
ONE-TIMERS
- Kane opened the scoring for the Blackhawks with his team-leading 23rd marker of the year. He also added an assist against the Senators. He finished with seven points (2G, 5A) in two games vs. Ottawa this year. - Anisimov recorded his second goal in his last three games with a marker in the second period. He also went eight-for-12 (67 percent) at the faceoff dot in the win. He has won at least 63 percent of his draws in five out of his last six games. - Hinostroza picked up a helper and now has four assists over his last four games. His 11 assists since Jan. 1 are second most on the Blackhawks during that stretch. He has 19 points (6G, 13A) in 30 games this season. - David Kampf added an assist against the Senators. He has two goals and five assists this year.

THREE OPPONENTS TO WATCH:
D Brent Burns: The reigning Norris Memorial Trophy winner leads the Sharks with 50 points (10G, 40A) coming into Friday night's matchup. His 25:09 of time on ice paces San Jose and is tied for 11th in the league. He has tallied five points (5A) in his last three contests against Chicago.
C Logan Couture: Couture leads the team with 25 goals, including goals in back-to-back performances. The 28-year-old has notched five multi-goal games this season. He ranks fifth all-time in San Jose Sharks history with 204 career goals, two shy of tying Owen Nolan (206G) for fourth. Couture has two points (1G, 1A) in his last three games against the Blackhawks.
D Justin Braun: The Minneapolis native tallied an assist against the Predators to extend his point streak (1G, 5A) to five games. Braun ranks second among Sharks defensemen with 24 assists this season. In 15 career games against Chicago, he has totaled 7 points (2G, 5A).