Sharks defeat Blackhawks on late goal by Tomas Hertl

SAN JOSE -- Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal with 2:03 left and Patrick Marleau scored his 499th NHL goal to help the San Jose Sharks defeat the Chicago Blackhawk 3-1 at SAP Center on Tuesday.
Hertl knocked a rebound past Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford from close range, putting San Jose ahead 2-1. He scored his first goal in his second game since missing 32 games with a knee injury.

WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Sharks highlights
"I think it's getting better," Hertl said of his game. "First period was pretty good again. A lot of chances. Second, I had a couple chances too. I should bury a couple goals before, but I'm happy I scored because it was a long time, like three months. It was a big [celebration] for me."
Joe Pavelski scored into an empty net with 45.5 seconds remaining for the Sharks (32-17-2), and Martin Jones made 24 saves.
Dennis Rasmussen scored for Chicago (30-17-5), which lost its third straight game. Crawford made 26 saves.
"We had two minutes to go there and we just wanted to make sure we could get it to overtime and look for the extra point," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Three games in a row we've given up some points. It's a tough pill to swallow."
Marleau gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 14:06 of the second period on the power play, his 18th goal of the season and sixth in the past four games. Marleau tracked down a loose puck and beat Crawford with a snap shot from below the right circle. He moved past Glenn Anderson into 45th place.
"It feels good," Marleau said of moving within one goal of 500. "Also it feels good to score when the team wins. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the next one."

Goal of the game

Defenseman Brent Burns sent a shot from the point through traffic and off of Pavelski, and Marleau shot past Crawford.

Save of the game

Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman had a breakaway four minutes into the game but Jones made a blocker save.

Unsung performance of the game

Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon had a game-high six hits and blocked two shots in 14:43.

Highlight of the game

Burns sent a wrist shot wide right of the net, but the puck bounced hard off the back boards and banked off Crawford's right skate to Hertl, who scored the game-winner from close range. "A tough way to lose a game in the last two minutes," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "We have to bear down and keep it simple and just find a way to get it done."

They said it

"It's the third game in a row that this has happened. We have to play a little smarter. You have a game tied like that and you are playing away, it's not good enough to lose the game. We have to at least keep a tie game and try and win in overtime. It was a tough loss." -- Blackhawks forward Dennis Rasmussen

"That's a playoff-type atmosphere, that's a playoff-type game. There wasn't a lot of room. Both teams were playing hard. Both teams were fresh and skating. That's as close to a playoff game in the regular season as you can get." -- Sharks coach Peter DeBoer
"I always tell people [who] ask about the players I've played with, I say that Patty is the most talented, the best player I've ever skated with. He has everything, the speed, the power, the shot. He has all the tools you need to be a very successful player. He's the best skill-wise I've ever played with." -- Sharks forward Logan Couture on Patrick Marleau
"I think a couple of games they generated a ton. The last game not much and tonight not good. I think everyone has stretches where things are going well, and they've been excellent for a year and change here. I think we rely on that line for a lot of our offense. They can spark our offense as well. It's a tough stretch for them and we need them to be productive, effective and dangerous and have the puck a little bit more." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the line of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane, which combined for four shots and zero points

Need to know

Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger missed the game with an illness. He missed 11 games with an injured hand before returning Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. ... Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling, recalled Sunday from Rockford of the American Hockey League, played in place of Michal Kempny. ... Sharks forward Joonas Donskoi (upper body) missed his third straight game.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Sharks: At the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; CSN-CA, SNP, NHL.TV)