The opening 20 minutes was entertaining. It wasn’t the cleanest hockey… but it was entertaining. Both Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard took a penalty in the first period. While the Blackhawks didn’t score on that power play, they scored just as it expired. Chicago took a 1-0 lead to the room at the first intermission.
Unfortunately, the Sharks scored the next goal. A bad turnover just inside the blue line between Wyatt Kaiser and Bedard went the other way and William Eklund tied the game. Kiefer Sherwood, who was somehow left all alone in the middle of the ice, gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead with 5:05 left in the second. A really good late power play in the period didn’t result in a goal for the Blackhawks, and San Jose took their one-goal advantage to the room after 40 minutes.
During the second intermission, assistant coach Michael Peca expressed disappointment in dumb mistakes that cost the Blackhawks in the second period. Well, early in the third a puck that didn’t get deep and a terribly timed line change opened the door for a gorgeous passing play and a Will Smith goal to make it 3-1. A power play goal for the Hawks cut the lead back to one, but they couldn’t find a tying goal the rest of the way.
Star 1: Frank Nazar
Nazar skated 6:52 in the first period — most among all Blackhawks forwards (only Kaiser skated more). He was on the ice for the full power play and then half of the penalty kill and had the primary assist on the only goal of the period. He capped a strong power play in the third period with his 15th goal of the season to get the Hawks back within one.
GOAL: Frank Nazar caps off another fantastic power play to record his 15th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/rCI8eXnJz2
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 7, 2026Star 2: Connor Bedard
Bedard picked up the second assist on Ryan Donato’s goal in the first period, giving him 200 points in his NHL career (in his 215th game). When the dust settled at the end of two periods, Bedard led the Blackhawks with nine shot attempts and five scoring chances. He was everywhere on the power play tonight as well.
GOAL: Ryan Donato buries a rebound as the power play expires to open the scoring. pic.twitter.com/69k4nTzlKh
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 7, 2026Star 3: Spencer Knight
If not for Knight, San Jose might have scored four or five in the second period. The Sharks had a 6-1 advantage in high danger chances at 5-on-5 in the second period. Knight stopped 20 of 23 in the game.
Key Takeaways
The five-forward power play looks like it could be a lot of fun to watch in the future. The Blackhawks got themselves into more trouble than they needed tonight by trying to do too much with the puck. Way too many turnovers in terrible spots. On the Blackhawks’ first power play, Donato, Ryan Greene and Wyatt Kaiser replaced Teuvo Teräväinen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Anton Frondell in the middle of the two minutes. Bedard and Nazar stayed out for the full two minutes — and picked up the two assists on the goal just after the advantage expired. If you go back and watch the Donato goal again, Greene was parked in the middle right in front of the blue paint. He could be dangerous there. And I like that Kaiser got a look. Kaiser and Louis Crevier saw the most ice time against Celebrini’s line (more than nine minutes each of 5-on-5 against Celebrini). They did a nice job for the most part. Another really good showing from Ethan Del Mastro and Kevin Korchinski. Thru two periods, the Blackhawks had the highest 5-on-5 expected goals for when Del Mastro (0.77) and Korchinski (0.73) were on the ice. Del Mastro led the Hawks’ defensemen with two blocked shots in the first two periods and… wait for it… Korchinski had the only hit credited to a Chicago defenseman in the opening 40 minutes. The Hawks got a power play late in the second period on which they were credited with seven shots on net (11 shot attempts). There were a few hammers from Frondell that went wide or got a post; he had six shot attempts on the one power play. But they couldn’t beat Alex Nedeljkovic.Hence then, the article about blackhawks 2 sharks 3 three stars key takeaways was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Blackhawks 2, Sharks 3 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways )
Also on site :