Sharks 2, Blackhawks 0: Antti Niemi made 31 saves against his former team and rookie Melker Karlsson recorded a goal and an assist as host San Jose posted its third straight victory.

Joe Thornton helped set up Karlsson's tally and added an empty-net goal for the Sharks, who improved to 4-1-1 on their season-high seven-game homestand. Defensemen Matt Irwin and Matt Tennyson each notched an assist while Niemi registered his 31st career shutout and fourth this campaign.

Antti Raanta turned aside 18 shots for the Blackhawks, who fell to 2-2-0 on their season-best seven-game road trip. Captain Jonathan Toews registered a game-high five shots on goal while losing 13-of-24 faceoffs.

San Jose got on the board just over five minutes into the contest on Karlsson's seventh goal in 12 games. Raanta stopped Irwin's blast from above the left faceoff circle and denied Karlsson's backhander on the rebound, but the 24-year-old Swede chipped the puck into the net on his second opportunity from below the end line on the left side.

Niemi made the tally stand, turning aside nine shots in the first period, 15 in the second and seven in the third. The Finnish netminder made a trio of stops on Toews from the doorstep with the Sharks on a power play with 5 1/2 minutes left in the middle session to preserve the one-goal advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Jose LW Tye McGinn left the game after one period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. ... Thornton extended his point streak to five games with his second straight two-point performance. The former Hart Trophy winner climbed within four points of Peter Stastny (1,239) for 36th place on the all-time list and is nine assists away from tying Dale Hawerchuk (891) for 20th in NHL history. ... The Blackhawks received just one power-play opportunity while the Sharks went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.