HAWKS RUN OUT OF GAS

SAN JOSE -- Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton scored within a 45-second span, helping the San Jose Sharks end a four-game losing streak at home with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Vesa Toskala stopped 29 shots and improved to 6-0-2 in his last eight starts as the Sharks won for just the second time in eight games overall.

Kyle Calder scored for the Blackhawks, who were coming off a win at Phoenix on Tuesday night. But they have not won two in a row since Dec. 7-11.

Craig Anderson, who has been with three teams in less than a month, made 35 saves but fell to 0-3 against the Sharks.

Steve Berneir set up San Jose's first goal, winning a battle for the puck with Patrick Sharp behind the net and skating it out before passing to Marleau, who slipped the puck past Anderson on his glove side with 2:47 left in the first period.

Marleau scored in his second straight after going scoreless in his six previous games. Berneir got his second career assist, both on this homestand.

Thornton redirected a puck through Anderson's legs with 2:02 left in the first period, moments after winning a faceoff. Christian Ehrhoff chased down the puck and passed to Tom Preissing, who fired the puck toward the goal, where it glanced off Jonathan Cheechoo's stick before getting to Thornton.

Calder drove straight at Toskala after taking a pass from Tyler Arnason and chipped a shot over the goalie's right shoulder using just his right hand. James Wisniewski earned his first career point when he was credited with an assist on the play.

The Sharks improved to 15-0 when scoring the first two goals of a game.

The Blackhawks were on relatively good behavior. The most penalized team in the NHL took just 10 penalty minutes before a fight at the end of the game.

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