SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Undrafted rookie Collin Graf scored twice, Will Smith had a goal and an assist and the San Jose Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Thursday night.
Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves for San Jose, and Tyler Toffoli had an empty-net goal.
Smith opened the scoring with a one-timer 3:48 into the game off a feed from Macklin Celebrini. Smith, a 19-year-old rookie, has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in his last 19 games.
Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev scored for Chicago. Spencer Knight had 21 saves.
Connor Bedard, Chicago’s leading scorer with 61 points, was given 10-minute misconduct penalty with about nine minutes to play.
Graf banged a one-timer, off a feed from Alexander Wennberg, high into the net to make it 2-0 nearly midway through the first period and re-directed a shot by Smith to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead with 9:43 left in the second.
Takeaways
Blackhawks: Chicago has lost three games in a row and has allowed at least three goals in five straight.
Sharks: Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, and Smith continued their strong starts. San Jose went into the game leading the NHL in scoring (146 points) from players 22-years old and younger with 146 such points.
Key moment
The 18-year-old Celebrini and 19-year-old Bedard, the first pick in the 2023 NHL draft, were nose-to-nose at center ice for the opening faceoff.
Key stat
The Blackhawks and Sharks went into the game at the bottom of the NHL standings with 49 and 43 points, respectively. The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets each have 94 points, two more that Chicago and San Jose combined.
Up next
Both teams play Saturday. Chicago is at Vancouver, and San Jose hosts the New York Islanders.
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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
The Associated Press
