Toews Goal Lifts Blackhawks To Win, Sharks Down Blues

Players from both teams raced through the wide-open overtime, leaving players gasping for air as they finished out shifts and tried getting to the bench.

Jonathan Toews seemed to have an extra gear in the extra period, swooping in to score his fifth overtime goal of the season, Seems that extended time off served him well.

Toews scored his second goal of the night in his return from a one-game suspension, lifting the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-4 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

"Both teams had A-plus chances in the overtime and Johnny's been pretty good in those situations, and had a great finish," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.

Chicago and Arizona played a wild game in their last meeting and again traded scoring flurries in the desert, including a five-goal second period.

Once the teams hit the 3-on-3 overtime, players on both sides were exhausted, struggling even to get shots off.

Toews had not played since Jan. 26 after being suspended for missing the All-Star game and still had a bit of jump for overtime. Chicago's captain skated in with a burst of speed, beating Louis Domingue with a wrister with 29 seconds left.

Sharks 3, Blues 1

San Jose Sharks goalie Martin Jones set the tone early Thursday night.

Jones stopped a quick wrist shot from St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko in the game's opening minute. It was the first of 26 saves for Jones, but more importantly it allowed a sluggish Sharks team to stay even until Joonas Donskoi and Joe Thornton scored in the second period to send San Jose to a 3-1 victory.

"We were a little bit off early in the game. I figured we probably would be a little bit just because of our travel," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said, referring to the team's flight to St. Louis from Anaheim. "(Jones) was our best player early and then I thought as the game went on we got better."

Matt Nieto added an unassisted goal late in the third to give San Jose insurance. The Sharks, who are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, improved to 17-7-2 away from home and tied Washington for the most road wins in the NHL.

"It's tough to win, let alone on the road, so it's a good sign," Jones said. "I think the last month we've been playing very well, even at home, so it's good to see things coming together here."

Jay Bouwmeester scored his second goal of the season late in the second period for the Blues.

Thursday, February 4 Scoreboard

Boston 3, Buffalo 2 (SO)

NY Rangers 4, Minnesota 2

Washington 3, NY Islanders 2

Toronto 3, New Jersey 2 (SO)

Edmonton 7, Ottawa 2

Florida 6, Detroit 3

San Jose 3, St. Louis 1

Philadelphia 6, Nashville 3

Dallas 4, Colorado 3 (OT)

Chicago 5, Arizona 4 (OT)

Columbus 2, Vancouver 1 (SO)

Anaheim 4, Los Angeles 2

Friday, February 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay    7:30 p.m.

Carolina at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Calgary, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Anaheim, 9 p.m.

Saturday, February 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at New Jersey, noon

NY Rangers at Philadelphia, noon

Edmonton at Montreal, 1 p.m.

NY Islanders at Detroit, 1 p.m.

Buffalo at Boston, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Ottawa, 6 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Florida, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at St. Louis, 7 p.m.

San Jose at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Dallas, 7 p.m.

Winnipeg at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Calgary at Vancouver, 9 p.m.

Sunday, February 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

Philadelphia at Washington, 11 a.m.

Carolina at Montreal, 1:30 p.m.

Edmonton at NY Islanders, 1:30 p.m.