Sharks fall to Blackhawks 3-1

CHICAGO - Jean-Francois Berube made 42 saves in his first start for Chicago to help the Blackhawks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Friday night.

Defenseman Jan Rutta, activated from injured reserve Friday, and Nick Schmaltz scored, and Artem Anisimov added an empty-netter with 30.5 seconds left.

Anthony Duclair had two assists for the Blackhawks, who won their second in a row and third in four games following an eight-game losing streak that dropped them to last in the Central Division.

Berube lost a bid for his first NHL shutout when Timo Meier scored on a screened shot with 7:51 left in the third period.

Martin Jones stopped 33 shots for the Sharks, coming off a 7-1 loss at Nashville on Thursday night.

The Sharks and Blackhawks, longtime Western Conference rivals, met for the first of three games this season.

San Jose outshot Chicago 15-11 in the scoreless first. The Sharks’ Joe Pavelski fired a shot off the right post 6:20 in, and Mikkel Boedker was stopped by Berube from the slot with just over 5 minutes left in the period.

Berube made a close-in save on Eric Fehr early in the second as he cut through the slot off the left wing.

Rutta opened the scoring at 5:46 of the period with his sixth goal. After taking Duclair’s feed from the goal line, Rutta shot from the right circle. San Jose’s Melker Karlsson blocked that attempt, but Rutta jumped on the loose puck and fired it in.

Jones made a couple of nifty saves - on Duclair and Patrick Kane - later in the second to keep it close.