SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- After getting the game to overtime, defenseman Tom Preissing nearly cost the San Jose Sharks a win before preserving the point.
Preissing scored a power-play goal 8:03 into the third period and blocked a shot in the waning seconds of overtime as the Sharks blew an early lead and skated to a 3-3 tie with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks began their four-game road trip poorly as Patrick Marleau was credited with his second goal after defenseman Alexander Karpotsev put the puck in his own net 4:15 into the game. Less than a minute later, Nils Ekman finished off an odd-man rush with Marco Strum.
After getting outplayed in the first 20 minutes, the Blackhawks rallied with three unanswered goals as rookie Brett McLean scored twice and Mark Bell tallied.
But Chicago couldn't get another one and its defense failed to pick up Preissing, who lifted a wrist shot by goaltender Jocelyn Thibault for San Jose's second power-play goal of the game and the first tally of his career.
"It is kind of something that you dream about," said Preissing, who scored 39 goals in four seasons at Colorado College before signing with San Jose as a free agent in April and made the team out of training camp. "The puck was sitting there for me and the Red Sea parted a little for me."
However another first by Preissing gave Chicago a golden opportunity for the win in overtime. Just 63 seconds into the extra period, Preissing was called for his first career penalty after high-sticking Steve Sullivan near center ice.
But the Blackhawks, who were 1-for-9 on the power play, couldn't cash in and in the final moments, Preissing dove to stop Chicago defenseman Steve McCarthy's attempt from the right side.
"I am disappointed that we didn't get two points," said Sullivan, who had two assists. "We did lose the lead, but we will take this point."
The 25-year-old didn't take credit for the block, saying it was a result of him not getting back on defense.
"It was my fault that we were in that situation anyway," Preissing said. "I was just trying to get back to do anything that I could do."
Preissing registered two assists in his first five contests, while getting significant ice time. But he made his biggest impact in when he swooped in from alongside the right boards to gather the rebound of fellow defenseman Brad Stuart's blast from the point, which trickled into the slot when Thibault couldn't hold on.
"I just tried to put it on the net," Stuart said. "He wasn't able to handle it and Tommy did a nice job of coming in and picking up the garbage and putting it in for his first goal, which was nice to see."
With just one goal in its previous three games, San Jose got off to a good if not unlikely start. Three seconds after Jason Strudwick was called for boarding Alex Korolyuk, Marleau lost a faceoff and Karpovtsev gained possession.
But in an attempt to clear the puck along the boards, he tipped it past Thibault.
"I think that everybody was shocked," Thibault said. "Even the Sharks didn't celebrate right away. It's one of those things that is bad lucky. It's frustrating early in the game, but you have to move on."
Less than a minute later, Marco Sturm backhanded the puck through the slot to Ekman, who fell down, but one-timed a shot past a sliding Thibault.
But the Blackhawks came back with a power-play tally just 3:44 into the second as Sullivan spotted McLean unchecked just inside the San Jose blue line. After getting the pass the 25-year-old center put a backhander past Evgeni Nabokov.
Over 12 minutes later with the teams playing 4-on-4, Sharks defenseman Mike Rathje fell down while attempting a clearing pass. Bell stripped the puck and wristed a shot from the right circle.
Just 46 seconds later, McClean netted a shorthanded goal. After Sullivan forced a turnover, he skated freely into the Sharks' zone and worked a 2-on-1 with McClean, whose wrister from the left circle got by Nabokov.
"We thought we had the game already after 20 minutes," Sturm said. "That is the way we came out. We were all playing sloppy."
