SAN JOSE, Calif. - More than four years after leaving Chicago, Antti Niemi still takes pleasure in beating the team he once helped win a Stanley Cup title.Niemi made 31 saves in his 31st career shutout and the San Jose Sharks won their third straight game by beating the Blackhawks 2-0 on Saturday night.Its still a little special even though its been a while, said Niemi, who left the Blackhawks for San Jose after winning the Stanley Cup in 2010. Theyre still one of the top teams in the league so its always good to win against them.Melker Karlsson scored early and Joe Thornton added an empty-net goal for the Sharks, who got their first regulation win over the Blackhawks since Feb. 10, 2012.Niemi did the rest against his former team as San Jose followed up wins over defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles and NHL points leader Anaheim with one against perennial cup contender Chicago.Antti Raanta made 19 saves for the Blackhawks, who were shut out for the fourth time this season. Chicago lost two of three on the post-All-Star break California swing, with the win coming Friday night in Anaheim.He played awesome, defenceman Brent Burns said. Hes real sturdy back there. We feel good when hes there. We know hes there to back us up if they get a good chance, and he showed it tonight.The Sharks struck early to take the lead when Raanta struggled to control a shot by Matt Irwin. Karlsson batted at the rebound and it deflected into the net for his eighth goal of the season.Niemi took the game after that, especially in a brilliant second period when he kept Chicago off the scoreboard despite a 15-6 edge in shots on goal.We just couldnt really get that one into the net in the second period, captain Jonathan Toews said. We were creating a lot of chances off the rushes we had.Niemi made a pair of tough saves early in the second on Andrew Shaw and Brandon Saad. He then stopped Marian Hossa on a 2-on-1 rush midway through the period and came up with his best saves when the Sharks were on the power play late in the second.Toews came in alone on a breakaway and Niemi got a piece of his initial shot. The puck trickled past him and was on the way into the net before Niemi swept it off the goal line with his stick. Toews then got two more whacks at the rebound, but Niemi managed to stop those while lying on the ice with help from defenceman Brent Burns.Nemo made the first save, it was dribbling in. He made the second save, coach Todd McLellan said. We flew by the situation, which we shouldnt have, so we had to make the third and maybe even the fourth save. It could have been the turning point, it really could have, giving up a short-handed goal at that point. Nemo was there for us.Toews had the puck again for another shot, but the referees blew the play dead on a quick whistle.I wasnt too happy with that, Toews said. He thought it was frozen. It is what it is. We should have scored on the first rush.After Raanta made key stops on Barclay Goodrow and Matt Nieto early in the third to keep the deficit at one goal, Niemi responded again with a tough save against Saad.It was one of those games where you thought you felt something was going to come eventually and it didnt happen, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. I think we are on the right track here.NOTES: Niemi had two shutouts against the Blackhawks, beating them 1-0 on Nov. 23, 2011. ... Thornton assisted on Karlssons goal giving him at least 30 assists in 15 straight seasons. ... Sharks F Tye McGinn left the game after the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Cheap Rod Carew Jersey . The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee. Cheap Angels Jerseys China . - Steve Stricker usually doesnt show up at a tournament on Sunday. http://www.cheapangelsjerseys.com/?tag=c...n-erstad-jersey. The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. Cheap MLB Jerseys .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. Wholesale Angels Jerseys . Cavaliers shooting guard Craig Ehlo makes a solid play on the ball, but still Jordan hits the amazing shot.SAN FRANCISCO -- Cody Asche took one look at the starting lineup and felt his confidence grow. Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg challenged him, and that was enough. Asche hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the game and then started the decisive rally with a double to open the 10th as Philadelphia rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-3 on Friday night. "He saw something in me that made him want to put me in," Asche said. "I was confident just by the fact I was in there." Chase Utley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 10th and Ryan Howard followed with a sacrifice fly against Javier Lopez, snapping the Phillies three-game losing streak. Sandberg gave Andres Blanco the day off and went with Asche against Madison Bumgarner. "If you want a chance to become a regular player, you have to face lefties," Sandberg said. Asche connected against Jeremy Affeldt, who allowed his first home run this season, and doubled off Santiago Casilla (1-3) to set the stage for the winning rally. Ken Giles (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings, and Jonathan Papelbon worked the 10th for his 28th save in 31 chances. Bumgarner threw seven strong innings for his first quality start at home since June 10, a span of seven games. He allowed one run and four hits, striking out nine without a walk. "It was nice to pitch a good game at home," Bumgarner said. "Its been forever." Cole Hamels also delivered a quality start for Philadelphia, giving up three runs and nine hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Pablo Sandoval had three hits, but the Giants lost their sixth in seven games. Bumgarner retired the first 10 hitters he faced, five on strikeouts, before allowing back-to-back hits by Jimmy Rollins and Utley. Hamels let the leadoff hitter reach base in five innings and had baserunners every inning.dddddddddddd He was able to avoid trouble with the exception of the fourth. Buster Posey led off with a single and Sandoval hit a ground-rule double ahead of Michael Morses first home run in August, a three-run drive into the left-field seats. Marlon Byrd countered with his 23rd homer leading off the fifth. TRAINERS ROOM Phillies: OF John Mayberry Jr. continues to deal with inflammation in his left wrist. His recovery has been interrupted by minor setbacks following workouts. Giants: 1B Brandon Belt will get another opinion on his concussion when the Giants visit Chicago next week. Belt will see concussion specialist Michael Collins in Pittsburgh. UP NEXT Phillies: RHP Kyle Kendrick (5-11, 4.88 ERA) takes the mound Saturday afternoon. He is 1-3 in his past six starts and has an ERA of 6.98 over his last seven. Giants: RHP Tim Hudson (8-9, 2.81) pitches Saturday. The Giants have lost seven of his last 10 starts. Hudson has started 30 games against the Phillies and is 11-10 with a 3.60 ERA against them. BYRD IS THE WORD Giants third base coach Tim Flannery sent Sandoval home with two outs in the eighth on Joe Paniks single to right. Byrds throw to Carlos Ruiz was there in plenty of time, keeping the game tied. "Defence always comes first," Byrd said. "Im not always going to hit, and I take pride in my defence." Byrd also ran down Morses 400-foot fly in the second to the roomy area of the ballpark known as Triples Alley. COOL LIKE CARLTON Hamels had his streak of pitching at least seven innings and allowing no more than one earned run stopped at five games, one shy of matching the