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Blackhawks return to the United Center ice tonight against Dallas

Patrick Sharp was a key part of the Chicago Blackhawks'
transformation from league also-ran to Stanley Cup champion.

He raised the Cup on the United Center ice in June and will make
his first trip back to Chicago as a player tonight, with his
Dallas Stars looking to cut into the Blackhawks' Central Division
lead.

For the past 9 1/2 seasons, Sharp was a staple in Chicago's lineup,
leading the team in scoring four times. The fan favorite tallied
239 goals and scored another 42 in the playoffs to help the club to
three Stanley Cups.

Three weeks after their latest Cup celebration, the Blackhawks
(36-17-4) traded Sharp to Dallas (34-15-5) in need of saving
salary-cap space.

Sharp got off to a fast start with the Stars - as did most of his
teammates - but has been stuck on 16 goals since Jan. 3. He had a
goal and an assist in his first game against his former team in a
4-0 win Dec. 22 as Dallas moved 10 points ahead of Chicago.

The Stars' push to the division crown hit a snag in January,
however, as they slogged through much of the month while the
Blackhawks pulled ahead on the strength of a franchise-best 12-game
winning streak.

Chicago returned to Dallas on Saturday and this time it dominated
play, winning 5-1 behind a goal and three assists from Artem
Anisimov.

Patrick Kane scored his NHL-leading 32nd goal - four ahead of
Dallas' Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin - and Artemi Panarin had two
assists as Chicago's top line accounted for two goals and five
assists.

''They knew what happened here last time, and didn't want that to
happen again,'' said Dallas defenseman Alex Goligoski, who was on
the ice for the Blackhawks' last four goals. ''It will be nice to
get them again pretty quick, so it's a chance to get them back.''

The Stars bounced back with Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win in
Minnesota, their fourth victory in five games. John Klingberg
scored the winner for Dallas, which has scored at least four goals
in three of four games since the All-Star break, with the Chicago
loss being the exception. The Stars reached the four-goal mark
twice in 15 games before the break.

Corey Crawford made 36 saves against the Stars and stopped 25 of 26
shots Tuesday against San Jose, but Chicago's three-game winning
streak was snapped with a 2-0 loss. The Blackhawks, three points
ahead of Dallas, have four losses in their last 20 games, totaling
one goal in the defeats.

''We didn't have the same jump that we usually do," said Crawford,
who is 13-3-0 with a 1.88 goals-against average in his last 16
starts. "It was just one of those games where the puck wasn't going
in.''

The Blackhawks did have one puck go in but Brandon Mashinter's goal
late in the first period was disallowed after the Sharks won a
successful video challenge for goalie interference.

When the first question of his postgame press conference asked
about the play, a fuming Joel Quenneville gave a quick answer
before abruptly throwing up his arms and walking out.

The Blackhawks are hopeful Panarin, who leads NHL rookies with 52
points, can return after he missed his first game with an illness.

Former Blackhawk Antti Niemi was given the night off Tuesday after
being pulled for giving up three goals on eight shots in Saturday's
first period. He has a 4.02 GAA in losing seven consecutive starts
in Chicago since winning Dec. 30, 2010 in his first game back at
the United Center.

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