Ryan Donato's long-awaited offensive eruption pushes Blackhawks past Sharks

The Blackhawks have been starving for offense in recent weeks, and one of their hungriest players finally got to eat Monday.

Forward Ryan Donato erupted for two goals and two assists, exceeding his production in his previous 14 games combined, as the Hawks defeated the Sharks 6-3 to snap their five-game losing streak.

‘‘You have plenty of chances that should go in and don’t, and sometimes they don’t deserve to go in and they go in,’’ Donato said. ‘‘Hopefully that’s a good sign for the future.’’

That was the case on Donato’s first point. He attempted a shot that got blocked, but it ended up earning him a secondary assist on defenseman Connor Murphy’s goal early in the second period.

Seven minutes later, however, Donato made a beautiful toe-drag move around Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais, then roofed his shot. There was no luck involved there, and it’ll live in Donato’s highlight reel forever.

Those goals helped the Hawks build a 5-1 lead, but a valiant comeback attempt by the Sharks made things interesting until Donato provided a game-sealing insurance goal on the rebound of a shot by Ilya Mikheyev with 5:19 left.

It marked Donato’s second four-point outing in three seasons with the Hawks. He’s still on pace for only 19 goals this season, down from 31 last season, but he will angle for a hot closing stretch after the Olympic break.

Coach Jeff Blashill frequently has mentioned how Donato’s reduced production largely stems from his lesser role in the bottom six, but he seems to have developed some chemistry with Mikheyev and Jason Dickinson now.

‘‘When you’re playing on that line, you’re going to get more opportunity, and [it was] good for him to take that opportunity and run with it,” Blashill said.

Kid battle

The sellout crowd of 20,130 at the United Center was mostly there to watch the first Connor Bedard vs. Macklin Celebrini battle in Chicago, and they got what they paid for.

Bedard snapped the Hawks’ lengthy power-play drought in the first period, and Celebrini notched a goal and an assist in the second.

Back in town

Having played for both teams, Sharks forward Philipp Kurashev has a unique perspective on the similarities and differences between the Blackhawks’ and Sharks’ rebuilds.

The soft-spoken Kurashev, who will head to Italy this week to compete for Switzerland in the Olympics, experienced a flood of memories upon his return to Chicago.

‘‘[I’m] excited to see all my former teammates and staff members,’’ Kurashev said. ‘‘I grew here with these people together. I really enjoyed my time here, honestly. It’s all I knew, but it was an amazing time for me to realize one of my dreams: to play in the NHL.’’

Still, Kurashev’s fifth and final season with the Hawks — last season — wasn’t his fondest memory. He struggled on the ice, with only 14 points in 51 games along with some major defensive issues, and a depressing mood around the team affected his psyche.

He has enjoyed a fresh start with the Sharks, timed perfectly with what appears to be their resurgence. His future, however, isn’t set in stone because he’s on a one-year contract.

‘‘It’s pretty different, how it feels being in San Jose than [Chicago],’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t want to talk too much about how it was last year. It was a pretty hard year for me — and for the team, of course.

‘‘But this year it has been such a different experience, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. The way we are with each other, it’s so positive and [there’s] so much joy in our room. I think it shows on the ice.’’

The Sharks have been undeniably explosive offensively, although the Hawks exploited their equally undeniable defensive weaknesses. High-scoring games have been the norm for them.

Kurashev’s production this season (16 points in 33 games) and ice time (about 16 minutes per game) falls roughly between his 54-point season in 2023-24 on Bedard’s wing and his disastrous 2024-25 season. He just missed seven weeks with an upper-body injury, though.

He, Bedard and forward Colton Dach caught up over lunch Sunday at Kurashev’s favorite restaurant, Gibsons Italia.

Video work

The Hawks will conclude an exhausting stretch of 21 games in 40 days since Christmas on Wednesday at the Blue Jackets. It will be their final game before the Olympics.

The density of games has limited their opportunities to practice, which hasn’t helped such a young team that has much learning to do.

Instead, the coaching staff has tried to do more teaching during film sessions, which don’t require any physical exertion. But it’s a skill in itself for players to apply things seen only on video on the ice.

‘‘The coaches do a great job giving us the tidbits that we need [that are] going to be most beneficial because you can’t throw everything [at us],’’ forward Landon Slaggert said. ‘‘There’s too many opponents in quick succession. You’ve just got to give us the keys: What’s their breakout? What’s their forecheck?

‘‘At this point, I’ve been able to process [it]. At first, I was like, ‘Whoa, this is different.’ Because in college, we’d meet Monday about the team we’re playing on Friday.’’

Note: Captain Nick Foligno participated in practice Sunday and in the morning skate Monday, but he still missed his third consecutive game because of injury.