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Sharks aim for club-best 45th win

Mar 21, 2007 - 2:10 PM San Jose (44-25-4) at Chicago (27-36-9) 8:30 pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks are entering uncharted territory.

Thorton and the Sharks aim for their franchise-record 45th victory of the season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

The 2001-02 squad and 2005-06 edition each posted 44 wins and the 2003-04 team holds a club-record with 104 points.

San Jose had a chance to reach 45 wins last Sunday, but lost in overtime to Colorado, 4-3. Bill Guerin netted his 33rd goal and Thornton and Milan Michalek added tallies for the Sharks, who suffered their first regulation defeat in eight games.

Thornton has scored a goal in four consecutive games and stretched his point streak to seven. Notching four goals and 10 assists over that stretch, Thornton is third in the NHL with 96 points.

San Jose is in sixth place in the Western Conference, one point behind Minnesota (43-24-7).

The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four games, including a 5-2 setback to Columbus on Tuesday. Rene Bourque and Jason Williams scored and Nikolai Khabibulin made 24 saves for Chicago.

San Jose has won all three meetings with the Blackhawks this season.