The San Jose Sharks were denied of a fifth straight win as they plummeted to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at the United Center on Sunday night.

The Sharks jumped out to an early lead, but the Blackhawks answered with four unanswered goals to cruise past the visiting team.

Joe Pavelski deflected Brent Burns’ long wrist shot past Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead 1:13 into the opening period.

The Blackhawks held a 10-6 shot advantage, but the Sharks led 1-0 after 20 minutes.

Duncan Keith tied the game 1-1 with 3:11 left in the second period. Keith stepped into a one-timer on Artemi Panarin’s pass to the point and fired it past Sharks goaltender Martin Jones for his first goal of the season.

The Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 21-19, but the score was in a 1-1 deadlock after 40 minutes.

Ryan Hartman found himself alone in the circle off the faceoff and fired a laser past Jones to put the Blackhawks up 2-1 at 6:59 of the third period.

Vinnie Hinostroza converted on a two-on-one rush to beat Jones five-hole and extend the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-1 at 17:40.

Patrick Kane capped off the Blackhawks’ scoring with his 10th goal of the season. Kane expanded the Blackhawks’ lead 4-1 with a a wrist shot from the top of the circle into the Sharks’ empty net.

The Sharks fell 4-1 to the Blackhawks. Jones made 22 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

Darling finished with 33 saves in Chicago’s fifth straight victory.

The Sharks return home to kick off a brief two-game homestand Tuesday against the Calgary Flames at 7:30 p.m. PST. You can watch the game on CSN California. You can also listen to the broadcast on 98.5 KFOX.