The Blackhawks set an NHL record for the best start to a season, beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Friday to give them at least one point in each of their first 17 games.

Rookie Brandon Saad’s short-handed goal early in the third period — and with 3 seconds left on a San Jose power play — snapped a 1-all tie and stood up as the game winner. Chicago (14-0-3) won its fourth straight game to break a mark set by the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks, who earned points in their first 16 games.

The Blackhawks equaled that run Tuesday with a shootout win over Vancouver.

“It’s nice to get another win and make history,” the 20-year-old Saad said. “Our group’s had a great year so far, so we never expect anything less.

“We’re celebrating the win now. I’m sure it will sink in a little bit more tomorrow, but it’s awesome to be part of history.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville also reflected on the record, but not for long.

“The guys should be proud of the achievement, the accomplishment,” he said. “I just think we shouldn’t be happy with where we’re at. We just want to keep trying to get better.”

Saad scored the go-ahead goal after closing in on the left wing one-on-one with San Jose defenseman Brent Burns. After a quick fake, Saad fired a shot from the circle that beat San Jose’s Antti Niemi just under the glove 2:24 into the period.

“I just took him (Burns) wide and tried to get a shot off,” Saad said. “Luckily, I beat (Niemi) glove side. Sometimes power-play guys drop back a little, and I took advantage of it.”

Burns gave Saad too much room on the play, however, according to San Jose coach Todd McLellan.

“I thought that we let a player that wasn’t very dangerous — not because he’s not talented or anything — but a player in a situation that wasn’t very dangerous skate into a primary scoring spot without even challenging him,” McLellan said.

“I’m not sure if our goalie was on the angle or not,” he added, “but I’m disappointed we didn’t challenge him earlier.”

Viktor Stalberg also scored for league-leading Chicago, which has earned a total of 31 of 34 possible points.

Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery made 26 saves to win his fourth straight start and improve to 7-0. Chicago killed all four San Jose power plays, all of which occurred in a span of less than 14 minutes late in the second and early in the third periods.

“(The record) is a notch in your belt,” Emery said. “It’s special to do something as a group.

“The start of the year is the worst time to do it, I think,” he added. “You’d rather do it at the end, but it’s great.”

Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, getting only his second goal in 11 games after getting nine in San Jose’s first five games.

Both Emery and Niemi were sharp throughout most of the game. But a misplay by Niemi led to Stalberg’s goal at 16:40 of the second period, and he seemed fooled on Saad’s score. Niemi stopped 32 shots.

Niemi, who was the goalie when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, also let in a couple of soft goals in a 4-1 loss to the Blackhawks at the United Center last Friday.

Chicago and San Jose faced each other for the third time in 17 days. The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 4-1 last Friday and 5-3 in San Jose on Feb. 5.

The Blackhawks had a full lineup for the first time since their season opener at Los Angeles.

Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook, forward Daniel Carcillo and goalie Corey Crawford returned from injuries. Seabrook missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, and Carcillo sat out 15 games after suffering a knee injury in the season opener.

Crawford, who sat out three games with a upper-body injury, backed up Emery.

Chicago forward Marian Hossa was back after being hit in the back of the head by Vancouver forward Jannik Hansen on Tuesday and leaving early in the third period. Hansen was suspended for one game by the NHL.

Marleau broke the scoreless tie late in the first period. He connected with 14.2 seconds left to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

Emery made a point-blank pad save on Joe Pavelski’s tip of Joe Thornton’s shot from left wing, then Marleau pounced on the rebound in the slot. Emery got his left pad on Marleau’s attempt, but the puck barely slid over the goal line.

Stalberg tied it at 1 at 16:40 of the second on a play from the left corner. From a sharp angle and with traffic in front, Stalberg whipped the puck toward Niemi. It struck the inside of Niemi’s left pad near the knee and deflected in.

Saad’s goal 2:24 into the third made it 2-1.

Then Chicago’s penalty killing and alert work by Emery helped preserve the lead.

“I thought we got better as the game went on, each and every shift,” Quenneville said. “We certainly got some energy off the penalty kill tonight, none more than getting the shortie in the third.”

Niemi was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:10 left, but Chicago kept the Sharks off the puck and off balance. Hossa missed an empty net in the final seconds.

Game notes

The 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks got off to a 12-0-4 start that season and went on to win the Stanley Cup. … The Sharks played the fifth game of a season-high six-game road trip and are 1-3-1. Chicago C Dave Bolland left the game late in the second period with an upper-body injury and is out day to day. … Despite the compressed 48-game NHL schedule, San Jose had played only one game — at St. Louis on Tuesday — since facing the Blackhawks in Chicago a week ago. … San Jose C Scott Gomez and D Justin Braun were healthy scratches. … Former Blackhawks player and current broadcaster Eddie Olczyk, a Chicago-area native, was honored in a pregame ceremony for being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

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The Norris Trophy winner last season as the NHL’s top defenseman, Karlsson was cut by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke’s skate as the two tangled along the boards in Wednesday night’s game.

Senators GM Bryan Murray said Karlsson had surgery to repair 70 percent of his Achilles. Murray also said recovery time is three to four months, meaning the earliest Karlsson could return is in May. If he were to return in May, he would have a chance to play if the Senators were still alive in the playoffs.

“Erik Karlsson’s season is effectively over,” Murray said.

Karlsson leads NHL defensemen with six goals, scoring three times in his previous four games. He had a short-handed goal to help the Senators beat Buffalo 2-0 on Tuesday night.

The loss of Karlsson is a big one to Ottawa, which already is without star forward Jason Spezza. He is out after having back surgery for a herniated disc.

“It’s a tough blow,” Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. “Obviously, the way he’s playing, and how much he means to our team, it feels terrible and I feel really bad for him.”

Karlsson immediately fell to the ice and was in visible pain. He needed help getting back to the bench and showed frustration, throwing his stick against the boards before disappearing down the runway.

“You knew right away there was an issue,” Senators goalie Craig Anderson said. “He’s a player who is irreplaceable. It’s unfortunate, but there are no words that can explain what we’re feeling.”

Cooke has been suspended several times for hits, some of them involving head shots that injured opposing players. In 2011, Cooke was suspended for the Penguins’ final 10 regular-season games and the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after jabbing an elbow to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

“We all know who’s involved in it,” Senators coach Paul MacLean said. “That’s just the way it is. The injury to Erik was unfortunate, and it happens on a nothing play that could’ve potentially been whistled down.”

The NHL, however, said there will be no hearing or any supplemental discipline for Cooke in the wake of Karlsson’s injury.

“I feel horrible for Erik Karlsson, I feel bad for Ottawa,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero told ESPN.com Thursday. “It’s a bad feeling. But I can’t rationalize where that was a dirty play or anything with intent. Our fan base knows how it feels to lose a star player. It’s emotional. I know how it feels like. It’s just very unfortunate. I would not be defending Matt Cooke if I thought it was a dirty hockey play.”

The NHL’s department of player safety reviewed the incident and NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan spoke with general managers for both the Senators and Penguins, but there is nothing coming Cooke’s way. The league doesn’t view the play as illegal or malicious.

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