Quick Bite: History made in Sharks win

Patrick Marleau scored his 500th goal, Chris Tierney scored twice and the San Jose Sharks kicked off one heck of a reunion with the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night by winning 4-1. San Jose increased its lead in the Pacific to three points and started a two-game win streak in the process.

As the first period started, the Sharks 3rd and 4th lines dominated out of the gate. Chance after chance came for the boys in teal, but Ryan Miller didn’t budge. Mikkel Boedker drew an interference penalty against Canucks defender Troy Stecher, leading the Sharks to their first power play.

At 10:30 of the first period, the Sharks scored first on the power play when Patrick Marleau put one past Miller from the short side, scoring his 500th goal. Chris Tierney added to the lead at 15:59 in the when he put a rebound behind Miller to make the score 2-0. David Schlemko got an assist on the goal.

The second period started off with the Sharks mainly in the Canucks zone. Having the last seven days off, the Canucks look like they did not come prepared to play against their division rival.

The Sharks came crashing out of the gate in the third, and Brent Burns scored his 22nd goal of the season with just 53 seconds into the frame. Hertl got an assist along with Thornton, who picked up the 994th in his career. Martin Jones continued his impressive game by absolutely robbing Daniel Sedin of a goal at around the 15 minute mark.

The Canucks eventually got on the board when Philip Larsen scored his first goal of the season and as a Canuck when he tipped one in past Jones at 6:25 of the third period. Brendan Gaunce and Nikita Tryamkin got the assists on the goal.

Tierney drew a high sticking penalty against Canucks forward Markus Granlund later on in the period and cashed in on it to get his second of the game. The goal was initially waved off for incidental contact with the goaltender, but Pete DeBoer challenged the call. He won the challenge, giving Tierney his sixth tally of the season and icing the contest.

Fear the Fin’s three stars of the game:

1. Patrick Marleau (500th career goal)
2. Chris Tierney (2 goals)
3. Brent Burns ( 1 goal & 1 assist)

The Sharks increased their lead in the Pacific Division with their win tonight, and manage to keep the 2nd best record in the Western Conference behind the Minnesota Wild. They are one point ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, who have 67 points. The Oilers lost 2-0 in Nashville tonight, the Ducks, Kings, and Flames were idle, and the Coyotes lost 4-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Updated Standings:

1. Sharks (68 points)
2. Ducks (65 points)
3. Oilers (64 points)
4. Kings (56 points)
5. Flames (55 points)
6. Canucks (52 points)
7. Coyotes (38 points)

Marleau became the second player to score his 500th goal this season, when Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa scored his 500th against the Philadelphia Flyers. For Patrick Marleau’s historic achievement, here are some other accolades of his. Marleau becomes the 3rd Sharks player in NHL history to score 500 goals. Teemu Selanne and Jeremy Roenick were the other two, and they were both pretty good players.

He also becomes the 17th player in history to score 500 goals with one team. With Marleau scoring his 500th goal, he has the 2nd most games to score 500 goals out of any player in history, right behind hall of famer and Penguins, Hurricanes great Ron Francis.

Ryan Miller ends up on the wrong side of this historical achievement as he becomes the 2nd goalie in history to have 350 plus wins and give up a 500th career goal. Patrick Roy is the other goaltender, who gave up former Red Wings great Brendan Shanahan’s 500th goal.

With history happening tonight, Patrick Marleau solidifies that his jersey number will hang in the rafters at the Shark Tank, and he will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame, not like there was any doubt before. As much as I wanted to see him score his 500th goal at home, it’s still amazing for me and all the other Sharks fan to see that Mr. Shark is still making memories in his 17th season with the team.