Quick Bite: Sharks devour Avalanche

What a strong start to the game for the San Jose Sharks as they needed this game in the worst way after falling to the Los Angeles Kings in OT just days before. It all started with a goal that was bathed in deflections and redirections.

A lot of credit has to go to Brent Burns on that goal, who clearly respects the virtue of throwing the pucks at the net. Very few players in this league can get that puck through the way Burns does. Early in the 1st it was 1-0 thanks to his smart play.

To continue the fun in the first period it come to fruition because of a very savvy play by Joe Thornton, who held onto the puck just long enough for Marc-Edouard Vlasic to make his way up ice. Not only is Thornton on a roll but he is taking everyone’s favorite Czech player Tomas Hertl with him, an encouraging sign of things to come.

An assist on goal number two of the evening was point 1299 for Joe Thornton and made the game 2-0. Did he have anything left in the tank for the second period?

Thornton’s night was not done as he assisted on a 5-on-3 Joe Pavelski power play goal and brought his career point total to 1300.

What an accomplishment for Jumbo Joe, who is one of the most underrated players in the history of the game. If you are a San Jose fan remember to relish these moments with Thornton, his time in teal is such a lucky experience for everyone following the team.

If you think that was it for the second period you would be sadly mistaken. After the Joe Pavelski goal the Sharks were still on a power play and Joel Ward made a slick play on goal to bring the game to 4-0. The rout was on and the Sharks were having a hell of a time doing it.

Some reporters were even able to joke about Thornton’s accomplishment:

If Joe Thornton were worth a damn, he’d already have 1,301 career points.

— Ray Ratto (@RattoCSN) January 27, 2016

The beginning of the third period was a little more conservative but we did see Hertl get a roughing penalty and just for a moment I thought we were going to see him fight. I can’t even imagine such a scenario happening. During the 4-on-4 that was being served by Hertl, Patrick Roy in all of his craziness pulled his goalie. While you have to admire Roy’s aggressive nature it came back to bite him in the butt, thanks to a Paul Martin three quarters ice goal that made the game 5-0.

The empty netter! (With 11:39 left in the third period). pic.twitter.com/Ow5GOM0hZe

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 27, 2016

Did someone just say shutout? The Sharks shortly after scoring their fifth of the night gave up an absolute laser to Nathan Mackinnon. That shot was going in whether you liked it or not, not a lot could be done by Martin Jones and unfortunately for him the score was then 5-1.
I bet you thought that was the end of the evening’s festivities. Well you are wrong, Dylan DeMelo put an exclamation point on the evening with his first career NHL goal and sealed the game at 6-1.

[Fancy Stats] – [Avalanche Reaction] – [TOI Log] – [Event Summary] – [Faceoff Report] – [PBP Log]