Patrick Marleau joined a very elite club when he notched his 19th goal of the season in the San Jose Sharks 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.
Marleau become the 45th player in NHL history to reach the 500 goals mark with the milestone goal at 9:30 of the first period.
Brent Burns started the play with a crisp pass from deep in the Sharks zone that found Joe Pavelski at the blue line. The captain delivered a perfect two-on-one feed to Marleau, who scored one of the most beautiful goals you will ever see for a milestone such as this.
Enjoy it yourself...
Now a few PM fun facts...
- As I mentioned above, it was Marleau's 19th goal of the season and his seventh in the last five games. The Sharks only less over that span came in the only game #18 didn't record a goal.
- Marleau is the 45th player in league history to reach 500 goals, but did you know Marleau is one of five active players with at least 500 career goals? Who are the other four? Marian Hossa, Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla and Alex Ovechkin.
- It would have been fitting if Marleau's 500th had been the game winner. It turns out it wasn't, but did you know that Marleau's 97 GWG's is tied for 8th all time?
- Marleau has scored at least one game against ever franchise (except Sharks) in the league.
- With 19 goals in 52 games, Marleau is on pace for 30 goals. It would be the first time since the 2013-14 that he's reached at least 30 goals.
Closing thoughts...
Patrick Marleau IS to the San Jose Sharks what water is to wet. It's impossible to imagine one without the other. He has been a star in this league and for this team since they drafted him second overall in 1997. He earned the chance to enjoy this moment in teal and black and more importantly he deserves the opportunity to retire having never played for another NHL franchise.
thanks for reading, Steve