Joe Pavelski is carrying the San Jose Sharks on his back and nobody is going to stop him. Nobody.
Captain Clutch collected his league leading eighth game winning goal in the Sharks 4-3 win over Minnesota at the SAP Center on Saturday. Pavelski took a Joe Thornton face off win and flung it past Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper for win.
It was Pavelski's team leading 23rd goal and it was a big one.
The Sharks, winners of 7 of 8 (7-0-1) games, have a season-high eight game point streak to hang their hats on. The win was San Jose's fourth in their last five at home, helping to erase the can't win at home stigma that's haunted them for most of the season.
The Sharks improved to 25-18-3 with 53 points...a full two points clear of Vancouver for second in the Pacific Division and suddenly this team doesn't look quite as bipolar as it did even a few weeks ago.
I think we can look towards Pavelski for San Jose's turnaround.
Up until I started blogging about the Sharks I hadn't given much thought to Joe Pavelski, but he has turned me into a fan. I loved watching this guy play. He is clearly one of the leagues best leaders and his play speaks volumes. I am now the only one who feels this. His teammates have the utmost respect for their captain.
Just ask Logan Couture who was almost beaming after Saturday's win over the Wild.
"[Palveski] done the same thing over and over again," Couture said. "I'm used to it. I'm sure our fans are used to it. You don't realize how impressive it is when you're going through it. I'm sure one day we'll sit back and look back at everything he's done and kind of realize how impressive it is."
As long as Pavelski is healthy I am punching the Sharks a ticket back into the playoffs.
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The captain is not the only player who has elevated his game lately.
- Rookie Joonas Donskoi has quietly made himself a bigger part of San Jose's offense. Donskoi has points in four straight (1g 4a), including a big power play goal in the second period to tie the game at two.
- Joel Ward is on his way to a very good season. The veteran winger had another goal and an assist to give his 30 points (14g 16a) in 46 games with San Jose. He had 34 points (19g 15a) in 82 games with the Caps last season.
- Toma Hertl is starting to regain his scoring touch. The 22-year-old has goals in three of the last four games to bring his season total to nine. He is on pace to eclipse his career high of 15 he scored in 2013-14.
- And what more can I say about Joe Thornton? The guy is a point scoring machine. He had two more assists in the win, including the offense zone face off win to Pavelski for the GWG. Jumbo Joe has 22 points (5g 17a) in the last 17 games and he's not slowing down. Don't make Joe angry...you won't like him when he's angry.
The Sharks are back in action Sunday against the first place Kings. With the Kings loss to Arizona on Saturday night, the Sharks can shrink L.A.'s lead in the Pacific to a very manageable six points with a game in hand.
Thanks for reading, Steve