Toronto Maple Leafs center Patrick Marleau raises his stick to the crowd as he is honored before an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, his former team, Monday, Oct. 30, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Matthew Harrington
SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks gave Patrick Marleau a near-perfect first trip to the SAP Center for the first time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs after joining Canada’s team in the offseason. The Sharks played a tribute to Marleau before the game commemorating his two decades in teal then deprived the former Sharks captain and franchise points leader of a cherry on top of his sundae by beating the Leafs 3-2.
Tim Heed, teammates with Marleau for exactly one game last season, wound up the star after all the festivities. The rookie defenseman assisted on the goal and potted another on the power play. Joe Pavelski also scored and Joel Ward picked up the empty-netter, and ultimately the game-winner for San Jose. Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs but his team struggled to just 19 shots against Sharks goalie Martin Jones.
The night opened with a video tribute to Marleau, showcasing some of the forward’s key moments with the club including his draft day, 4-goal period, overtime playoff series winner and many of his 98 game-winning goals. His wife, Christina and 4 children sat right on the glass as the spotlight shined on the former Mr. Shark. It was a perfect way to welcome back a team legend.
“It was extremely special to get an ovation like that,” said Marleau of the minute-and-a-half salute the SAP fans gave him. “To see all the signs and everything, it was really humbling. At the same time it was great to see.”
“It’s something special, something I’ll always remember,” he added.
His former linemate who matched up against him often Monday agreed on the scale of the tribute.
“It was great,” said Joe Thornton. “I had a tear in my eye.”
Once the puck dropped, focus turned to a player still building his resume for a career that should resemble Marleau’s when all is said and done. Auston Matthews, the first overall selection two drafts ago, opened the scoring in the 1st on a play that proves just how talented he is in just his second season.
The Leafs star got position underneath Logan Couture approaching the Sharks crease, then managed to kick the puck with his right skate to his stick blade on his left side. From there, the goal was wide open for Matthews to pot his 9th goal of the season and hand Toronto a 1-0 lead with 7:46 left in the 1st.
Heed helped the Sharks tie the game 7:58 into the middle period, taking a lesson from Brent Burns on point shots. Heed launched a rocket from the point right in Joe Pavelski’s wheelhouse, allowing the captain to tip the puck past Leafs keeper Frederik Andersen. Joe Thornton also assisted on Pavelski’s 3rd goal of the year to hold sole possession of 20th place all-time in points.
Heed showed how potent his point blast is 4:11 into the 3rd on a Sharks power play after the Swede launched an absolute bomb top shelf for a 2-1 San Jose lead and the rookie’s 2nd career goal.
“I think he’s gotten better and better like our team,” said Shark’s Coach Peter DeBoer. “I think we’ve incorporated some people at different position positions, some young guys, and I think we’ve all been building our game. We’ve been talking about it for 2 or 3 weeks where it’s getting better and I think tonight was our best effort of the unit and that included him”
Joel Ward netted the empty netter with 2:13 left in play, but Nazem Kadri scored with 1:10 left for the final score. The Sharks held on, riding a night of no penalties against them to ground one of the league’s best offenses.
After pulling past .500 for the first time all season, the Sharks have a tough task ahead of the Wednesday night. They’ll welcome the reigning Western Conference champions Nashville at home.
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