Recap: Marleau Scores 500th Goal as Sharks Beat Canucks

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After Henrik Sedin hit a milestone in the Vancouver Canucks last game at Rogers Arena, it was Patrick Marleau’s turn on Thursday night.

Marleau came into the game sitting on 499 career goals, after scoring six goals in his previous four games. He didn’t wait long to make history by scoring a power play goal before the midway mark of the first period. He became the 45th player in NHL history to score 500 goals, and just the ninth to do it all with one team.

With Marleau hitting the 500 goal mark, the debate about him making the Hall of Fame is gaining momentum. He’s sure earned a long look following his brilliant career. A Stanley Cup with the San Jose Sharks would ultimately punch his ticket to the Hall.

Another player who will be instrumental in the Sharks making another run at the Cup is Brent Burns. He had another terrific game against the Canucks. He made a beautiful pass which led to Marleau’s 500th career goal, and put the game out of reach by making the game 3-0 early in the third period. However, he didn’t look too happy here after taking a late third-period penalty.

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The Canucks played 40 minutes of good hockey, but fell down 2-0 after 20 minutes and couldn’t recover. It was a good game for the Sedins and Loui Eriksson, who all led the Canucks in even strength Corsi percentage. Bo Horvat’s line also created some chances, but couldn’t capitalize as the San Jose Sharks won 4-1.

First Period

This period was all San Jose. In reality, it was all about Marleau.

The veteran winger notched his 500th career goal in the first period on the power play. It wasn’t your typical power play goal, as he scored off the rush on a feed from Joe Pavelski. Burns made a beautiful stretch pass from his own zone to Pavelski, who was on the Canucks blue line. He even got a sparse cheer from the crowd in Vancouver as they acknowledged Marleau’s 500th career goal during the goal announcement.

The Canucks lackluster, low-event hockey backfired in the first period, as they registered only six shots to San Jose’s 13 shots. Chris Tierney provided some secondary scoring for the Sharks, making the game 2-0 before the end of the first period. It was not a good shift for Philip Larsen, who was on the ice for the goal.

Second Period

The Canucks woke up in the second period, kiboshing their trapping style in favor of some offense. They registered 16 total shots on goal, but they were unable to beat Martin Jones in the period. Loui Eriksson tried to make use of his time with the Sedins, as he led the Canucks with four shots on goal after two periods.

A late flurry from Horvat’s line highlighted the Canucks best stretch of play in the period. Alex Burrows had the best chance after a Sharks turnover in their own zone, but Jones stoned him in tight. The Sharks almost got a breakaway the other way after a long shift, but Nikita Tryamkin thwarted the attempt with a diving play on the puck.

Third Period

The Sharks made the Canucks pay for failing to capitalize on their chances late in the second period. Burns continued his MVP-like season by scoring 53 seconds into the third period. After Joe Thornton won a puck battle against Troy Stecher and Alex Edler, Tomas Hertl fed the puck to Burns who put it past Miller for his 22nd goal of the season.

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After being lambasted on Twitter for his poor defensive performance, Philip Larsen did his best to make amends by scoring his first goal as a Canuck. With a good shift from the fourth line leading up to the goal, Larsen took a slapshot from the point that deflected off of Paul Martin, and past Jones for Vancouver’s first goal of the contest.

The Canucks got a few chances on a late power play, but Markus Granlund took them off of the man advantage with a high-sticking penalty. Tierney made them pay by scoring his second of the game on the power play.

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The goal was initially waved off, with Joel Ward standing all alone in front of Miller. They originally ruled that Ward was interfering in the crease, but the call was overturned. It was final dagger for the Canucks, who dropped their first meeting against the San Jose Sharks 4-1.

Scoring Summary

FIRST PERIOD

Patrick Marleau  (19) PPG (500th career goal), assisted by Joe Pavelski (29) and Brent Burns (33)

Chris Tierney (5) assisted by David Schlemko (9)

SECOND PERIOD

No Scoring

THIRD PERIOD

Brent Burns (22) assisted by Tomas Hertl (6) and Joe Thornton (30)

Philip Larsen (1) assisted by Brendan Gaunce (5) and Nikita Tryamkin (5)

Chris Tierney 2 (6) PPG assisted by Marc-Edouard Vlasic (14) and Joel Ward (14)

THW Three Stars

1) Brent Burns (1 goal, 1 assist)

2) Martin Jones (32 saves)

3) Chris Tierney (2 goals, GWG)

Next Up

Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks

Saturday, February 4th, 2017 – SAP Center, 7:30 p.m. PST

Broadcast Channels: CSN-CA, FS-A

2016-17 Season Series: Coyotes Lead 2-1

Next Up

Minnesota Wild at Vancouver Canucks

Saturday, February 4th, 2017 – Rogers Arena, 7:00 p.m. PST

Broadcast Channels: CBC, SN, FS-N

2016-17 Season Series: Canucks Lead 1-0