Forward Patrick Marleau may no longer be the captain of the San Jose Sharks (a role he ably served from 2004 to 2008), but lately he has been steering the Sharks' ship through some delicate navigation, helping them climb back into the lead in the Pacific Division.
Marleau enjoyed an incredible season in 2009-2010, after being replaced as captain by soon-to-be-Hall of Fame defenseman Rob Blake. He scored a career-high 44 goals with 83 points—keying a scoring attack that helped land the Sharks their second-ever Western Conference Finals appearance.
He was uncharacteristically effective in the postseason as well, scoring eight goals with 13 points in 14 games and was practically the entire offense for the Sharks in the conference finals.
He posted winning goals in two of the four wins over the vaunted Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling and inspiring five-game semi-final series win.
This clutch play has now re-emerged to help the Sharks to a 14-2-1 mark over their last 17 games, improving from No. 11 to No. 3 in the west and the top of the Pacific Division.
Marleau has scored the game-winner in overtime in the last two Sharks overtim ...
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Article written by Patrick Goulding II
Captain Clutch: Patrick Marleau Thriving in Key Situations for San Jose Sharks
February 24th, 2011 by Patrick Goulding II Leave a reply »
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