A San Jose Sharks Blog

The cold streaks of Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau have been well documented over the first 25 games of the season. These two players are part of San Jose's young core of leaders, and without their consistent offensive production, the Sharks have been on a roller coaster. Combined, these two players have only accounted for seven goals and 12 assists. Thankfully, Joe Thornton has kept the boat afloat and has put up 11 goals and 20 assists all by himself. However, against Dallas, Cheechoo and Marleau were both able to find the back of the net. Not surprisingly, Thornton was again the player distributing the puck on both goals.

In the first period, on the powerplay, Thornton moved the puck down low to Cheechoo who found himself in close on Marty Turco. Rather than redirecting the pass on net, Jonathan delayed and then sent the puck across the crease. With alot of traffic in front, the puck deflected off of a Dallas stick and went into the net, giving Cheech his 4th goal of the season.

In the second period, the Stars tied the game on a relatively soft goal. Streaking down the near boards, Trevor Daley put a shot on net from just inside the blueline. Somehow, Evgeni Nabokov lost sight of it and the low percentage shot went in. Less than three minutes later, San Jose took the lead back on Marleau's goal. This play was simply awesome; not so much the shot on net, but the assist that led to the goal. From the far boards, Thornton spotted Marleau at the top of the crease and sent a wicked cross-ice backhanded pass right onto the tape. Granted, if Marleau didn't score, the pass wouldn't have been as notable; however, Thornton continues to amaze me with his hockey sense, vision, and skill.

In the third period, Dallas again tied the game when Mike Modano scored at 6:08. On the play, the puck scooted behind the net, and with Nabby out of position, Dallas' Number 9 put it in the net. Fortunately, the Sharks got the next goal to again break the tie. As one could expect, Jumbo Joe started the play by dumping the puck into the zone. With speed, Milan Michalek broke in and picked up the puck behind the net. Then, with a quick centering pass, he found a streaking Thornton who put in his 12th goal of the season and the game winner.

Overall, the Sharks looked pretty solid. The Stars are a tough team and to take two points away from them in regulation is something that San Jose fans should be happy about. Moreover, let's celebrate the fact that Cheechoo and Marleau are finally back on the stats sheet. If this type of play continues, then brighter days are definitely ahead.