Thornton Doing It All

Sharks 3, Avalanche 2

What does a superstar "assist-man" do when his wingers hit coldstreaks? Well, if he's Joe Thornton, he does it himself. 24 games into the season, Jumbo Joe leads the San Jose Sharks with 11 goals, four more than second place Milan Michalek. What can't this guy do?

In the first period, San Jose got off to a very quick start. 46 seconds into the game, Team Teal was awarded a powerplay when Jaroslav Hlinka took a Holding penalty. With the man adavantage, Michalek sent a quick pass down low to Thorton who found himself with the puck, all alone in front of Peter Budaj. Without wasting a second, Number 19 slipped the puck through the goaltender's legs for his 10th goal of the season.

In the second period, Thornton scored his second goal of the game. Again, on the powerplay, quick passing allowed Jumbo Joe to skate in from the lower half boards and deposit the puck behind the Colorado netminder. Unfortunately, later in the period, the Avalanche would cut the lead in half on a goal from Milan Hejduk, his 8th of the year. With less than two minutes left in the period, the Sharks' Mike Grier helped San Jose regain the two goal lead. On the play, Thornton sent a pass through the crease. The puck ended up redirecting off of Grier's skate and into the net giving the alternate captain his 3rd goal of the season. This tally seemingly was the last goal of the period until Colorado struck back. On the powerplay, the Avalanche scored a goal with 29 seconds left, making the score 3-2.

The late goal could have taken the steam out of the Sharks, but Team Teal was able to hold on throughout the third period.

Overall, it was a very solid effort. The guys showed a lot of jump and definitely utilized their size and speed by racking up a total of 31 hits. This set the tone for the game and seemed to give everyone a little more space to handle the puck. In the end, it was Thornton and his three points that made the difference.

I tend to forget every once in a while, but we are sure lucky to have a player such as Joe. So far, two years in teal have treated him well and let's hope he continues to treat us well by earning more victories.

A San Jose Sharks Blog