Sharks Finish Road Trip with a Win

Video Highlights from Last Game

On Saturday night, the San Jose Sharks faced off against the Vancouver Canucks and newly acquired centerman Mats Sundin. In what turned out to be a very tight and competitive matchup, Team Teal was able to skate away with two points making their Western Canada road trip a successful one. After starting off poorly in Calgary, San Jose now heads back home on a two game winning streak thanks in large part to captain Patrick Marleau.

Against Vancouver, Number 12 chipped in his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season. Over the last four games, Marleau now has five goals and one assist...I think it's fair to say that Patty has been simply amazing this year and a big reason why the Sharks are positioned well for the remainder of the season.

As San Jose continues to sit atop the league, I find that more and more people are starting to pay attention to the Sharks and hockey in general. Most of the time, these new fans will ask, "What's the difference this year? Why are the Sharks playing so well?" Usually, I comment on the new style of play that coach Todd McLellan brought with him, the additions of Stanley Cup winning defenseman to our blueline, and the improved play of all the core players. However, to say that Marleau has improved his play is an understatement. Number 12 has simply been amazing this year...playing tough, leading the team, scoring important goals...Marleau has been doing it all. To be honest, he's finally that All-Star caliber captain that every team wants and every Sharks fan hoped he would be...and we have Doug Wilson to thank for it.

Last season, especially after the early exit from the playoffs, Sharks fans (including myself) were willing to ship the Sharks captain off to some distant team for a package that would include potentially a player and top draft pick. Wilson listened...fielded some offers, but in the end, he stuck with his captain and let go of his coach instead.

Well, now we're seeing the benefits of that decision. Imagine if Marleau was now in the Eastern Conference somewhere...where would we be? We probably would be a good team and in the playoff hunt, but we wouldn't be 31-5-5 right now. So, we should all be thankful for that trade that never happened because it easily could have been done.

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