When the Sharks bite

San Jose’s all-time scoring leaders:

1. Patrick Marleau 1,082 points 2. Joe Thornton 973 3. Joe Pavelski 697 4. Owen Nolan 451 5. Logan Couture 437 6. Brent Burns 383 7. Jeff Friesen 350 8. Jonathan Cheechoo 291 9. Vincent Damphousse 289 10. Marc-edouard Vlasic 286

acquired Feb. 26 at the trade deadline.

Deboer uses his second line of Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Mikkel Boedker in a checking role against other teams’ top line, which doesn’t suit Thornton’s game.

Despite the uptick in offense without Thornton, the Sharks missed him on the power play in the final 2½ months of the regular season.

San Jose converted at 16.5 percent (15-for-91) with the man advantage after Jan. 23, which ranked No. 27 in the league.

And Thornton’s return would no doubt provide an emotional lift for the Sharks, who went 1-2-1 against the Knights.

“He’s a great player and we respect him a lot. He’s a fabulous player for them,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “He adds a Hall of Fame hockey player who’s a hell of a player. He’s a great power-play guy and he’s a great team guy for them. He’s a big part of their group and obviously would add a lot to them.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @Davidschoenlvrj on Twitter.