Toronto, Marleau get win vs. Sharks
SAN JOSE — And the bragging rights swing back to Patrick Marleau.
Mitch Marner said the Toronto Maple Leafs (13-6) owed Marleau a win in San Jose and they delivered Thursday night, beating the Sharks 5-3 in Mr. Shark’s second game at SAP Center as a member of the visiting team.
Marleau, who’s the Sharks all-time leader in points (1,082), goals (508) and games (1,493), shed tears last October when he received a thunderous ovation of “Patty, Patty, Patty” chants during his first visit to San Jose as a member of the Maple Leafs. On Thursday, Marleau, who left the Sharks to sign a three-year, $18 million contract with Toronto in July 2017, left the emotion in the dressing room as he recorded his first point against his former-squad, an assist on Kasperi Kapanen’s goal in the first period.
John Tavares also haunted the Sharks Thursday night. The Sharks (10-7-3) were among the five teams that met with Tavares last summer when he pursued unrestricted free agency. But he eventually signed with the team he grew up rooting for as a kid in the greater Toronto area, leaving Sharks fans brokenhearted until general manager Doug Wilson traded for Erik Karlsson on the eve of training camp.
Tavares scored the Maple Leafs first goal Thursday just two seconds after Barclay Goodrow’s roughing penalty expired. Goodrow received the penalty just eight seconds into the game after he tried get payback on Nazem Kadri for ripping a chunk out of Joe Thornton’s beard last January. But instead of drawing Kadri into a fight off the opening draw, Goodrow received a penalty and the Maple Leafs capitalized.
Still, the Sharks went into the first intermission leading 3-2 off of goals from Kevin Labanc, Joe Pavelski and MarcEdouard Vlasic. Pavelski also earned the primary assist on Vlasic’s goal, giving him seven points in three games. The Maple Leafs took a 4-3 lead in the second, scoring a pair of goals off odd-man rushes, including Kapanen’s second, a short-handed tally that proved to be the game winner.
Marner added an insurance goal at 13:54 of the third.