Patrick Marleau had a night to remember Monday in Denver, Colorado.
Patrick Marleau Bursts Out for Four Goal Period
Being 37 years old and the owner of most goal scoring records in franchise history you would think there was little left to prove. However, on Monday Marleau did something he hadn’t accomplished before. In the third period of a 1-1 tied game against the Colorado Avalanche, he burst out for four goals in the 3rd period. This was Marleau’s first four-goal game in his 19 year NHL career. He is just the 12th NHL player to to score four goals in one period. The last time it happened was almost exactly 20 years ago when Mario Lemieux scored four against the Montreal Canadiens on January 26, 1997.
Teammates, including Brent Burns, were quick to congratulate the life-time Shark on Twitter.
Big win and what a night for Patty beast Marleau!! #yearoftherooster 🐓🐓🐓🐓
— Brent Burns (@Burnzie88) January 24, 2017
The four goals bring Marleau up to 497 career goals as he inches ever closer to the 500-goal milestone. Marleau is currently 46th all-time in goals and will become the 45th 500-goal scorer in league history after Marian Hossa, who became part of the exclusive club earlier in the season. He is the third Sharks player to score four goals in a game after Owen Nolan and Tomas Hertl.
Marleau Back Up to Speed
The special night came at a good time for both the Sharks and Marleau. The Sharks have had trouble scoring most of the season and needed 40 games to get their first fiv-goal game. Marleau, individually, has also had a slow season with 12 goals in 47 games before entering last night’s action. For him it’s another relatively slow season for a player usually good for 30 goals every year. This puts him at 16 goals and sets him on pace for 27 goals this season. Recently Marleau has been on a line with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton which has seemed to help his production. So with a slightly improved second half to the season 30 goals or close to 30 could be within the realm of possibility.
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