Sharks’ Thornton And Marleau Score Big Goals In 3-2 OT Win Over Wild

Extensions, Extensions

Jan 25, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks players celebrate after the game-winning goal by center Joe Thornton (19) in overtime against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center at San Jose. Sharks won 3 to 2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

The San Jose Sharks came away with a huge win not because of the way they played, but because of the players who contributed on the score sheet. Only a day after both Sharks’ Captain Joe Thornton and Alternate Captain Patrick Marleau signed three-year contract extensions, they each had their fair share of goals in the Sharks’ 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild with Jumbo scoring the game winner in OT to extend their winning streak to six straight.

“Cooke”ing On Enemy Lines

Okay, that pun was terrible, but the Sharks’ start wasn’t. They played really well offensively during the first half of the opening stanza. However, in the second half Matt Cooke (Assists: NONE) would intercept Jumbo’s pass to Brad Stuart and score on a breakaway to give the Wild the 1-0 lead. The Sharks were held without a shot on goal after the Minnesota goal.

Old School Leadership

The Sharks’ second period woes seemed to continue as Minnesota continued to force them back into their own zone. The Wild capitalized on a poor San Jose break out attempt as Keith Ballard (Assists: Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville) wristed the puck past Antti Niemi for his first goal in 115 games, spanning back to Oct. 6, 2011, to make it 2-0 Wild. Then the Sharks’ biggest stars finally broke out. Joe Pavelski passed the puck to the Captain (Assist: Pavelski and Irwin) who cut the lead to 1. Just 49 seconds later, Marleau (Assists: Tommy Wingels and Matt Irin) wristed a shot that beat Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper far side to tie up the tilt.

Joe-To-Joe In OT

It almost seemed like forever ago when the Sharks last went to OT (except it wasn’t that long ago), but the game would end in the extra 5 minutes when Pavs stole the puck in the offensive zone and fed it to the Captain again, who slapped it past Kuemper for the game winner.

Next Game Vs. the Los Angeles Kings

The Sharks will close out their home stand looking for to sweep their home stand against their Pacific Division rivals, the LA Kings, as they also look for their 7th straight win. Be sure to tune in at 7 PM on NBCSN. Also, if you can’t make the game but can listen to it on radio, listen on KFOX (FM 98.5/FM 102.1), the San Jose Sharks Radio Network.