Patrick Marleau pulls off rare feat with 4-goal third period
Veteran Sharks winger 3 goals shy of 500 in NHL career
Patrick Marleau had a third period to remember: Four shots and four goals.
Not bad for a 37-year-old veteran.
Marleau's four-goal flurry in a 13 1/2-minute span helped the visiting San Jose Sharks beat the last-place Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Monday night for their fifth straight win.
The left-winger became the 12th player in NHL history to score four goals in a period and the first since Mario Lemieux on Jan. 26, 1997, at Montreal, according to the NHL.
It was the third four-goal game in Sharks history. Marleau joins Owen Nolan (Dec. 19, 1995) and Tomas Hertl (Oct. 8, 2013).
Afterward, Marleau was humble as always as he ended a seven-game goal drought.
Great player. Still a lot of gas left in the tank, a lot of juice left in those legs.— Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer on Patrick Marleau's four-goal 3rd period
"It was a good period to have," said Marleau, who's now just three goals shy of No. 500 for his career. "Tonight was a lot of fun."
Marleau scored in a variety of ways to break open a game tied 1-1 entering the third: He tipped a shot in off the post, scored on a wraparound, lined in a wrist shot and finally lifted a backhander over rookie goaltender Spencer Martin.
"Great player. Still a lot of gas left in the tank, a lot of juice left in those legs," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "Considering our schedule and his age, to play a game like that, that's an exceptional feat. It's an exceptional feat when you're 22, never mind 37 in the middle of seven games in 11 nights. He's a great player. It was great to be part of it."
Per <a href="https://twitter.com/EliasSports">@EliasSports</a>, Patrick Marleau (37 years, 130 days) is the oldest player in NHL history to score 4 goals in a period
—@DanRusanowskyTo commemorate Marleau's achievement, the team made sure to retrieve the puck for him. That's quite a souvenir.
"It was one of those kinds of periods, he got the momentum going, everything found him and he put everything in," Joe Pavelski explained. "Those were nice goals."
Brent Burns had a goal and two assists as the two teams concluded their home-and-home set. The Sharks beat the Avalanche 3-2 in overtime on Saturday.
Jarome Iginla and Andreas Martinsen scored for Colorado, which fell to 1-10-1 over its last 12 games.
Martin Jones stopped 26 shots for the Sharks.
Marleau took over early in the third period when he scored twice in a 3:04 span. He was just getting warmed up as Colorado had no answer for No. 12.