Marvelous Marleau

SAN JOSE, CA – Patrick Marleau may just be public enemy number one in Nashville these days. For the second time in as many games against the Nashville Predators, Patrick Marleau played the spoiler by beating Preds net minder Pekka Rinne in overtime for a 3-2 win. It was decision time for the Sharks’ all time leading scorer as he bore down on a 2-on-1 break alongside Ian White. Pass or shoot were the options and with the Predators Ryan Suter closing the gap on the odd man rush, and to the delight of the sold crowd at out the HP Pavilion, Marleau fired a snap shot past the glove on the short side to give the Sharks the overtime victory. “I pulled to my forehand and made a quick shot and tried to catch him off guard,” Marleau said about the game-winning goal. The first period finished even with each team lighting the lamp once. Ryan Clowe, who was the game’s first star, opened the scoring for the Sharks. Clowe found himself in the right place at the right time when Jason Demers made an aggressive move at the blue line to keep the play alive and fed Dany Heatley in the slot. Heatley tipped the puck towards the net where it hit Clowe’s foot and caromed in. Clowe played on the left wing with Logan Couture in the middle, who he has played well with when the opportunity has presented itself, and Heatley on right wing. Previously, Couture had been playing the wing with Joe Thornton in the middle and Devin Setoguchi on the other side. The rookie from London, Ontario clearly looked more comfortable playing center and the elevated play in Clowe’s game can only be attributed to the strategic change that was made. “Obviously we’ve had some good chemistry this year,” Clowe said. “We had some real good jump tonight right from the start. We had a lot of great scoring chances. It’s good to see. We have to contribute as much as we can. With Patty, Seto and Jumbo together, they’ll get a lot of attention so they need us to step up.” And step up they did. Both Clowe and Heatley finished the game with two points. Couture was held off the score sheet but contributed on the Sharks second goal by setting a screen in front of the Predators’ net. “I feel that Couture is a little bit better in the middle, he’s around the puck a little bit more and maybe to get Clowe going and it paid off tonight,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. The Sharks second marker came from recently called up Justin Braun on the power play. The youngster from the farm has a knack for getting shots through to the net and tonight he tallied his second NHL goal on a slap shot from the point that was tipped by the Predators defenseman and past the Rinne’s glove hand. Braun was all smiles as he took us through the events that led to his goal. “I was just trying to get it past the first guy,” Braun said. “That’s pretty much what they want me to do, get the puck up ice and shoot it from the point. I was lucky enough to have it go off of one of their sticks and end up in the back of the net.” Both of Nashville’s goals came with the man advantage, which operated at 50 percent efficiency on the night. San Jose did what they had to do earn the two points on the night. They did not start the game well but it is the finish that people will remember. Sharks’ goaltender Antti Niemi was good when he had to be and although he was not tested a ton, he made some clutch saves in the third period. The most notable came after a bad bounce on a clearing attempt where the puck ended up on Mike Fisher’s stick all alone in front of the Sharks net with the third period winding down. Fisher got everything he had on a slap shot but could not beat the glove hand of the Sharks’ net minder who earned third star honors. It was Nashville’s best scoring chance of the period and was one the few times the puck wasn’t in their zone. The Sharks played one of their best periods of the season and if not for the stellar play of Rinne, the game would have done with ten minutes left to play. San Jose peppered Rinne with 13 shots but the scoring chances were constant in a period that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Things worth noting on the night were Jamal Mayers played his 800th career game, which is quite the feat considering role players’ tenures in the NHL tend to not last as long as the superstars of the game. The Sharks now prepare for the league leading Vancouver Canucks who come to town on Thursday. The Canucks are currently on a five game road trip and so far have won their first three. The clash of two of the leagues hottest clubs will be the fourth and final meeting between these teams unless they meet in the post season, which is a very likely scenario. San Jose beat the Canucks 2-1 in Vancouver in late January but lost the previous two outings, 4-3 in San Jose and 6-1 north of the border. Keep your sticks on the ice… Contact the author at  Cam.Gore@prohockeynews.com