The Sharks tied the record for the quickest NHL team to 50 points, but that doesn't mean anyone proofreads their stories...
Apparently their first-year head coach doesn't deserve to have his name spelled correctly (Todd McLellan) and their defensemen are SO good, they picked up ROB DRAKE as well?? For Rob Blake, couldn't someone have noticed the link to his player page didn't work?
Courtesy of the AP. And though the Canadian Press usually corrects these errors before posting, they didn't this time. (CP: I recommend you write your own stories, ESPECIALLY hockey...)
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- San Jose captain Patrick Marleau stepped up in the locker room after the second period -- and the ice in yet another Sharks victory.
Marleau scored twice, including the winner with just over 5 minutes to play, in the NHL-leading Sharks' 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
"We feel like we're never out of it," Marleau said. "When we find ourselves down a couple of goals, we remind ourselves to stick with the game plan."
Sharks coach Todd McLellen said it started with the players taking responsibility.
"The leadership on this club right now is tremendous," McLellen said. "No one was letting anybody off the hook. They held themselves responsible. The coaches didn't say anything."
The win gave the Sharks 50 points, tying them for the NHL record for fewest games to 50 points. In the 1929-30 season, the Boston Bruins also earned 50 points in 29 games by starting the season 25-4-0.
Devin Setoguchi and Ryane Clowe scored in a 2:17 span in the third period and the Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit to remain unbeaten at home (16-0-2). Mike Grier also scored for San Jose, which hasn't lost at home in regulation in its last 27 games.
"We had a couple of huge penalty kills and then got the early goal in the third," Setoguchi said. "That changed the momentum for us."
Brad Winchester had his first career two-goal game, and B.J. Crombeen and David Backes also scored for St. Louis. The Blues have lost four straight on the road.
"When you have the lead entering the third period you have to hang onto it, Backes said. "Give them credit, they kept the pressure on and when we didn't get the 5-on-3 goal, it changed the momentum."
Rob Drake???!! was a key factor in helping the Sharks kill off a 2-minute, two-man advantage after Setoguchi and Clowe gave them a 4-3 edge. He was on the ice for all but 32 seconds of the Blues' power play.
"We need to score on that," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "We need to move the puck quicker and score when we get the chance."
Backes scored on a rush along the left board, getting by Dan Boyle and beating goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the tying goal.
Marleau stole the puck from Jay McClement deep in the Sharks' zone and put it past goalie Chris Mason for the winner.
Marleau gave the Sharks a 1-0 edge midway through the first period with a slap shot from just inside the blue line.
"He just never gives up," teammate Marcel Goc said. "He has great skill and he puts the puck in the net when you give him a chance."
St. Louis scored three goals in a 2-minute span to pull ahead 3-1.
Winchester's power-play goal came with 19 seconds left in the first period. Crombeen scored 41 seconds into the second, and Winchester scored his second goal a minute later.
Goc created the Sharks' second goal, picking up the puck along the wall and pushing it behind the net, from where he passed into a pile of players with the puck finding Grier's stick for a deflection.
"It's fun," Goc said. "We like winning and we want to keep doing it. Detroit is right there and we don't want them catching us."
Marleau dumped the puck into his own zone, got to it and found Joe Thornton, who found Setoguchi for a game-tying goal. Clowe scored off a faceoff to put the Sharks ahead and set up the final frantic 10 minutes.
Game notes: Blues' C Keith Tkachuk has 64 career points against the Sharks, his most against any NHL team except Chicago (65). ... The Blues have lost seven straight to the Sharks. ... Sharks L Lukas Kaspar was recalled when it was determined C Jeremy Roenick sustained a separated shoulder and will miss at least two weeks. ... Crombeen has six goals in his last five games. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton, scoreless in his last two games, has eight assists in his past seven. ... The Blues played their sixth game in nine days.
