Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks became the 45th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals with his goal 9:30 into the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Marleau is the second player to reach 500 goals this season. Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks got there with his first goal of the season, Oct. 18 against the Flyers. Three other active players have scored 500 goals: Jaromir Jagr (758), Jarome Iginla (657) and Alex Ovechkin (550).
Like Ovechkin and Iginla, Marleau has scored 500 goals with one franchise. Ovechkin has spent his career with the Capitals, and Iginla (now with the Colorado Avalanche) spent the most productive seasons of his career with the Calgary Flames.
Game-winning goals have been Marleau’s hallmark
Marleau is tied for eighth in NHL history for game-winning goals. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that he entered Thursday with 97, matching Iginla and Guy Lafleur. Jagr (134) is the all-time leader.
Alone among active 500-goal scorers, Marleau has at least one game-winner against each of the other 29 NHL franchises (per Elias). The only others who can make that claim are Brendan Shanahan and Mats Sundin. Marleau completed that game-winning “cycle” on Dec. 30, 2016, against the Flyers.
Among 400-goal scorers, Marleau has the second highest percentage of his goals being game-winners (19.4 percent). Patrik Elias ranks first (19.6 percent).
Trade makes for rarity
Marleau was the No. 2 pick in the 1997 entry draft. No. 1 in that draft was Joe Thornton, selected by the Boston Bruins and traded to the Sharks in November 2005. This is their 12th season playing on the same team.
Elias research shows that only one other such No. 1-No. 2 draft tandem played more than five years together. That was Bobby Smith and Ryan Walter, Nos. 1 and 2 in 1978, who spent seven seasons together with the Canadiens.
Thornton has assisted on 119 of Marleau’s goals.
Milestone winter for Marleau
Thursday’s milestone added to what has already been a memorable winter for Marleau. On Jan. 23, he scored four goals in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche. Elias research shows that made Marleau the 12th player to score four goals in one period (the first since Mario Lemieux on Jan. 26, 1997) and the oldest to do so (37 years, 130 days).
The 500th goal added to Marleau’s memories in Vancouver. He played on the gold medal-winning team at the 2010 Olympics in that city, and his 1,300th NHL game was there, too, on Feb. 5, 2015.
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