SAN JOSE — Patrick Marleau moved to the brink of joining one of the most exclusive clubs in hockey on Tuesday night.
Tomas Hertl and Martin Jones took care of the rest on a memorable night at SAP Center.
Marleau scored career goal No. 499 and Tomas Hertl scored the winner with 2:03 left in the third period as the Sharks earned a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks to move into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.
Jones finished with 24 saves and Joe Pavelski added an empty net goal with 46 seconds left in the third period as the Sharks began their post all-star break on a positive note.
Marleau scored on the power play with 5:54 left in the second period for career goal No. 499 as the Sharks took a 1-0 lead.
On Marleau’s goal, Brent Burns put a shot on goal that was saved by Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford. Pavelski got enough of the rebound to direct it toward Marleau, who fired it into an empty net for his 18th goal of the season.
Marleau now has seven goals over his last four games, and is one shy of becoming just the 45th player to reach 500 goals for his NHL career. His 499th goal moved him past Glenn Anderson into 45th place on the all-time goal scoring list.
The Sharks thought Marleau had career goal No. 499 with 8:24 left in the second period.
Logan Couture put a shot toward the Blackhawks net that was redirected about a foot wide. Marleau picked up the puck off the end boards, and tucked it in before Crawford could slide over.
After an coach’s challenge from the Blackhawks, though, the play was deemed to be offside as Mikkel Boedker was just ahead of the puck as Marleau brought it into the zone.
Marleau played the 1,462th game of his career for the Sharks on Thursday. He’s scored at least 20 goals 13 times in his career, including the 25 he had last season. He set a career-high with 44 goals during the 2009-2010 season, one of seven times he scored at 30 goals in one year.
The Sharks are now 18-7-1 at SAP Center this season, equaling their win total at home from last season when they stumbled to a 18-20-3 record.
The Sharks also won the season series with the Blackhawks two games to one.
“You never wish to play Chicago, but the nice thing about playing them is that it immediately grabs the guys attention,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Tuesday morning. “We’ve got to be dialed with our attention to detail or they’ll make you pay.”
The game was scoreless after the first period, but the Sharks and Blackhawks both looked like they had a few days away after the three-day NHL all-star break.
The energy level was there, but perhaps the execution was a bit off.
The Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 10-7 in the first 20 minutes, but were 0-for-2 on the power. On their second try with the man advantage with Ryan Hartman in the box for hooking Joe Pavelski, the Sharks were unable to get a shot on goal as three of their attempts were blocked.
The Sharks also killed a first period tripping penalty to Ryan Carpenter, although the Blackhawks had three shots on goal with the man advantage. The Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 9-4 at even strength.
“I think the pace will be good. Guys are well rested. It’s the execution that’s always off a little bit,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Tuesday morning. “But we’ve got two skilled groups. I don’t think it’ll take long.”
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