SAN JOSE — For an elephant in the room, Patrick Marleau sure skates deftly on the ice.
The other night, Marleau was honored by the Sharks for his recent 500th career goal. In the 100-year history of the National Hockey League, only 45 men have reached that plateau. Even fewer have done it with just one franchise. So, yes, that’s impressive.
Marleau also had that remarkable four-goals-in-one period performance last month in Colorado. He just played his 600th consecutive game. He’s on pace for a 28-goal season, which would be the second best of his career.