SAN JOSE — Patrick Marleau is on one of his goal-scoring tears with seven in five games. Brent Burns has at least one point in 11 of 15 games since the calendar turned to 2017. Logan Couture has at least one point in six of his last seven.
The big names done a lot of the heavy lifting on offense as the Sharks have surged into first place in the Pacific Division over the last two-plus weeks.
Yet as the Sharks wade into one of the softer parts of their regular season schedule, which continues Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes, their depth up front and on defense is starting to take more of the spotlight.