Top 10 Individual Goals of the Decade (San Jose Sharks Style)

While the San Jose Sharks have yet to achieve the ever elusive Stanley Cup, they have had their fare share of individual play-makers.

Including the 1999-00 playoffs, the Sharks have reached the post-season in eight of the nine playoffs since the Y2K drama back in the day. Now in order for the Sharks to have sustained that quality play over the decade, it is an absolute given that team teal had numerous goals scored on great individual plays.

From 2000-present, San Jose has held claim to such star players like Jeff Friesen, Owen Nolan, Mike Ricci, Teemu Selanne, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo, Brian Campbell, Dan Boyle and Vinny Damphousse.

With such a plethora of stars on this list, there is a long list of individual scoring plays to choose from, but there are a select few that were simply phenomenal.

Sweet short-handed breakaway tallies, top corner shots after undressing defenders and even a goalie scoring on a power-play are all on this list. And without further ado (even though most of you have probably skipped to the videos already) here are the top 10 individual regular season goals scored by the Sharks since 2000.

No. 10 Milan Michalek vs. Detroit 1/17/09

Before being shipped to Ottawa in the Dany Heatley deal this offseason, Milan Michalek was an up-and-coming star left-wing for San Jose. From 2005-2009, the native of the Czech Republic tallied 91 goals for team teal.

A couple memorable goals from Michalek include a fake-slapper, wrist shot goal against Calgary and a shot from his knees against Dallas.

However, neither of these come close to matching the go-ahead goal he scored in the third period against the rival Red Wings last season.

The two power-houses of the Western Conference were tied 4-4 in the third period until Michalek comes out of nowhere to steal a bouncing puck through the neural zone. He then burns three Red Wings through the middle of the ice and the absolutely snipes Chris Osgood for the go-ahead goal(2:54 mark of the video).

No. 9 Dan Boyle vs. Pittsburgh 11/7/09

Currently in his second season with the Sharks, Dan Boyle has turned into a near lock for the Canadian National team with his stellar play over the last season and a half.

Despite deserving of going earlier in his career, Boyle made his first all-star appearance last season and finished the 08-09 campaign with 16 goals and 57 points.

The current NHL season started off no different for Boyle, as the super star puck handler had 13 points in 14 October games. In fact, that pace was even better than the pace he started out with last season. However, this year Boyle was playing with a broken thumb the first month of the year.

No matter the adversities, Boyle kept on playing and at the highest of levels, but once he got healthy he gave us a miraculous individual play in San Jose's 5-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins.

Boyle took the puck from his own zone, maneuvered his way through the neutral zone, then put an inside out move on a defender and fired a wrister past Fleury for a 3-0 Sharks lead (1:10 mark of the video).

No. 8 Evgeni Nabokov @ Vancouver 3/10/02

One of two players to have donned the teal and in this case black sharks sweaters the entire decade, Evgeni Nabokov's power-play goal in Vancouver back in 2002 has to be on this list.

There's not much to say about this goal other than it was an awesome rink long wrister.

No. 7 Patrick Marleau vs St. Louis 12/13/08

The second player to have don the teal sweater for the entire decade is also the longest tenured Shark and franchise leader in almost every offensive category. Patrick Marleau who was the team captain from 2004-09, has scored some unbelievable individual goals in his career but none other was as impressive as his tally against st. Louis last season.

In an back and forth game in mid December, Patrick Marleau threw on the jets late in the third period and picked up a Joe Thornton pass at full speed, kicked it up to his stick and finished the breakaway with a sweet back-handed goal.

The tally would put the Sharks up 5-4 which ended up being the final score.

No. 6 Owen Nolan at Anaheim 11/3/02

Patrick Marleau may have overtaken Owen Nolan as the franchise leader in goal scored, but Nolan is still the most cherished Shark in history. Always a fan-favorite for his all around play, Nolan was the undoubted leader of the Sharks from 1995-2003.

He may be best known for his hat-trick in the 1997 All-Star Game or his center ice blast in the playoffs but during his last year with the Sharks he scored an impressive short-handed goal against the then Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Nolan came in on his back hand and made a power move past the defender on the outside and then cut in around the goalie and slid it into the gaping net on his fore-hand to give the Sharks the lead (1:25 mark of this vid).

No. 5 Joe Pavelski at Buffalo 2/13/08

If the San Jose Sharks win the Stanley Cup with Joe Pavelski on the roster, especially if they win multiple, there is one thing I'm going to say to my grand kids, "I saw Joe Pavelski's first career goal in person back in 2006."

Pavelski, who is now in his third full season, currently has 64 goals in his short career, and almost all of them have come due to the absolutely wicked fast release on his wrist shot.

In Buffalo last February, he scored top corner on net-minder Ryan Miller after fighting off three different Sabres before firing his shot away. For those of us who watched the goal live, we were all thinking the same thing afterward, "how the heck did he do that?" (6:10 mark of this video)

No. 4 Brian Campbell vs Montreal 3/3/08

Brian Campbell only lasted 20 games as a Shark which has made many Sharks fans want to boo him whenever he touches the puck like he is Chris Pronger or Ed Belfour.

Campbell came to San Jose mid-way through the 2007-08 season and bolted for free-agency the following offseason. While I was one of those upset he didn't stay with the Sharks, it is understandable why he wanted to go a team closer to his home in Ontario.

Sharks fans should quit there booing because Campbell is a great player who did nothing wrong but choose to play where he could make more money and live closer to home.

One reason I really wish San Jose fans would stop booing him is because he came up with the second best individual goal by a Sharks defenseman in franchise history with his spin-o-rama goal against Montreal.

Late in the third period he gave the Sharks a two-goal lead with this ridiculous move and score.

No 3. Jonathan Cheechoo vs Montreal 3/3/08

For those Sharks fans who boo Brian Campbell, let us not forget that there was an even better individual goal by a Shark in that same game. Jonathan Cheechoo scored what in my opinion was his best regular season individual play of his career.

In one motion, Cheechoo received a short pass from Joe Thornton as he reached the blue-line and then slid the puck behind former teammate Josh Gorges. The Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy winner then beat Gorges to the puck on the other side and then went back-hand-to-fore-hand and sniped Canadiens goalie Carey Price top-shelf glove-side.

No. 2 Torrey Mitchell at Anaheim 12/16/07

Despite managing just 10 goals and 10 assists in his rookie season, Torrey Mitchell burst onto the NHL scene like no other Sharks rookie forward since Patrick Marleau.

Mitchell, an energizer bunny on ice, played in all 82 games as a rookie back in 2007-08. He was excellent in the face-off circle and played steady defense in his own zone, earning him penalty kill time throughout the season.

But one of his 10 goals that year will forever be a top moment in Sharks history. While short-handed, Mitchell intercepted a pass and with a burst of speed was off for a breakaway. After being hooked down to his knees, Mitchell got back on his skates and drove towards the net and after a couple of stick-handle moves slid the puck past the net-minder on his back-hand to tie the score at 1-1.

No. 1 Dan Boyle at Buffalo 2/13/09

The only player to show up on this list twice is none other than Dan Boyle. Of the two current Sharks with a Stanley Cup ring, Boyle is the only one who is still in his prime and can lead a defensive corps to the promise land again.

When the captaincy was taken away from Marleau in the offseason, it was Boyle who the majority of fans wanted to be the next captain. While the other Cup winner on the Sharks, Rob Blake, got the C instead, it is Boyle who undoubtedly should be the captain when an if Blake ever retires.

Why should Boyle be the captain you may ask? Well with Jeremy Roenick retiring this offseason, Boyle is without a doubt the heart and sole of this Sharks team.

He is the best all around player the Sharks have and he has the best work ethic on the entire team. Simply said, he is the only one of the Sharks' top players whose will exceeds his skill.

You can best see both his will and skill on one particular goal he scored against Buffalo last season. You know it has to be good if it beat out Torrey Mitchell for top Sharks individual goal of the decade.

On this goal Boyle takes the puck from his own blue-line and beat the Sabres defender one-on-one with a beautiful move and then buries the puck in the far side of the net (4:42 mark of this video).