San Jose Sharks: Top 10 Plays of the 2011-2012 Season (Video)

It has been a disappointing year for the San Jose Sharks.

Although the team finished with the highest winning percentage in the Western Conference during the first half of the season, they quickly regressed. The Sharks never really recovered from their dismal 2-6-1 road trip in February, and had to fight and claw their way just to make it into the playoffs.

San Jose finished as the seventh seed in the Western Conference, and was promptly eliminated 4-1 in a frustrating series against the St. Louis Blues. It is safe to say that changes have to be made to the Sharks.

However, just because they had a disappointing season does not mean the Sharks did not provide their fans with great memories. 

Here is a rundown of the best of the best: I present to you the top 10 plays of the 2011-2012 season by the San Jose Sharks.

10. Joe Pavelski Bats in the Puck

Joe Pavelski has always had a knack of knocking pucks out of mid-air, and he showed it on this goal. Off of a Dan Boyle slap shot, Pavelski deftly turned around and batted the puck past Nicklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild.

9. Dan Boyle Beats L.A. in the Final Game of the Season

It was a showdown. NorCal vs. SoCal. Sharks vs. Kings, battling for playoff positioning in the last game of the season.

With the game tied 2-2 in overtime, Dan Boyle and Martin Havlat worked a nice give-and-go in the Los Angeles zone, finished off by a nifty backhand by Boyle on the top shelf. 

With that win, the Sharks claimed the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

8. Sharks Play Tic-Tac-Toe Against the L.A. Kings

Tic-tac-toe is the perfect way to describe this goal. Great passes by Martin Havlat and Logan Couture were finished off by a top-shelf bullet by Dan Boyle past Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick.

I guess Quick wasn't quick enough. (Ok, I'll stop)

7. Joe Thornton's No-Look Pass to Patrick Marleau

Although this pass by Joe Thornton wasn't as spectacular as the one he pulled off against Dallas a few years ago, it's still pretty sweet.

Check out Thornton sneaking in behind the defense, and firing a no-look backhand pass across the goal mouth to Patrick Marleau for an empty-net goal.

It is safe to say the Joe Thornton is one of the only players in the NHL who would even attempt a pass like that, much less pull it off.

6. Logan Couture's Shorthanded Beauty vs. Vancouver

This play was all Logan Couture. Shorthanded, he blocks Vancouver shot from the point. Then, after a quick give-and-go with Andrew Desjardins, he's off to the races.

He skates past two defenders, nimbly avoids Kevin Bieksa's diving attempt, then out-dekes Roberto Luongo to score the shorthanded goal.

5. Antti Niemi's Kick Save and a Beauty vs. Chicago

I can just hear Marv Albert exclaiming, "Kick Save and a Beauty!" on this save by Antti Niemi.

Watch him kick out the right pad to rob Marian Hossa of a sure power-play goal. 

4. Torrey Mitchell Beats the Buzzer with a Dazzling Goal vs. Dallas

"Speed kills," as the old saying goes. Torrey Mitchell has plenty of speed. Add a few dazzling moves, and the result is an amazing goal.

Take a look as Mitchell turns Alex Goligoski completely inside-out, then beats the goaltender with a backhand as time expires. 

Quite similar to the goal he scored last year against the Canucks, no?

3. Logan Couture Shows of His Moves, Leading to the Tying Goal

Logan Couture shows off his skills once again.

In the final minute of the third period against Colorado, the Sharks were down by a goal, desperately looking to tie the game up.

Not only did they get the result that they wanted, but they did it in style. 

Logan Couture pulls out another rabbit out of his hat, dangling past defenders, including an awesome toe-drag, leading to the tying goal by Patrick Marleau.

2. Antti Niemi Robs Patrick Kane with the Glove

If you thought Niemi's save at No. 5 was good, check this one out.

Defending the net against a two-on-one rush by Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Niemi stretched out just enough to snag Kane's one-timer with his glove.

"Save of the year!" exclaims Sharks announcer Drew Remenda. 

1. Martin Havlat Beats the Blues in Double-Overtime in Game 1

This has to be the greatest moment of the season for the San Jose Sharks.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, on the road against the St. Louis Blues. The Sharks were the seventh seed, huge underdogs against the second-seeded Blues.

Well, not only did they hang tough versus the Blues, they played well enough to send it to two overtimes, with the score tied 2-2. 

Then, with three-and-a-half minutes gone by in the second overtime, Ryane Clowe set up Martin Havlat in the slot with a chance to win the game. This was the Martin Havlat who was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for fan favorite Dany Heatley.

This was the Martin Havlat that missed a good chunk of the regular season after he injured himself coming off the bench on a line change. This was the Martin Havlat who had just 27 points for the entire season, underperforming and not living up to his potential.

But all of that went down the drain, as on this night, Martin Havlat fired a perfect slap shot that beat St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak, winning Game 1 and surprising everyone.

The Sharks, big-time underdogs, had beaten the St. Louis Blues in Game 1.