Sharks-Red Wings: Sharks Cruise to a 4-2 Win Over Defending Champs

Remember back in 2003-2004 when Sharks' captain Patrick Marleau led his team to the western conference finals with multiple playoff hat-tricks? I do, and in 2008-2009, that Patrick Marleau is back.

Entering Thursday night's contest against the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings, Patrick Marleau was in a three-way tie with defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Dan Boyle for the team scoring lead with 9 points.  

After 10 games into last season, Marleau had only 5 points. Over the past few seasons, Marleau had apparently clashed with head coach Ron Wilson, and rampant trade rumors seemed to effect his play. 

However, with Wilson gone, Patrick Marleau seems to be playing the best hockey of his career. In Thursday night's 4-2 win over the Red Wings, Marleau was all over the ice, showing the top-tier speed that made him the Sharks' 2nd overall selection in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. 

Marleau tied the game up at one with his sixth goal of the season at 7:01 of the second period. He finished the game with an even plus/minus but had six shots on goal and attacked the Detroit defense with his speed all game long.  

Not only are the Sharks getting offense from their top-line of Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi, but they are getting contributions up and down the lineup.

Jamie McGinn, (who?) yes, Jamie McGinn scored his first career NHL goal that gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 9:02 of the second. That would have been the game-winner if not for a Redwing goal in the last minute of the game.

Ryane Clowe also chipped in with a power-play goal at 10:26 of the second, giving the Sharks a 3-1 lead. It was Clowe's fourth goal of the season, all of which have come with the man-advantage.

The Sharks stretched their lead to three when Devin Setoguchi made a nifty backhand pass between the legs of a Detroit defender right on the tape of Joe Pavelski who buried the puck past Ty Conklin for his fifth goal of the season. 

It was the second assist on the night for Devin Setoguchi, who also made a nifty backhand pass along the end boards to Thornton, who fed Marleau for the Sharks' first goal. The two-point night gives Setoguchi 10 points on the season (5 G + 5 A) as the top-line of Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi is clicking big time so far this season.

Even though head coach Todd McLellan may not admit it, this win must feel at least a bit more special as he defeats his former team for the first time. McLellan was a Red Wings assistant coach for the past three seasons, winning the cup with them last year.

He has come in with a passion for winning, and has already implemented some of tactics that made the Red Wings so successful over the last few seasons. Since day one, McLellan has preached offense from the defense, and as mentioned earlier, two of the top three point scorers heading into Thursday's game for the Sharks were defensemen. 

Although neither defenseman got on the score-sheet against Detroit, they both continued to lead the Sharks in ice time. Boyle led the Sharks with 23:16 in ice time and Ehrhoff was third with nearly 21 minutes in ice time.

McLellan has also preached to his team to put more rubber towards opposing team's goaltenders. So far this season, the Sharks were second in the league in average shots per game, with 37, behind only those same Red Wings. Thursday, the Sharks out-shot the Red Wings 33-27. 

As well as preaching offense from the defense and shooting the puck, perhaps the best qualities of coach McLellan is his work with the special teams. He was the power-play guru in Detroit, and he knows the easiest way to stop the Red Wings is to keep them from gaining the man-advantage. Detroit came up empty on their only two power-play opportunities of the game, while the Sharks were one for three on their power-play chances. 

Goalie Evgeni Nabokov was as sharp as usual, turning away 25 of the 27 shots he faced against a high-powered Detroit offense. Nabokov and the Sharks improved to 6-0 on home ice, and have silenced their doubters who overlooked their hot start saying they "hadn't beaten any relevant team". 

I think beating both Stanley cup finalists from last season, in back to back games, can be deemed as beating "relevant" teams.