Golden Knights honored to be part of Patrick Marleau’s historic night

By Justin Emerson

Monday, April 19, 2021 | 11:30 p.m.

The Golden Knights concluded their 3-2 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks in an unprecedented way — by honoring a player on a rival team.

Sharks forward Patrick Marleau played the 1,768th game of his career Monday, passing “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe for the most in NHL history. As soon as the game ended, Golden Knights players all lined up and individually congratulated Marleau before he left the ice.

There’s very little that can draw the Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks to the same side in what is one of hockey’s best rivalries. Taking a night to honor a legendary achievement is one of them.

“He’s an icon in this league. He’s been in the league since I was a year old,” forward Alex Tuch said. “It’s pretty crazy to think about, honestly. He’s had an unbelievable career and to even be in the conversation with a guy like Gordie Howe is special, and now he surpasses him.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but honestly it was really special for both teams and especially Patrick. It’s just phenomenal,” Tuch said.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said the team realized last week that Monday was going to be the night. They were in Los Angeles, looking at the Sharks schedule and counting the days until they would be part of history.

The team also set up a suite for Marleau’s family. After the first stoppage in the first period, the game paused as the Golden Knights paid tribute on the video board and played a recorded message from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman as Vegas fans cheered for a Sharks player, perhaps for the first time ever.

“Not too many ovations in this building for Sharks in my years here,” said current Vegas coach and former San Jose coach Pete DeBoer. “That tells you the gravity of the accomplishment that you would get that.”

When the game ended, each Vegas player shook his hand and then both teams formed a semicircle around him to give him one last send-off as he raised his stick to the crowd. He was honored as one of the stars of the game.

“Just a really special night all around, not just for Patrick but for all of us to be a part of,” said forward Max Pacioretty, who lined up next to him for the opening faceoff and gave him a fist bump. “I told him it was an honor for us to be out there and share the ice with him in that game, and something that we’ll always remember."

It wasn’t quite the storybook ending for Marleau, as the Golden Knights came out on top in the shootout. The Sharks jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period after what DeBoer called fatigue for his team, saying they were running on fumes in their 15th game in 26 days.

Stone rallied the team, scoring two power-play goals, both assisted by Pacioretty and Shea Theodore, to even the score. He even had a chance to win it in overtime, but was denied on a breakaway to keep him from the hat trick.

Then came the shootout, Vegas goalie Robin Lehner’s biggest bugaboo. He entered the game with a .510 save percentage all-time in the shootout (53-for-104), the worst mark all-time among goalies with at least 40 shootout attempts against. He had a 9-25 record in his career.

Vegas was also 0-2 in the shootout this year, both coming in Lehner starts. He stopped all three Sharks attempts and Tuch scored on the other end to secure to the victory.

“To be able to get a goal for him, but also he had three stops, I think it was huge for him,” Tuch said. “I think throughout his career he hasn’t been the best, but tonight he was really, really good."

Some criticize the shootout as gimmicky and a poor way to decide regular-season games. There’s no shootout in the postseason, so if that’s the weakest part of a goalie’s game, it matters less when the stakes are highest. 

Lehner himself has been outspoken about his disdain for the shootout, including saying in 2019 he “would not be mad” if his coach replaced him for the shootout.

So when asked about his thoughts on the format, he chuckled.

“You think I like the shootout?” he said. Then after a laugh and a pause, “Yeah, no, it’s great.”