Pittsburgh Penguins: Getting to Know Patrick Marleau
By Rob Joncas
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Patrick Marleau at the trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks for a conditional third-round pick in the 20201NHL Draft.
In their biggest move before Monday’s trade deadline passed, the Pittsburgh Penguins added some serious two-way depth to their lineup by acquiring 40-year-old Marleau. Pittsburgh had identified the 20-year-veteran as one of the their targets in the days leading up to the deadline.
While it’s expected that Marleau will see most of his work in the bottom six of the lineup, there’s a strong chance that head coach Mike Sullivan will give him opportunities to cycle up and down the lineup and more than likely see action with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Condensed Career Facts
Marleau scored his first career goal on Oct. 19, 1997 vs. Phoenix and earned his first multi-goal game on Nov. 18, 1997 vs. Anaheim.
Marleau has registered points in 844 of 1715 regular-season games, and 91 of 191 playoff games.
Marleau’s iron man streak of 846 games has him sandwiched between fourth place Keith Yandle (859) and sixth place Phil Kessel (839) on the all-time list for most consecutive games played.
Since 1998, Marleau has appeared in 33 regular-season games against the Penguins, earning 14 goals and 24 points. It’s worth noting that Marleau earned his 1000th point (assist on a Brent Burns goal) in a game against the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Nov. 21, 2015.
Marleau has scored four post-season overtime winners in his career.
Prior to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, Marleau collected 12 points in 19 games. He earned just a single point during the six-game series vs. Pittsburgh
Making a Point of it
Here’s a quick look back at a few of the most productive games (by points) in Marleau’s career.
Apr. 10, 2004
Marleau has collected three of his eight career hat-tricks in the postseason (thus far), including this natural hat trick vs. St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Marleau potted a goal in each of periods, as the Sharks earned a 3-1 victory and earned a 2-0 series lead.
Nov. 27, 2009
The Sharks squeaked out a tight 5-4 victory in a shoot out against the Edmonton Oilers in this late Nov. tilt.
Marleau opened the scoring five minutes into the first frame and completed the hat-trick with a shorthanded goal in the third period.
May 20, 2011
In the third game of the 2011 Western Conference Finals against the Vancouver Canucks, Marleau had a three-point game.
He chipped in goals six and seven of the postseason and earned the primary assist on Dan Boyle‘s game-winning goal midway through the third period, which helped the Sharks secure their only win of the series.
Jan. 23, 2017
Almost 20-years passed before Marleau earned his first career four-goal game.
Marleau exploded for three goals in the third period before taking a hooking call mid-way through the frame. He quickly redeemed himself by scoring his fourth goal of the night less than 10-seconds after the penalty expired.
The Sharks earned a 5-2 victory over Spencer Martin and the Colorado Avalanche.
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