By Sara Biela — Content Editor
In another Patrick Marleau homecoming, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 Thursday night.
Maple Leafs (13-6-0) goalie Frederik Andersen made 42 saves and recorded an assist to lead his team to their first win at SAP Center since 2011.
“I thought we beat ourselves tonight,” head coach Peter DeBoer told Eric Gilmore in a postgame interview. “We turned pucks over, we gave them a shorthanded goal, we let them in behind us on some breakaways and allowed them to play to their strengths.”
Prior to puck drop, former Shark Evgeni Nabokov dropped the ceremonial first puck after his induction into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame. Joe Pavelski and Marleau were at center ice to take the draw.
John Tavares gave his new team a 1-0 lead at 2:10 in the opening period. As Barclay Goodrow was leaving the penalty box for roughing Nazem Kadri eight seconds in, Tavares scored his 12th goal of the season past Martin Jones off a redirect.
“We didn’t play our style of hockey,” Goodrow told Gilmore in a postgame interview. “We had too many turnovers, not winning enough battles, not getting pucks in.”
The Sharks (10-7-3) tied the game 1-1 a little over three minutes later. Kevin Labanc slammed home the loose puck that took a friendly bounce off the boards.
Toronto retook the lead at 11:47 with Kasperi Kapanen’s seventh goal of the campaign. After gaining the zone off a turnover, Marleau made a perfect pass to Kapanen, who shot top-shelf.
San Jose responded by tying the game again with a power-play goal at 12:51. Pavelski tipped in Brent Burns’ feed for his 11th goal of the year.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic gave the Sharks their first lead of the game with 1:39 remaining in the first period. Pavelski recorded his second point of the night as Vlasic netted his first goal of the season.
The high-scoring continued as the Maple Leafs tied the game 3-3 at 2:30 in the second period. After a 2-on-1 Toronto rush, Josh Leivo went top-shelf on Jones.
“The frustrating part is we haven’t played to our identity,” Pavelski told Gilmore in a postgame interview. “We do it for a few minutes and then we do this or that and suddenly there’s a breakaway, then another breakaway. We’re just hanging them out to dry with these odd-man rushes and chances.”
Kapanen gave the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead with his second goal of the game 12:06. On San Jose’s second PP of the contest, Kapanen sped in the zone on a shorthanded breakaway and shot top-shelf again on Jones.
Mitchell Marner put away any chances of a San Jose comeback with a goal at in the third period. Andersen flung the puck across center ice to Marner, who beat Jones short-side.
“When we’re playing at our best, we see what’s successful and it makes us win hockey games,” Brenden Dillon said in a postgame interview. “We’re not really doing it for a full 60 minutes right now. We’re doing it in spurts.”
The Sharks registered 45 shots on goal, while Jones made 29 saves in net in the 5-3 loss.
San Jose’s home stand continues with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
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