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SAN JOSE — Sharks forward Patrick Marleau scored the 557th goal of his NHL career in Friday’s afternoon game against the Los Angeles Kings. A short while later, Sharks rookie Noah Gregor scored his first.
The Sharks have been looking for more offensive production from a wider array of players recently and found it in a 4-1 win over the Kings in rare matinee game.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Logan Couture also scored and Martin Jones made 33 saves as the Sharks closed out what’s been a successful month at SAP Center. With the win, the Sharks finished November with a 7-4-0 record on home ice, and close out the month with a game Saturday in Arizona against the Coyotes.
Marleau’s goal, which moved him past Johnny Buyck for 27th on the NHL’s all-time list. came at the end of a pretty passing sequence.
Joe Thornton won a battle for the puck along the wall inside the Kings’ zone and found Sorensen on the other side of the ice. Sorensen then saw Marleau near the Kings net, and fed him for a tap-in goal at the 7:26 mark of the first period.
At the 13:14 mark of the first period with a delayed penalty coming up to the Kings and the Sharks already having an extra skater on the ice, Vlasic rifled a shot from just above the circle past goalie Jonathan Quick for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.
Gregor’s goal was one to remember, as he raced down a long outlet pass from Brenden Dillon and fired a shot from near the boards past Quick’s glove at the 2:58 mark of the second period.
Noah Gregor scores his first NHL goal 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Download MyTeams to watch ➡️ https://t.co/2gW9OIoRGS pic.twitter.com/w5REaBEtK1
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) November 29, 2019
Gregor had been a healthy scratch for the last three Sharks games before he drew back into the lineup Friday.
The Sharks went back to a 12-forward, six-defenseman setup after four games of having just 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
They finished the game with just 10 forwards, though.
Tomas Hertl dressed for the first time since he was injured Nov. 19 in the Sharks’ game against the Edmonton Oilers. Hertl played 13 minutes and 42 seconds before he left the bench midway through the third period.
At the 12:54 mark of the third, Antti Suomela was rocked by a hit from Kurtis MacDermid in the neutral zone. Suomela remained on the ice for a few moments before skated off under his own power.
