Sharks' Thornton quietly remains stellar at age 36
He may be the elder statesman of the San Jose Sharks, but Joe Thornton is showing no signs of slowing down.
The 18-year veteran tallied two assists Tuesday as the Sharks doubled up the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 to earn their sixth win in their last 10 games.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
The story of the game, though, was arguably the two primary helpers Thornton collected. Thornton now has 50 points in 55 games this season, and the assists pushed his current point streak to six games.
At the tender age of 36, Thornton has remained his usual productive self this season, sitting just three points behind captain Joe Pavelski for the team lead.
Damn, Joe Thornton can still pass the puck as good as ever.
— Jimmy Hascup (@jhascup22) February 17, 2016
Over his past 17 games the former first overall pick has tallied a jaw-dropping 23 points, and has failed to record a point just once during that stretch.
Thornton sits 14th in league scoring despite being five years older than the next-oldest player in the top-13 (Pavelski, 31-years-old). The 2006 Art Ross Trophy winner is currently on pace to put up 74 points this season, which would be a nine-point improvement on last season's totals.
The Sharks sit third in the Pacific Division and look poised to make a return to the playoffs after an absence last season. San Jose has turned things around, and Thornton has remained a constant for the team.
If the Sharks are hoping to finally make some noise in the playoffs they'll need "Big Joe" to continue his stellar play into the spring.