Patrick Marleau's historic start to the season

Patrick Marleau has done something that hasn't been done in the NHL since 1917-18.

By Adam Gretz

Jan 26, 2013 at 5:51 pm ET • 1 min read

The San Jose Sharks are off to an incredible start in 2013, and as I wrote Friday, a lot of that has been due to the stellar play of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton.

Marleau entered Saturday's game against Colorado having already scored six goals in three games -- two in each game, becoming the first player since 1982 to accomplish that -- and continued his torrid pace by scoring two more goals in the first period against the Avalanche.

That gave him eight goals in 10 periods of hockey. You can insert your own "he's on pace for" line here.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only one other player in NHL history has opened a season with at least two goals in four consecutive games, and you have to go all the way back to the 1917-18 season when Cy Denneny did it for the Ottawa Senators.

Marleau's two goals Saturday came on the power play, a little more than a minute apart, after Colorado's Ryan O'Byrne jumped Brad Stuart following his questionable hit on Gabriel Landeskog.

Marleau has scored at least 30 goals in each of the past four seasons and six of the past seven. The shortened season will likely prevent him from reaching that mark again, but he's still off to an unbelievable start.

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @Agretz on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Also, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.