For the second time in his NHL career, Patrick Marleau skated through the shark's mouth ahead of his first home game with San Jose.
And as you might expect, the ovation he received was considerably larger the second time around.
Marleau through the Shark head. Iconic @SanJoseSharks. pic.twitter.com/70QJNgqN86— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) October 14, 2019
🗣 "PATTY! PATTY! PATTY!" #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/S6BDttnsPe— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) October 14, 2019
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We're not crying you're crying. 😭 #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/XUpXQIUhOp— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 14, 2019
Fresh off scoring two goals in his first game back with the Sharks on Thursday night, Marleau returned to SAP Center to make his home debut Sunday night against the visiting Calgary Flames.
"To be able to come back here and walk into this locker room and see my name, it feels good to have somewhere to go and have somewhere to play," Marleau said Saturday. "And to especially be back here."
Marleau is the franchise's all-time leader in games played and goals scored. He needs six more games to become the seventh player in NHL history to play 1,500 with a single franchise, and if he's in every contest throughout the remainder of the season, he'll move into third place on the league's all-time games played list.
[RELATED: Agent reiterates Marleau only wanted to play for Sharks]
Marleau clearly is excited to be back at his original NHL home, and based on the SAP Center ovation, there's no question the feeling is mutual.