from Jared Clinton of The Hockey News,

What’s flown largely under the radar, though, is that the Ducks and Kings aren’t the only team truly vying for the Pacific Division title. While the San Jose Sharks may seem like the division’s sure-to-be third seed, their play over the past two months speaks to a team that’s as much in contention for the top spot in Pacific as their Californian counterparts. A big part of that has been the outstanding play of Joe Thornton.

Thornton, 36, isn’t often mentioned during discussions of who has been the league’s standout players this season, but it’s starting to get increasingly difficult to overlook what the veteran pivot has done. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer has run Thornton alongside newly minted San Jose captain Joe Pavelski for much of the season, and while the early season returns weren’t quite there, Thornton’s production has been remarkable since the start of 2016.

In the 27 games Thornton has played since Jan. 1, he leads all players in points — yes, that includes scoring leader Patrick Kane and even the surging Sidney Crosby — having found the score sheet 35 times, 27 of which have been assists. And while more than a third of Thornton’s points have come on the power play, but that’s not dissimilar from Kane, Crosby and Evgeny Kuznetsov, the other three players with more than 30 points since the New Year, each of whom have at least 11 points with the extra man since Jan. 1.

If Thornton maintains his current scoring pace and remains healthy, by season’s end he will have had his highest scoring season since the 2009-10 season. As it stands, he’s only four points from surpassing last season’s point total and he still has 19 games left to play.

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