# 1999–2000 San Jose Sharks season

The 1999–2000 San Jose Sharks season was the team's ninth season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). Under third-year head coach Darryl Sutter, the Sharks posted a winning record for the first time in franchise history; in doing so, they managed to clinch a playoff berth for the third consecutive season.
The Sharks' 1999–2000 regular season is remembered, in large part, for the heroics of captain Owen Nolan. Nolan, in his fourth full season with the team, posted career-best goal (44) and point (84) totals; both figures established new franchise records. Nolan's excellent play was complemented by that of fellow forwards Vincent Damphousse and Jeff Friesen; fan-favorite Mike Ricci, in his third season with the team, also turned in a quality campaign. All told, San Jose's offense improved considerably despite disappointing production from young forwards Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm. By contrast, the Sharks' defense regressed despite quality play from starting goaltender Steve Shields, rookie goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, and defensemen Gary Suter and Brad Stuart. Still, the team finished the 1999–2000 campaign with franchise-record point (87) and win (35) totals.
The Sharks' competent play netted them the Western Conference's eighth, and final, playoff berth. In the first round, they faced the top-seeded (and heavily favored) St. Louis Blues. As expected, the Blues took the series' first game with relative ease; the Sharks shocked onlookers, however, by winning each of the next three. The Blues responded with two decisive victories of their own; in doing so, they forced a deciding seventh game in St. Louis. There, in an upset on par with their 1994 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks scored a stunning 3–1 victory. The game is remembered, in part, for an infamous center-ice goal by Owen Nolan on Blues goaltender Roman Turek. The goal, which gave the Sharks a 2–0 lead, ultimately served as the series-winner. In the second round, the team faced the second-seeded Dallas Stars. Unlike the Blues, the defending Stanley Cup champion Stars made quick work of the Sharks; while the latter managed to steal a game in San Jose, they were ultimately eliminated in five games.

## Regular season

The Sharks had the most power-play opportunities during the regular season (377) and scored the most short-handed goals (16).

### Final standings

Pacific Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 211 | 184 | 102 |
| 2 | 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 245 | 228 | 94 |
| 3 | 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 232 | 228 | 90 |
| 4 | 8 | San Jose Sharks | 82 | 35 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 225 | 214 | 87 |
| 5 | 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 82 | 34 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 217 | 227 | 83 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 51 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 248 | 165 | 114 |
| 2 | y – Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 43 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 211 | 184 | 102 |
| 3 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 42 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 233 | 201 | 96 |
| 4 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 48 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 278 | 210 | 108 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 245 | 228 | 94 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 232 | 228 | 90 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 32 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 226 | 212 | 88 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 35 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 225 | 214 | 87 |
| 8.5 |||||||||||
| 9 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 34 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 217 | 227 | 83 |
| 10 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 30 | 29 | 15 | 8 | 227 | 237 | 83 |
| 11 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 33 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 242 | 245 | 78 |
| 12 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 31 | 36 | 10 | 5 | 211 | 256 | 77 |
| 13 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 40 | 7 | 7 | 199 | 240 | 70 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1999–2000 regular season :
October: 9–5–1–0 (home: 5–2–1–0; road: 4–3–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 2, 19995–3Calgary Flames (1999–2000)1–0–0–0Recap
2WOctober 4, 19997–1Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)2–0–0–0Recap
3WOctober 7, 19993–2 OTEdmonton Oilers (1999–2000)3–0–0–0Recap
4LOctober 9, 19992–3Dallas Stars (1999–2000)3–1–0–0Recap
5LOctober 11, 19993–5@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)3–2–0–0Recap
6WOctober 13, 19992–0@ Dallas Stars (1999–2000)4–2–0–0Recap
7WOctober 14, 19995–1@ Nashville Predators (1999–2000)5–2–0–0Recap
8WOctober 16, 19993–2@ Washington Capitals (1999–2000)6–2–0–0Recap
9WOctober 19, 19992–1@ New York Rangers (1999–2000)7–2–0–0Recap
10LOctober 20, 19993–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1999–2000)7–3–0–0Recap
11LOctober 23, 19991–3Boston Bruins (1999–2000)7–4–0–0Recap
12LOctober 24, 19993–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)7–5–0–0Recap
13WOctober 28, 19993–2Nashville Predators (1999–2000)8–5–0–0Recap
14TOctober 30, 19991–1 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)8–5–1–0Recap
15WOctober 31, 19992–1Washington Capitals (1999–2000)9–5–1–0Recap :
November: 5–4–2–2 (home: 3–1–0–1; road: 2–3–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
16WNovember 3, 19996–3Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)10–5–1–0Recap
17LNovember 5, 19991–3Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000)10–6–1–0Recap
18WNovember 6, 19992–1Dallas Stars (1999–2000)11–6–1–0Recap
19TNovember 9, 19994–4 OT@ Vancouver Canucks (1999–2000)11–6–2–0Recap
20LNovember 10, 19993–4 OT@ Calgary Flames (1999–2000)11–6–2–1Recap
21OTLNovember 13, 19992–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000)11–7–2–1Recap
22LNovember 15, 19992–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1999–2000)11–8–2–1Recap
23WNovember 16, 19994–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1999–2000)12–8–2–1Recap
24WNovember 18, 19994–1@ Ottawa Senators (1999–2000)13–8–2–1Recap
25TNovember 20, 19991–1 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)13–8–3–1Recap
26OTLNovember 23, 19992–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (1999–2000)13–8–3–2Recap
27LNovember 27, 19991–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)13–9–3–2Recap
28WNovember 28, 19994–3 OTNew Jersey Devils (1999–2000)14–9–3–2Recap :
December: 5–6–1–1 (home: 3–3–1–0; road: 2–3–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
29LDecember 1, 19992–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1999–2000)14–10–3–2Recap
30WDecember 2, 19995–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000)15–10–3–2Recap
31LDecember 4, 19992–4@ St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)15–11–3–2Recap
32TDecember 6, 19993–3 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)15–11–4–2Recap
33WDecember 8, 19994–2Colorado Avalanche (1999–2000)16–11–4–2Recap
34WDecember 10, 19994–1Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)17–11–4–2Recap
35LDecember 14, 19992–5Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)17–12–4–2Recap
36LDecember 19, 19993–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)17–13–4–2Recap
37LDecember 20, 19993–4Detroit Red Wings (1999–2000)17–14–4–2Recap
38WDecember 22, 19992–1Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)18–14–4–2Recap
39LDecember 26, 19990–1Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)18–15–4–2Recap
40WDecember 27, 19993–1@ Dallas Stars (1999–2000)19–15–4–2Recap
41OTLDecember 30, 19991–2 OT@ St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)19–15–4–3Recap :
January: 3–5–2–3 (home: 2–3–0–1; road: 1–2–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
42LJanuary 1, 20002–3@ Nashville Predators (1999–2000)19–16–4–3Recap
43WJanuary 2, 20004–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)20–16–4–3Recap
44TJanuary 5, 20001–1 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1999–2000)20–16–5–3Recap
45LJanuary 8, 20002–4Florida Panthers (1999–2000)20–17–5–3Recap
46LJanuary 11, 20002–5St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)20–18–5–3Recap
47WJanuary 15, 20003–2 OTLos Angeles Kings (1999–2000)21–18–5–3Recap
48OTLJanuary 17, 20004–5 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1999–2000)21–18–5–4Recap
49TJanuary 19, 20000–0 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1999–2000)21–18–6–4Recap
50WJanuary 22, 20004–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)22–18–6–4Recap
51OTLJanuary 23, 20002–3 OT@ Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)22–18–6–5Recap
52LJanuary 25, 20003–4Colorado Avalanche (1999–2000)22–19–6–5Recap
53LJanuary 28, 20001–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1999–2000)22–20–6–5Recap
54OTLJanuary 29, 20002–3 OTNew York Islanders (1999–2000)22–20–6–6Recap :
February: 4–4–2–1 (home: 1–2–0–1; road: 3–2–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55OTLFebruary 1, 20000–1 OTPhoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)22–20–6–7Recap
56TFebruary 3, 20003–3 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1999–2000)22–20–7–7Recap
57WFebruary 8, 20008–0@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1999–2000)23–20–7–7Recap
58LFebruary 9, 20001–4@ Florida Panthers (1999–2000)23–21–7–7Recap
59WFebruary 11, 20003–0@ Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000)24–21–7–7Recap
60LFebruary 13, 20001–3@ New Jersey Devils (1999–2000)24–22–7–7Recap
61WFebruary 15, 20004–1@ New York Islanders (1999–2000)25–22–7–7Recap
62TFebruary 18, 20004–4 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)25–22–8–7Recap
63LFebruary 23, 20001–4St. Louis Blues (1999–2000)25–23–8–7Recap
64WFebruary 26, 20006–3Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)26–23–8–7Recap
65LFebruary 29, 20002–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)26–24–8–7Recap :
March: 6–4–2–0 (home: 6–2–1–0; road: 0–2–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
66WMarch 2, 20004–3Nashville Predators (1999–2000)27–24–8–7Recap
67LMarch 4, 20002–5Carolina Hurricanes (1999–2000)27–25–8–7Recap
68WMarch 6, 20002–1New York Rangers (1999–2000)28–25–8–7Recap
69TMarch 8, 20001–1 OTDetroit Red Wings (1999–2000)28–25–9–7Recap
70WMarch 13, 20005–3Calgary Flames (1999–2000)29–25–9–7Recap
71WMarch 15, 20006–5 OTBuffalo Sabres (1999–2000)30–25–9–7Recap
72LMarch 17, 20002–4@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1999–2000)30–26–9–7Recap
73LMarch 19, 20003–5@ Dallas Stars (1999–2000)30–27–9–7Recap
74WMarch 22, 20004–3Vancouver Canucks (1999–2000)31–27–9–7Recap
75WMarch 24, 20005–1Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)32–27–9–7Recap
76LMarch 27, 20001–2Edmonton Oilers (1999–2000)32–28–9–7Recap
77TMarch 29, 20001–1 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1999–2000)32–28–10–7Recap :
April: 3–2–0–0 (home: 1–1–0–0; road: 2–1–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
78LApril 1, 20000–3@ Calgary Flames (1999–2000)32–29–10–7Recap
79WApril 3, 20001–0@ Edmonton Oilers (1999–2000)33–29–10–7Recap
80WApril 5, 20005–2Dallas Stars (1999–2000)34–29–10–7Recap
81WApril 7, 20003–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (1999–2000)35–29–10–7Recap
82LApril 9, 20002–5Vancouver Canucks (1999–2000)35–30–10–7Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point)
  Overtime loss (1 point) :

### Playoffs

2000 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (1) St. Louis Blues: Sharks win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 12, 20003–5@ St. Louis BluesBlues lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 15, 20004–2@ St. Louis BluesSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 17, 20002–1St. Louis BluesSharks lead 2–1Recap
4WApril 19, 20003–2St. Louis BluesSharks lead 3–1Recap
5LApril 21, 20003–5@ St. Louis BluesSharks lead 3–2Recap
6LApril 23, 20002–6St. Louis BluesSeries tied 3–3Recap
7WApril 25, 20003–1@ St. Louis BluesSharks win 4–3Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (2) Dallas Stars: Stars win 4–1
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 28, 20000–4@ Dallas StarsStars lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 30, 20000–1@ Dallas StarsStars lead 2–0Recap
3WMay 2, 20002–1Dallas StarsStars lead 2–1Recap
4LMay 5, 20004–5Dallas StarsStars lead 3–1Recap
5LMay 7, 20001–4@ Dallas StarsStars win 4–1Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 11 | Owen Nolan | RW | 78 | 44 | 40 | 84 | −1 | 110 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 10 | −2 | 6 |
| 25 | Vincent Damphousse | C | 82 | 21 | 49 | 70 | 4 | 58 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −5 | 16 |
| 39 | Jeff Friesen | LW | 82 | 26 | 35 | 61 | −2 | 47 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −4 | 10 |
| 18 | Mike Ricci | C | 82 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 14 | 60 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −3 | 2 |
| 14 | Patrick Marleau | C | 81 | 17 | 23 | 40 | −9 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| 24 | Niklas Sundstrom | RW | 79 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 9 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −3 | 2 |
| 7 | Brad Stuart | D | 82 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 3 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −11 | 6 |
| 15 | Alexander Korolyuk | LW | 57 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 4 | 35 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 20 | Gary Suter | D | 76 | 6 | 28 | 34 | 7 | 52 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −6 | 12 |
| 19 | Marco Sturm | LW | 74 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 32 | Stephane Matteau | LW | 69 | 12 | 12 | 24 | −3 | 61 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 8 |
| 5 | Jeff Norton | D | 62 | 0 | 20 | 20 | −2 | 49 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 7 |
| 10 | Marcus Ragnarsson | D | 63 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 38 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 40 | Mike Rathje | D | 66 | 2 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| 21 | Tony Granato | RW | 48 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 39 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | Todd Harvey† | RW | 40 | 8 | 4 | 12 | −2 | 78 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 8 |
| 12 | Ron Sutter | C | 78 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −3 | 34 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 | Ron Stern | RW | 67 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −9 | 151 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 11 |
| 26 | Dave Lowry | LW | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 27 | Bryan Marchment | D | 49 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 72 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| 43 | Scott Hannan | D | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 42 | Andy Sutton | D | 40 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | Murray Craven‡ | LW | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Brantt Myhres | RW | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Bob Rouse‡ | D | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Steve Shields | G | 67 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 23 | Shawn Heins | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Evgeni Nabokov | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 29 | Mike Vernon‡ | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Goaltending

* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 31 | Steve Shields | 67 | 27 | 30 | 8 | 1826 | 162 | 2.56 | .911 | 4 | 3797 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 323 | 36 | 3.10 | .889 | 0 | 696 |
| 29 | Mike Vernon‡ | 15 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 360 | 32 | 2.49 | .911 | 0 | 772 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Evgeni Nabokov | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 166 | 15 | 2.17 | .910 | 1 | 414 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 20 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Brad Stuart (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Owen Nolan |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Steve Shields (October 18) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Player of the Week | Owen Nolan (December 13) |
| Team | Sharks Player of the Year | Owen Nolan |
| Team | Sharks Rookie of the Year | Brad Stuart |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Brad Stuart | October 2, 1999 |
| First game | Evgeni Nabokov | January 1, 2000 |
| 1,000th game played | Ron Sutter | October 16, 1999 |
| 600th assist | Vincent Damphousse | November 27, 1999 |

## Draft picks

San Jose's draft picks at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft held at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 14 | Jeff Jillson | Defense | United States | University of Michigan |
| 3 | 82 | Marc Concannon | Left Wing | United States | The Winchendon School |
| 4 | 111 | Willie Levesque | Right Wing | United States | Northeastern University |
| 5 | 155 | Niko Dimitrakos | Right Wing | United States | University of Maine |
| 8 | 229 | Eric Betournay | Center | Canada | Acadie-Bathurst Titan |
| 8 | 241 | Douglas Murray | Defense | Sweden | New York Apple Core |
| 9 | 257 | Hannes Hyvönen | Right Wing | Finland | TPS |