Much to the surprise of everyone (including, probably, themselves), the San Jose Sharks won Game 7 of their grueling Stanley Cup Western Conference semifinals series vs. the Detroit Octopi – sorry, Red Wings.

And much to the surprise of everyone (including, possibly, himself), old friend Joe Thornton was a major reason why.

Throughout his San Jose sojourn, Thornton has underperformed in playoff crunch time. But not last night.

Representative sample: