Sharks follow Joe Thornton's line in dominant Game 3 win

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Joe Thornton paused for a second when asked if he was surprised that he has continued to play some of his best hockey into the second-half of his 30s.

“No, no,” Thornton said. He then cracked a small smirk and added, “I know I’m a great player.”

The press conference room erupted in laughter as Thornton sat at the podium and smiled.

When you’ve scored 1,341 points in an NHL career that’s included a Hart Trophy an Art Ross Trophy you’re allowed to talk about yourself in such terms.

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At the age of 36, less than two months away from his 37th birthday, Thornton is playing some of the best hockey of his career. And his line with Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski has followed his lead in putting the Sharks just two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final after a dominant 3-0 Game 3 Western Conference Final win at SAP Center over the St. Louis Blues.

“I feel good. Yeah, I just feel really good about my game,” said Thornton who has 13 points in 15 games this playoff. “I feel good about my linemates' game, our whole team game. I'm just really, really comfortable with it. It's been fun.”

On Hertl’s first goal, Thornton turned the play up ice, passed the puck to Pavelski who then found Hertl for the shot.

On Hertl’s second goal Thornton won the faceoff in the Sharks’ zone then after the play moved up ice, found Hertl behind the net on a tape-to-tape pass around Blues forward Jaden Schwartz.

Thornton had some trouble explaining the highlight-reel level pass on Hertl’s second goal. Probably because a play that seems so improbable to most is normal for him.

“I'm just always looking for him or looking for Pav,” Thornton said. “Usually they do a great job of getting open. Just one of those instances where I just used blade. You try to aim for it, sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn't. It's my job to get these guys the puck. What a play by him to put it in.”

Thornton and Pavelski had been solid linemates for many years, but the addition of Hertl and his scoring touch in and around the net has added a new dynamic.

From Jan. 9, when Hertl jumped to that line from center, he scored 17 of his 21 goals in 2015-16. Thornton picked up 55 of his 82 points in that 44 game stretch.

“Those guys are incredible players. (Thornton) is the best passer in the world. Pavs finds spots and he’s a tremendous goal scorer and Hertl uses that big body,” Sharks forward Logan Couture said.

Thornton’s lines in his 10-year career with the Sharks have always been dangerous and a lot of that has to do with his ability to find open players.

Thornton turned Jonathan Cheechoo into a 56-goal scorer in 2005-06 and Thornton and Pavelski have found symbiosis for some time now. Pavelski has averaged 38.6 goals per-season the last three years.

Coach Peter DeBoer put Hertl with Thornton in order to help the 22-year-old Czech rediscover his goal scoring touch.

“I thought he was playing very well, but wasn't getting rewarded offensively,” DeBoer said. “The initial thought was to try to get his confidence going offensively. It kind of snowballed to what we have today.”

And since then he’s seen no reason to split them up and that’s a big reason why the Sharks have been the better team so far this series. Up and down their lineup the Blues have been unable to match that trio’s skill

“When your best players are your best forecheckers, the best back-checkers, the first guys to block shots, stop and defend in your own end, that bleeds through the rest of the group,” DeBoer said. “Those guys brought it again tonight like they have all year.”

In the past, Thornton has been labled a postseason bust for his inability to get his teams to a Stanley Cup Final. This is now the most games he has won in a Stanley Cup Playoff and he's not taking this trip for granted. He seems to be enjoying it rather than shying away from it.

"Everybody's been saying our depth, our depth. But I really do believe our depth is strong," Thornton said. "It's the strongest it’s been since I've been here."

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper