SAN JOSE, Calif. – The underwhelming 19 goals that Sharks captain Patrick Marleau scored in the regular season don't matter now.

Neither does the fact he was an improbable minus-19 on a San Jose team that finished with 108 points.

The playoffs have begun, and Marleau is back in his element.

Along with Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski, Marleau has given the Sharks another scoring line to complement Joe Thornton and Co. The three combined for nine goals in San Jose's first-round escape against Calgary.

"I think it's a time where everybody has to raise their game," Marleau said Friday before Game 1 against the Stars. "A lot of stuff that happens in the regular season doesn't happen in the playoffs.

"There's no time to dwell on things. You're only good as your last shift. It's a fun atmosphere to play in."

The line with Clowe and Pavelski has been a case of chemistry forged on the fly.

The unit played together some in 2006-07 when Pavelski was a rookie. But a reunion was put on hold when Clowe suffered a right knee injury in October and missed 67 games.

He returned just before the playoffs and had a team-high four goals in the first round.

"I felt like training camp all over again when I got back," said Clowe who passed a major mental hurdle against the Flames. "The first game against Calgary was a good test, because I knew it was going to be physical challenge."

Pavelski, a skilled player with the puck, has avoided hitting the "wall" he encountered last season as a rookie.

Then there's Marleau, 28, who has been under the microscope since San Jose made him the second pick in the 1997 draft.

"Paddy has great chemistry with anyone. He flies and works hard," Pavelski said. "You see him battle more and compete. It's big for a guy like that with the kind of skill he has to be your hardest worker on the team."

Since 2003-04, only Calgary's Jarome Iginla has scored more goals in the playoffs than San Jose Sharks captain Patrick Marleau (entering Friday):