Player of the Week - Nov. 23

Joe Thornton sits one point behind Anze Kopitar for the league lead in scoring. (Getty Images)

The Hockey News player of the week for the period of November 16-22 is San Jose’s playmaking center Joe Thornton.

In three games on the week, Thornton racked up eight points to go along with a plus-3 rating.

His most impressive performance came in Friday’s 6-3 defeat of the Philadelphia Flyers, where Thornton recorded four assists as his linemate, Dany Heatley, posted a hat trick. Thornton had 20:59 of ice time versus the Flyers, but only managed two shots on goal.

In their only loss on the week, a 4-3 defeat to the hands of Nashville, Thornton still tallied a goal and an assist with three shots in 22:31 of ice time. Saturday against Anaheim, Thornton had yet another helper and also potted his first game-winning goal of the season. The six shots he recorded against Anaheim were the most Thornton has posted this season.

As the Sharks continue to roll and sit atop the league with a 16-5-4 record, Thornton leads the way with seven goals and 25 assists for 32 points in 25 games, good enough for second in the league.