The San Jose Sharks are headed back to the Western Conference finals for the first time in six years.

Joe Thornton set up Patrick Marleau for the tiebreaking goal 6:59 into the third period and Evgeni Nabokov bounced back from a putrid Game 4 to help the Sharks eliminate the two-time defending Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings with a 2-1 victory Saturday night in Game 5 of their second-round series.

Postseason disappointments have been commonplace in recent years in San Jose. The Sharks have had the second-best record in the NHL the past five seasons, but hadn’t made it past the second round in that span until now.

Three straight second-round losses were followed by a first-round defeat to Anaheim last season, raising questions about whether the core of Thornton, Marleau and Nabokov could lead the Sharks to the Stanley Cup.

San Jose is now halfway to that elusive title. The Sharks will play either Chicago or Vancouver in the conference finals. Marleau and Nabokov are the only players remaining from San Jose’s only previous trip to the conference finals when the Sharks lost to Calgary in six games.

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