He would finish with three on the night, but it would be his tally in the first period that would be the most memorable.
Only 4:40 into the opening frame, 32 year old Lightning captain Steven Stamkos buried a feed from Alex Killorn to score his 500th career NHL goal, and was subsequently mobbed by his teammates in celebration.
In the process, Stamkos became only the 3rd active skater in the league with 500 career goals. Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin are the other two.
“It’s such a humbling experience when you have a moment like that and you get to celebrate it with your teammates, who are genuinely just as excited as you are. I’m so thankful for them,” Stamkos said. “Obviously this is an individual statistic, but it takes so many different players along the way that have helped me get to that.”
The Markham, ON native capped the night off with another marker 10 minutes later, followed by an empty netter to complete the hattrick.
Originally selected 1st overall by Tampa Bay in the 2008 NHL entry draft, Stamkos has compiled 1,024pts (502G, 522A) across his 15 season career. All 965 games have been spent as a member of the Lightning organization.
Only two players have suited up for more games for Tampa Bay in franchise history. Vincent Lecavalier’s 1,037 games with the Bolts currently leads the way, while former linemate Martin St. Louis trails him with 972.
With another year remaining on his contract beyond this season, it’s highly likely that Stamkos will surpass Lecavalier’s mark before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
“I’ve just watched that kid grow into a man, a phenomenal leader, and to be honest, he’s a generational goal scorer,” Cooper said. “That’s what he is and those guys don’t come around that often. Enjoy him while you can and I’ve been extremely fortunate to enjoy him put that puck in the net hundreds of times. And it’s good for him, well deserved.”
A 7x All-Star, Stamkos has twice captured the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer during his time in Florida. The back to back Stanley Cup champion is now the 47th player in league history to eclipse the fabled 500 goal plateau for his career.
Celebrations however will be short lived as the Lightning are back on the ice tonight taking on the Edmonton Oilers in a 9pm ET contest. The club will then travel to Calgary on the 21st before returning home from their Western swing to take on the Minnesota Wild, which will be the first time fans will get to see their captain since he broke the goal scoring mark.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.