Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos reached the 500-goal mark Wednesday evening against the Vancouver Canucks. Stamkos achieved the milestone in the first period opening the scoring on a feed from Alex Killorn. He notched another goal late in the first to make it 4-0 Lightning.
Stamkos coincidentally hit the 499-goal mark against the Canucks on Jan. 12. The Markham, Ontario native becomes just the third active player in the National Hockey League (NHL) to hit the 500-goal milestone. He trails Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. With his achievement, Stamkos also becomes the 46th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals surpassing Lanny McDonald at 47. He joins the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Gordie Howe, and Brett Hull etching his name into hockey history.
Stamkos was drafted first overall by the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft after putting up 105 points (58G, 47A) in 61 games. He made his NHL debut during the 2008-09 season and tallied 23 goals and 46 points in 79 games. Stamkos won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer in 2009-10 with 51 goals and then followed that up with another Richard Trophy in 2011-12 tallying an astonishing 60 goals.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion and seven-time NHL All-Star is now up to 501 goals and 1023 career points. Stamkos reached the 1000-point milestone in a Dec. 1st, 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. This season he has tallied 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points in 43 games. The Lightning currently sit third in the Atlantic Division with a record of 28-13-1 for 57 points.
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