A pair of prominent National Hockey League veterans picked up their respective 1,000th career points mere minutes apart on what could now be called a “Milestone Monday” for the league.
Claude Giroux did it first, setting up Tim Stützle late in the first period of Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes to reach the impressive career plateau.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who picked up the secondary assist on the play, immediately gestured toward the Ottawa bench to beckon his teammates to join in on the goal celebration.
Giroux, 35, has had a wonderful first season with the Senators after joining the team on a three-year deal during the 2022 unrestricted free agency period. The Hearst, Ont. product now has 33 goals and 77 points in 81 games with the Senators this season.
Through 1,099 career games over parts of 16 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, and Senators, Giroux has 327 goals and 673 assists for an even 1,000 points.
Less than an hour later, Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski scored his 27th goal of the season to reach the 1,000-point mark for his own career.
Unlike Giroux, Pavelski hit the millennium mark on the road. But the Plover, Wis. product enjoyed a bench-clearing celebration of his own after the milestone goal, which, of course, he scored off a perfect deflection in the high slot.
Pavelski, 38, took a little while longer to reach 1,000 points than his Canadian counterpart. He now has 448 goals and 552 assists in 1,248 career contests over parts of 17 seasons with the Stars and San Jose Sharks.
Among members of the 2022–23 Stars, Pavelski ranks second behind Jason Robertson with 76 points in 80 games. (And, unlike Giroux, Pavelski should play playoff games this season).
“Milestone Monday” isn’t over just yet, either. Erik Karlsson, who formerly played in Ottawa and with Pavelski in San Jose, already has an assist for the Sharks in their game against the Winnipeg Jets, putting him one point closer to 100 on the season.
The last defenseman to score 100 points in a single NHL season was Brian Leetch, who picked up 102 in 80 games with the New York Rangers back in 1991–92.
Can Karlsson do something that hasn’t been done in over 30 years? Stay tuned.
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