Brad Marchand Joins Elite Club in Panthers Win

The number 1,000 carries weight in all kinds of contexts. One thousand years is a millennium, a major historical period that cultures around the world have long treated as meaningful. “A thousand” is also a symbol of abundance, a phrase that shows up in proverbs and religious texts to represent a vast amount.

For Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers, the number 1,000 means career points. Last night against the Washington Capitals, that’s exactly what the veteran and sure-fire Hall of Famer reached.

Up 5-3 with less than two minutes left, it looked like Marchand might have to wait one more game to hit the 1,000-point mark. He had already climbed to 999 earlier in the night with a primary assist on a Seth Jones goal that made it 5-2. But luckily for him and the Panthers, the universe had other plans.

An Empty Netter Does the Trick

With less than two minutes to go in the game, the trailing Capitals had pulled their goalie in desperation. Someone who wasn’t desperate, however, was Marchand, who calmly recovered a loose puck after a scrum in the corner. He then passed it to Eetu Luostarinen, who, with the empty net, slung the puck across the entire length of the ice for a goal.

Nobody raced to celebrate with Luostarinen after the score. Instead, the entirety of the Panthers bench mobbed Marchand at center ice. He had just eclipsed 1,000 points, and that was an occasion worth stopping the game and rejoicing over.