Tyler Johnson Becomes Fastest To 50 Goals Among Undrafted Players

After scoring his 50th career goal on Sunday night, Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson becomes the fastest to reach 50 goals among undrafted players.

If there is any player that could be considered as one of the most dominant point scorers in the National Hockey League right now, it is Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson.

Despite the fact that the Lightning was overcome 5-4 by the Colorado Avalanche, Lightning center Tyler Johnson picked up a goal and two assists in the encounter giving him three points for the evening.

What some of us here in the Bolts Nation may not have known at the time is that this would cement Tyler Johnson’s place in the NHL record books.

The reason this goal is so special is because of the timing. You see, Tyler Johnson scored his 50^th goal of his National Hockey League career; more so, he did it in just one hundred and fifty six games. This slides him into the record books as the faster to reach 50 goals among all of the players who went undrafted into the NHL.

Johnson is among some pretty decent company on this list. The 24 year old Spokane, Washington native barely edged out former Washington Capitals right wing Dustin Penner, who accomplished this feat in 157 games.

Also joining Johnson on this list is Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matt Read who brought it home at 171 games, former New York Islanders center Jesse Belanger who accomplished it in 181 games, Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz with 188 games, and former New York Rangers center Todd White who accomplished the feat in 197 games.

In addition to his goal scoring ability, Johnson is also pretty proficient for setting up the play for his line mates. Johnson has played in 60 games so far this season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in that time he has scored 23 goal and 36 assists for a total of 59 points. This puts Johnson in first place in points for the Lightning.

Did we forget to mention that he has a +/- rating of a whopping plus-30? Yes…plus-30. This puts Johnson in third place in the NHL, right behind his line mate Nikita Kucherov, in regards to plus/minus.

As we are all thankfully aware, what has become known as the “Triplet” line is one of the most dangerous pairings that the Lightning has right now. That line, which includes Johnson, Kucherov, and Ondrej Palat account for 61 of the Lightning’s 201 goals so far this season. That’s almost 1/3 of the Lightning’s total goals!

The way we see it is that the rest of the National Hockey League’s loss is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s gain. We don’t know about you, but if you are anything like us we’re pretty sure you’ll join us in hoping that Tyler Johnson is in Lightning blue for many years to come.

[H/T: Matt Oliver of Stats, LLC via Tampa Bay Lightning]

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