Stamkos Set to Skate in 1,000th Game

We outlined at the beginning of the season how Steven Stamkos was about to have a year full of milestones. This season, the Tampa Bay Lightning captain has reached 500 assists, 500 goals and 1,000 points. The latest milestone will be reaching 1,000 games, which he is expected to achieve Thursday night against the New York Islanders.

Stamkos will join Vincent Lecavalier as just the second player in Lightning franchise history to reach 1,000 games in Tampa Bay. Lecavalier played 1,037. Seems quite fitting for the franchise’s two first overall picks to lead the way in games played.

Playing a thousand games is one of the highest accomplishments any player can achieve in the NHL. It is a marker of not only being a great player, but having a long career.

For Steven Stamkos, the road to 1K has been all but guaranteed. Season’s worth of games lost due to injuries over the years made many question if this day would ever come. It has taken 15 years and a lot of bumps and bruises to get to this point but the hardships that Stamkos endured have resulted him becoming one of the NHL’s great captains of all time.

With Stamkos expected to skate in games 1,000 and 1,001 on the road, Stamkos will be recognized in the team’s next home game on Tuesday, fittingly against Stamkos’ hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs will have to sit through another Stamkos ceremony as they were here for the first game following his 1,000th point back in December.