TAMPA, Fla. – On October 30, 2008, in Buffalo, Steven Stamkos scored his first NHL goal.
On Wednesday night in Vancouver, No. 91 scored No. 500.
Stamkos, parked all alone in front of the right post, redirected a feed from Alex Killorn into a yawning cage with goalie Spencer Martin entirely helpless. The milestone, at 4:40 of the first period, opened the scoring.
Stamkos is the 47th player to reach the 500-goal plateau and the 19th to do so in less than 1,000 career games. Wednesday was his 965th game. He joins Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin as the only active players with 500 goals.
“It is very special,” Stamkos told Bally Sun reporter Gabby Shirley after the first period. “An all-time moment in my career. I have been very fortunate to play for a long time. To do it with one organization is special.”
Stamkos, who expressed appreciation for the wonderful applause he received from the Vancouver crowd, added No. 501 at 14:35 to give the Lightning a 4-0 lead over the Canucks, which is how the first period ended.
Stamkos’ first career goal more than 14 years ago was a deflection past Sabres’ goalie Ryan Miller. It came on the power play and was assisted by the only two players in Lightning history to have their numbers retired, Vincent Lecavalier, whose right circle blast found Stamkos’ stick, and Martin St. Louis. Stamkos added a second goal in a 5-2 win.
It has been a season of career milestones for Stamkos. On December 1 in Philadelphia, he became the 95th player in league history to reach 1,000 points. On November 5, against visiting Dallas, he recorded his 500th career assist. Should he remain healthy, Stamkos will play in his 1,000th game toward the end of the season.
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