Joe Thornton's career point total is officially jumbo.
The San Jose Sharks veteran reached the 1,500-point plateau with a pair of assists during his team's 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, writing his name alongside just 13 others in NHL history. Thornton entered the contest with 415 goals and 1,083 assists, so it was fitting that the 40-year-old forward notched another two helpers to arrive at the career milestone.
Another milestone for Jumbo Joe!@SanJoseSharks icon Joe Thornton collected two assists to become the 14th player in NHL history to record 1,500 career regular-season points. https://t.co/j1IyEZn0LW #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/NseAYf1as4
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2020
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The London, Ont., native's first assist of the night was a second-period feed to fellow bearded Shark Brent Burns, who received a pass inside the Flames zone after Thornton intercepted the puck at center ice. Burns proceeded to rip a shot past David Rittich to put Thornton within a point of the historic mark.
He didn't have to wait long to make history.
The big veteran helped dig the puck out from a scrum along the boards, dishing it off to Timo Meier at the 7:41 mark of the third period. Four seconds later, Kevin Labanc finished off the play with a high backhander that gave the Sharks a two-goal cushion and etched Thornton's name in the record books.
You really, really love to see it.#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/b7f2Y1f6IA
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) February 5, 2020
Thornton's two helpers on Tuesday also ensured that he reached 20 assists in every season since 1998-99, when he was a second-year player with the Boston Bruins.