Steven Stamkos becomes first player to amass 1,000 points in a Lightning sweater

PHILADELPHIA — With his assist on the Lightning’s second goal Thursday night against the Flyers, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos became the 95th player in NHL history to accumulate 1,000 career points.

He is one of only 10 active players to have reached the milestone.

The 32-year-old earned the secondary assist on Nick Paul’s goal just under eight minutes into the second period. Stamkos took the puck in the corner and passed it around the back of the net to defenseman Ian Cole near the left end line. Cole centered the puck in front of the crease to Paul, who scored his second goal of the game.

As Paul scooped up the puck, the entire Lightning bench went over the boards to celebrate Stamkos’ achievement. Meanwhile, the crowd at Wells Fargo Arena, not realizing why the entire team came onto the ice, initially booed the Lightning until Stamkos’ milestone was announced on the arena’s video board.

Stamkos, who is already the Lightning’s all-time leading scorer after passing Martin St. Louis (953 points) last season, becomes the first player in franchise history to reach 1,000 points. He is six goals away from reaching 500 for his career, a feat accomplished by just 46 players in NHL history. He reached the 500-assist mark earlier this season.

Stamkos leads the Lightning with 13 goals this season. His 15 assists are second on the team.

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