Joe Thornton records his 1500th NHL career point

Joe Thornton (Mark Mauno, Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian Olympic gold medalist Joe Thornton of London, Ontario became the 14th player in National Hockey League history on Tuesday to record 1500 career points. Thornton reached the milestone in a 3-1 San Jose Sharks win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Thornton entered the game with 1498 points. He picked up his 1499th point with an assist on a goal by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns of Barrie, Ontario at 3:57 of the second period. At the time, Thornton’s assist tied the game at one goal apiece.

Thornton then notched his 1500th point with a secondary assist on a goal by Kevin Labanc. It would be the last goal of the game as the Sharks won 3-1.

In his NHL career, Thornton has 415 goals and 1085 assists for 1500 points. Speaking a lot about his defense, he is a +193 in 1620 games as well.

Thornton becomes the 13th Canadian to register 1500 points. The others are Wayne Gretzky of Brantford, Ontario (2857 points), Mark Messier of Edmonton, Alberta (1887 points), Gordie Howe of Floral, Saskatchewan (1850 points), Ron Francis of Sault. Ste. Marie, Ontario (1798 points), Marcel Dionne of Drummondville, Quebec (1771 points), Steve Yzerman of Cranbrook, British Columbia (1755 points), Mario Lemieux of Montreal, Quebec (1723 points), Joe Sakic of Burnaby, British Columbia (1641 points), Phil Esposito of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (1590 points), Ray Bourque of Montreal, Quebec (1579 points), Mark Recchi of Kamloops, British Columbia (1533 points) and Paul Coffey of Weston, Ontario (1531 points).

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