Veteran NHL forward and long time San Jose Shark Joe Thornton reached two career milestones with his assist on Brent Burns' overtime game winning goal, on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
The assist from Thornton, who is playing in his 23rd NHL season, would be his 1,080th assist through his illustrious career, effectively moving him into sole possession of the 7th overall spot for career assists, moving him ahead of Hockey Hall of Famer Adam Oates.
Not a bad way to start your fourth decade in the NHL.@SanJoseSharks forward Joe Thornton collected his 1,080th career regular-season assist to pass Adam Oates (1,079) for sole possession of seventh place on the League's all-time list. https://t.co/9gqdmWDszs #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/s26iIm8nfT— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 3, 2020
The primary assist on a beautiful feed to defensemen Brent Burns would also be the 179th game winning assist of Thornton's career, moving him into 4th overall, behind Wayne Gretzky (239), Ron Francis (196) and Jaromir Jagr (180).
See the assist and game winning goal here;
Watching @Burnzie88's @easportsnhl overtime winner gives us major feels. 😍#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/TWYiJnD2nu— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 3, 2020
Now playing in his fourth decade, Thornton continues to make an impressive case for a future spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
