Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby became the 86th player in NHL history with 1,000 points when he assisted on Chris Kunitz's first-period goal in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
Crosby is the third player to reach the milestone this season, following Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Vancouver Canucks captain Henrik Sedin. Could anyone else join them this season? If not, then who will be next to reach 1,000 points?
Here's who's closest and when they conceivably could get there, with scoring totals entering play Friday:
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
Sedin, 36, has 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 58 games this season, putting him on pace for 45 points, which would be his fewest in an 82-game season since 2002-03. With 974 points (367 goals, 607 assists) in 1,201 games, he'll need a hot streak to join his twin brother this season with 1,000 points. More likely he gets there early next season.
Shane Doan, Arizona Coyotes
With the Coyotes in a youth movement, Doan's ice time has dropped to 15:15 per game, the least he has averaged since 1998-99, his fourth season in the NHL. At age 40, he doesn't score the way he did as a younger player, and has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 56 games. He has 964 points (401 goals, 563 assists) in 1,522 games, so his 28-point pace means he'll have to play at least one more season, at age 41, to get close to 1,000.
Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings captain is on pace for 59 points, which would give him 895 points by the end of the season. He has averaged 0.79 points per game since the start of the 2013-14 season, down from his career average of 0.90. At age 36, does he have another two seasons in him? It likely would take him at least that long to reach 1,000 points.
Jason Spezza, Dallas Stars
Spezza, who returned Tuesday after a five-game absence because of an upper-body injury, is on pace for 48 points. Barring a hot streak, it will end a streak of four straight 82-game seasons with at least 60 points. Spezza, 33, has 844 points (309 goals, 535 assists) in 890 games, and has averaged 0.80 points per game the since the start of the 2013-14 season. If he can stay healthy for the remainder of this season and maintain that scoring average or stay close to it, he could get to 1,000 during the 2019-20 season.
Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
Staal has rediscovered his offensive game during his first season with Minnesota. He's tied for second on Wild with 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) and is on pace for 63, which would be the most he has had in a season since 2011-12. Staal, 32, has 825 points (341 goals, 484 assists) in 986 games. He has two more seasons left on his contract with the Wild, which should have coach Bruce Boudreau still running a high-scoring offense. If Staal can stay close to his current pace, he could reach 1,000 points during the 2019-20 season.
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Malkin returned Tuesday after missing seven games because of a lower-body injury, but has been his usual productive self when healthy. He had a goal and an assist against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and is averaging 1.18 points per game, which matches his NHL career average. Malkin has 818 points (319 goals, 499 assists) in 693 games. He will turn 31 on July 31, and if he stays healthy and near his current level of productivity, could reach 1,000 points during the 2018-19 season.
Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings
Gaborik's age (34) and injury history make it tough to see him reaching 1,000 points. He has played more than 70 games twice in the previous eight seasons and has missed 22 games with injury this season. With 786 points (392 goals, 394 assists) in 967 games, including three 70-point seasons, Gaborik has had a productive career. But he'd have to play another three seasons after this one at his current rate of 0.81 points per game to reach 1,000.
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Getzlaf, 31, is on pace for 62 points, one fewer than he had last season. He has missed seven games with injury this season but has been durable for most of his 12 NHL seasons. If he can stay healthy and close to the level of production that has seen him total 783 points (230 goals, 553 assists) in 838 games, he could reach 1,000 points during the 2019-20 season.
Rick Nash, New York Rangers
Much like Gaborik, Nash's age (32) and injury history work against him reaching 1,000 points. In his first four seasons with the Rangers, he has played more than 65 games once, and has missed 12 games this season. He also has one season with more than 50 points since 2012-13, and is on pace for 44 this season. Nash will reach 1,000 games next season; with 761 points (409 goals, 352 assists) in 967 games, he might have to play through the 2020-21 season to get to 1,000 points.
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
Kopitar, 29, is a three-time Selke Trophy finalist, but he has been as productive offensively as he has been reliable defensively, with 717 points (249 goals, 468 assists) in 814 games. He also has been durable, missing 28 games in 11 NHL seasons. The Kings stress puck possession, and Kopitar is among the best at turning pucks over and creating offense on his own. He could get to 1,000 points during the 2019-20 season.
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Kane won the Art Ross Trophy in 2015-16 and is tied for fifth in scoring this season. At 28 he still has at least two more seasons as an elite scorer. If he can maintain his NHL career point-per-game average of 721 points in 715 games (270 goals, 451 assists), Kane could reach 1,000 points by the end of the 2019-20 season, when he will be 32.
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