Photo Credit: http://bluejackets.nhl.com
Tonights Columbus Blue Jackets game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Nationwide Arena will be a pretty big deal for Blue Jackets forward Scott Hartnell, who will be playing his 1,000th NHL regular-season game.
He will become the 259th player to reach the 1,000-game mark and the 27th active player to reach such a milestone. Hartnell will be joined by the Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr with 1,059 games. Regehr stopped by a dinner held for Hartnell on Sunday to congratulate the player.
A heavy player with seven 20-goal seasons, he has 262 goals and 308 assists in his career and tonight, he will be the first player from the 2000 draft class to reach 1,000 games. His journey to this game has not been an easy one though, and to be honest in hockey, the journey probably never is, but it is maturity and drive that allows the player to reach this mark. He has faced a concussion, broke bones in each foot, a high ankle sprain, and this season suffered a broken finger.
Hartnell is in the second of a six-year, $28.5 million contract and it doesn’t look like he will be leaving the ice any time soon. Aside from scoring goals, his own goal includes winning the Stanley Cup in Columbus.
