PHILADELPHIA — Steven Stamkos never was more elated to get a secondary assist.
Stamkos had an assist for his 1,000th career point, Nick Paul scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Thursday night.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft, Stamkos assisted on Paul’s second goal 7:55 into the second period that made it 2-0. Stamkos started the play with a pass behind the net to Ian Cole, who sent the puck in front to Paul.
“It’s the most I celebrated a second assist in my career,” he said. “I thought I’d make the safe play behind the net, and (Cole) made a great play.”
Stamkos raised both arms in the air when the puck went in, and the entire Lightning team rushed the ice to join in the celebration.
“It means a lot,” Stamkos said. “It’s an individual stat, but so many people have helped me get here. You just reminisce. Just brings back so many amazing memories.”
The Tampa Bay captain became the 95th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points.
“You can never prepare yourself for that,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome.”
He has played his entire career in Tampa Bay, where he won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
“It’s a proud moment for him and his family,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, who has coached Stamkos since March 2013. “One thousand points. Wow, that’s a lot of points. Impressive. Quite a moment for him. I’ve been very fortunate to have a front-row seat.”
It was the 506th career assist for Stamkos, who upped his season totals to 15 assists and 28 points. He also extended his points streak to nine games, with six goals and nine assists over that stretch. The 32-year-old forward set career highs last season in assists (64) and points (106).
Cole had a goal and an assist, Ross Colton also scored, Corey Perry added two assists and Andrei Valilevsky made 21 saves. The Lightning have won seven of nine.