San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton surpassed Johnny Bucyk for 24th on the all-time points list with his two assists in Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, per Sportsnet Stats.
Thornton now possesses 1,370 points over 1,412 career games, per Hockey-Reference.com, nearly eclipsing the point-per-game threshold. His next target on the list is former Dallas Stars great Mike Modano, who finished his career with 1,374 points.
The veteran center is known as more of a playmaker than a finisher, tallying 990 assists out of his 1,370 career points. Thornton’s total number of helpers places him 13th on the all-time list, while he ranks outside of the top 100 all-time in goals. It’s fitting that he moved up the list Wednesday by notching two more assists, but Thornton remains another 50 behind Marcel Dionne to crack the top 10.
The Sharks’ 3-2 win pushed the club to 56 points on the season, but the team owns two games in hand on each of the two teams ahead of them in the Pacific Division. With the All-Star break still ahead, there’s still a long way to go before seedings sort themselves out. However, San Jose has put itself in a good position to make the playoffs for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons.
Despite yearly appearances in the postseason, the club has never won a Stanley Cup. The Sharks got close to doing so last season, but dropped the Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. With plenty of veterans—including Thornton—headlining San Jose’s roster, the team may be running out of chances. Perhaps 2016-17 will be the campaign the team finally gets over the hump and takes home Lord Stanley’s chalice.Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
Source: NHL
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