Colorado's Jarome Iginla scores 600th goal
Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla added to his Hall of Fame resume on Monday night when he became the 19th player in NHL history to record his 600th career goal.
It was probably one of the more bizarre ways for a player to reach a milestone because he wasn’t even trying to score on the play.
It all happened late in the third period with the Colorado Avalanche leading the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, when Iginla attempted to pass the puck to his teammate Matt Duchene in front of the net. It was at that point that the puck bounced off the skate of Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin and ended up in the back of the net.
Have a look.
Jarome Iginla of the @Avalanche became the 19th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal milestone. #LAKvsCOL https://t.co/TUAsYlDi32
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 5, 2016
Hey, whatever works.
The timing of the goal is great for Iginla because it came against the Kings who are currently coached by Darryl Sutter, who was Iginla’s coach for three years in Calgary, including the 2003-04 season when Iginla and Sutter helped lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup Final where they nearly won it all against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Iginla, 38, is currently in his 19th year in the NHL and is going to continue to climb up the NHL’s all-time goal scoring leaderboard. He is now just one goal away from tying Jari Kurri for 18th on the all-time list and could climb as high as 16th by the end of this season (Bobby Hull is currently 16th with 610 career goals).
Originally a first-round draft pick by the Dallas Stars in 1995 (No. 11 overall), Iginla was traded to Calgary before he ever played a game with the Stars in what turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters in league history for veteran Joe Nieuwendyk. Nieuwendyk went on to be one of the final pieces the Stars needed to win the Stanley Cup, while Iginla went on to be one of the greatest goal scorers in league history and the foundation of the Flames organization for more than a decade.
Iginla spent 16 years with the Flames before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2012-13 season. He has also spent time with the Boston Bruins and his current team, the Avalanche.
The Avalanche won Monday’s game, 4-1, snapping what had been a five-game winning streak for the Kings.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie had four points for the Avalanche in the win, including an assist on Iginla’s 600th career goal.
Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla scored his 600th career goal on Monday night. (USATSI)
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
