Chris Neil to be honored by Senators

OTTAWA --Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil will be honored for playing 1,000 NHL games in a ceremony before the Senators host the San Jose Sharks at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, CSN-CA, NHL.TV).
Neil, 37, played his 1,000th game Saturday in a 4-1 loss at the Los Angeles Kings.

When he took the ice Wednesday for the morning skate, Neil saw each of the seats had been draped with a souvenir towel bearing his name, his number 25 and "1000 games" for fans to mark the occasion.
"The guys were having fun with it out there," Neil said. "That's what keeps it light and I appreciate that. I can't say enough about the Senators organization and what they've done, just a top notch, class organization.
"I'm just treating it like any other game, I really am. It almost felt like a playoff experience with all the towels and stuff. Other than that, [I'm] treating it like another game. At the end of the day we want to go out and get the two points."
Neil said he has appreciated the messages and tweets he has received from other players since playing his 1,000th game.
Two players who tweeted were former Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Darcy Tucker and Tie Domi, who crossed paths with Neil at the height of the Battle of Ontario.

"It's overwhelming, really, guys from other teams around the League, ex-players I played against, some of the tweets and stuff, it's humbling, it really is," Neil said. "All the kind words and thoughts, it goes a long way, it really does. I appreciate those guys as much as they appreciate me.
"I saw the tweets from Tucker and Domi, and that was really neat. It really was. You battle against those guys over the years. They're fierce competitors, as well. They don't back down. They show up and work. For me, that's why I think I played for so long is I show up every day, try to work my hardest and do my best out there and I think people appreciate that."