In the record books, it's an incredible milestone.
But for Keith Yandle, it'll be just another day at the office.
Already owning the NHL's active ironman streak (889), Yandle is expected to suit up in his 1,000th NHL game when the Panthers clash with the Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Sunday.
Preview: Yandle to Play in 1,000th Game as Panthers visit Hurricanes
"I'm lucky every day just to be playing in the NHL and calling this a job," Yandle said following Friday's practice. "Never really had the goal, never really thought I'd even make it to the NHL, so it's kind of one of those things where I'm just enjoying the ride, enjoying every minute of it."
Of his 999 games to date, 338 have come with the Panthers, 103 with the Rangers and 558 with the Coyotes, who took him in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Draft. A native of Boston, Mass., the 34-year-old will become just the 19th U.S.-born defenseman to reach the 1,000-game mark.
In 23 games this season, Yandle has recorded 16 points (three goals, 13 assists).
"He's really a true pro and it's fun to see him doing this well," fellow Panthers rearguard Radko Gudas said of Yandle, who he's often been paired with on the blue line this season. "Even still after all these years, he's still a positive guy that has a lot of things to give the team."
As for the team itself, the Panthers are riding high heading into Raleigh.
Sitting in second place in the Central Division at 15-4-4, they opened their five-game road trip with consecutive wins in Nashville. Outscoring the Predators 11-6, Aaron Ekblad (four goals, two assists) and Jonathan Huberdeau (two goals, two assists) led the charge in those games.
On Saturday, however, it was Noel Acciari that took center stage.
Entering the afternoon in search of his first goal of the season, Acciari ended up getting not one, not two, but three to register the third hat trick of his career - he had back-to-back hat tricks last season, if you recall - and help Florida extend its point streak to five games with a 6-2 victory.
"It was a great feeling," said Acciari, who racked up a career-high 20 goals last season. "I was just hoping to get one tonight to just to get my first of the season, but to get the other two was definitely exciting. A lot of guys are putting a lot of pressure on me about tomorrow now."
While Panthers coach Joel Quenneville isn't expected to announce a starting goaltender until around 3:15 p.m. ET, he previously mentioned that it's "likely" that Chris Driedger will get the nod tonight after Sergei Bobrovsky backstopped the team to both wins against the Predators.
In 11 appearances this season, Driedger has recorded a 7-2-2 record with a 2.25 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. Starting two of Florida's three games against Carolina thus far, he's gone 1-0-1 while stopping 60 of 66 shots for a .909 save percentage in those contests.
At the other end of the ice, the Hurricanes should be well rested after having not played a game since beating the Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday. Entering tonight's battle on a four-game winning streak, Carolina kicked off that run with consecutive wins over Florida on Feb. 27 and March 1.
That being said, both of those games came down to the wire for the Panthers, who lost one of them in a shootout and the other in overtime to fall to 1-0-2 against the Hurricanes this season. Jockeying for position in the standings, Carolina trails Florida by one point with a 16-6-1 record.
With a pair of assists against Detroit on Thursday, Vincent Trocheck extended his point streak to four games. In that span, the 27-year-old forward has notched two goals and three assists to increase his team-leading point total to 21 (12 goals, nine assists). Finding success against his former team, three of those 12 goals have come in matchups against the Panthers this season.
Not far behind Trocheck, Jordan Staal (eight goals, 12 assists) and Sebastian Aho (eight goals, 12 assists) are tied for second on the team with 20 points apiece. Doing damage from the blue line, Dougie Hamilton also leads the club's defensemen with 16 points (one goal, 15 assists).
According to Carolina's website, James Reimer is expected to get the start in net. In 13 games this season, the 32-year-old has gone 10-3-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. Over his last four starts, he's posted a 2-2-0 record behind a .917 save percentage.
Off to their best start on the road in franchise history, the Panthers have gone 8-1-1 away from Sunrise so far this season. Additionally, the club's .850 road points percentage leads the NHL.
TEAM RECORDS
FLA: 15-4-4, 34 PTS
CAR: 16-6-1, 33 PTS
FLA all-time vs. CAR: 51-50-11-15
PANTHERS NOTES
-- Patric Hornqvist ranks tied for second on the Panthers in goals (9). In the midst of his first season with Florida, he's producing at nearly a point-per-game clip, racking up 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 23 games. On Saturday, he registered the 500th point of his NHL career.
-- Jonathan Huberdeau leads Florida in both goals (10) and points (28). He also leads the team with nine multi-point performances, including tallying a goal and an assist during Saturday's win.
-- Radko Gudas leads the Panthers and ranks first in the NHL with 111 hits.
-- Aleksander Barkov enters tonight's matchup riding a five-game point streak in which he's tallied one goal and six assists. Sitting second on Florida in scoring with 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists), he also leads the team in shots on goal (84) and takeaways (20).
-- Frank Vatrano has registered four goals over his last five games, with each of those goals coming in the third period. Additionally, all eight of his goals this season have come at 5-on-5.
-- Aaron Ekblad leads all NHL defensemen in goals (9) and power-play goals (5). With one more goal, he will reach the 10-goal plateau for the sixth time over his first seven seasons in the NHL.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Frank Vatrano - Aleksander Barkov - Carter Verhaeghe
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Mason Marchment - Eetu Luostarinen - Grigori Denisenko
Ryan Lomberg - Juho Lammikko - Noel Acciari
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling - Kevin Connauton
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Chris Driedger
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratches:Owen Tippett, Anton Stralman (lower body)
Taxi squad: Brett Connolly, Riley Stillman, Philippe Desrosiers
Injured reserve: Anthony Duclair (lower body), Markus Nutivaara (upper body), Noah Juulsen (upper body)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- March 6: F Owen Tippett and F Grigori Denisenko were recalled from the Taxi Squad; D Riley Stillman was loaned to the Taxi Squad.
- March 2: F Owen Tippett was loaned to the Taxi Squad.
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
When: Sunday, March 7 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Where:PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Stream:
FOX Sports GO
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys) 107.9 FM / 1370 AM WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932
Pre-Game Listen: Hear from NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen on this week's episode of the Territory Talk podcast.
