Three-time Stanley Cup champion Kris Letang added to his sparkling resume on Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, joining exclusive company when he hit the 800-point plateau.
Thanks to his first-period assist, Letang became just the 21st blueliner in NHL history to reach that prestigious number.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, Letang’s milestone was one of the lone positives during a disappointing setback. Trailing 1-0, Tommy Novak cycled the puck from low to high along the near boards to Letang, who promptly passed the puck across the width of the zone to his defense partner, Sam Girard. Seconds later, Girard hit the high forward, Egor Chinakhov, who fired a one-time missile from long range over the right pad of Colorado netminder Scott Wedgewood to briefly tie the score at 1-1.
“It is an incredible milestone,” head coach Dan Muse said. “I’m disappointed that we couldn’t get a win here today on the day that he gets it, because it’s obviously a big one. It’s a special one for him. It’s well deserved.”
Letang’s 800th point was the headliner on the goal, but ironically, it wasn’t the lone milestone. Playing against his former team, Girard’s helper was the 200th assist of his career. Chinakhov set a new personal high with his 17th goal.
By netting his 800th point, Letang joined teammate Erik Karlsson, Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman and Colorado’s Brent Burns as the fourth active blueliner to hit that mark. Looking at the 800-point club from a historical perspective, of the 17 retired blueliners to reach that lofty total, 15 have gone on to be elected into the Hall of Fame.
Spending his career skating in the shadows of fellow Penguins’ franchise pillars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Letang’s march up the all-time leaderboards and single-franchise lists has sometimes gone underappreciated. But what he has accomplished from the back end is every bit as impressive and historic.
Letang became just the ninth defenseman to hit 800 points with a single franchise. He and Hedman are the only active rearguards to accomplish the feat. Each of the seven retirees that lay claim to that achievement are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
“You see the preparation that he puts in all the time,” Muse said. “Just the dedication to this game, to this team, to this organization. You see why he’s been doing this for so long. … Because I’ve now been around around it for a full season, I hope that nobody takes for granted what these guys are doing just because you’re seeing it all the time; you’re seeing a new milestone by one of them it feels like every few weeks.
“For Tanger to come in now and hit that milestone, it’s another really big one. It’s a credit to what he’s been doing for all of these years.”
Continuing the Penguins' run of individual star-power since Mario Lemieux’s debut in 1984, Letang became the fourth defenseman to reach the 800-point mark while wearing a Penguins sweater. Prior to Monday, Karlsson was the most recent back in his debut season in black and gold. Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy also donned the flightless bird when they notched their 800th points.
