Joe Sakic Reaches Milestone

Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic became the 11th player in NHL history, and the only active player, to reach the 1,000-assist plateau. Sakic has assisted on goals by 132 different players, most often for Milan Hejduk (93), Alex Tanguay (46), Peter Forsberg (45), Adam Deadmarsh (39) and Owen Nolan (38).

Also this weekend, Alex Ovechkin scored his 59th and 60th goals of the season in Washington’s win at Atlanta on Friday night. Ovechkin, who was 22 years, 186 days old when he did it, is the fifth-youngest player in NHL history to reach the 60-goal mark in a season. The four players younger than Ovechkin at the time of their 60th goal were Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 (20 years, 359 days) and 1982-83 (22-41), Pavel Bure in 1992-93 (22-11), Mike Bossy in 1978-79 (22-62) and Mario Lemieux in 1987-88 (22-167).

Oilers rookie Sam Gagner had his first two-goal game in the NHL to lead Edmonton to a 7-5 win over Colorado on Saturday. Gagner, age 18 years, 225 days, was the youngest player ever to score two-or-more goals in an NHL game for the Oilers, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s mark which had stood for over 28 years. Gretzky was 18 years, 280 days old on Nov. 2, 1979, when he recorded his first multiple-goal game in the NHL by scoring twice against Chico Resch in a 7-5 Oilers win over the Islanders in Edmonton. Gretzky (six times) and Gagner are the only players to have a multiple-goal game for the Oilers as an 18-year-old.