Eric Staal: 1,000th game 'special' despite Wild loss
Bruce Fedyck / USA Today Sports
Eric Staal became the first player from the 2003 NHL Draft class to appear in his 1,000th career game Sunday in Winnipeg.
The milestone wasn't lost on him, despite the fact his Minnesota Wild dropped a fifth straight game, this time to a Jets club far down in the standings.
Staal: "It's special, tough under the circumstances, but in the overall grand scheme it's special." #Staal1000
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 20, 2017
Staal is also the highest-scoring player selected in 2003, with the vast majority of his career spent with the Carolina Hurricanes.
| Team | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricanes | 909 | 775 |
| Wild | 71 | 54 |
| Rangers | 20 | 6 |
Staal has been a big part of the Wild's success this season, setting aside the recent skid. His resurgence suggests there's plenty left in the tank to add to his totals.