Jamie Benn moved to 999 career NHL points on Saturday night, scoring late in the first period and pushing the Dallas Stars in front on the way to a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center. Benn took a feed from Roope Hintz in the slot and lifted the puck into the far corner at 15:17 for his 999th point.
That leaves Benn one point from becoming only the second player in franchise history to reach 1,000, with Mike Modano the only Star ahead of him on the all-time list. Every point Benn has scored has come in Dallas, and the milestone now sits close enough that the next game could be the one that gets him there.
The search around Benn is there because the number has been moving fast. He entered the season with 992 points, needed eight to reach 1,000, and had 994 after eight games. Since Oct. 20, he has added five points in nine games, a pace that has carried him from a summer of work and change to the edge of a number that only one other Dallas player has ever touched.
Benn, 37, changed his workout routine and lost weight over the summer, then said he had put in good work and changed a few things after the way the Stars ended last year was not up to their standards. The team lost in six games to the Minnesota Wild in the first round last spring, a finish that stuck with him and the rest of the group. He has spent his entire NHL career with Dallas, and he has been the captain since the start of the 2013-14 season.
The milestone chase has not come out of nowhere. Benn was drafted by Dallas in 2007 and has built a career of 417 goals and 582 assists in 1,269 games. Through 17 games of his 18th season, he has three goals and four assists, and he has been skating on a line with Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston. Glen Gulutzan said after Saturday’s game that Benn is playing great hockey, while Tyler Seguin said it will be pretty sweet to see when the milestone happens.
There is still one thing to watch, and it is the simplest one. Benn is already at 999, so the next point will make him the second player in Dallas Stars history to reach 1,000. If he does it next game, it will be the kind of mark that turns a steady season into a franchise moment.
