Milestone

Congratuiations to Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev, who last night scored the 800th point of his NHL career – in his 1,000th game.

Tonight's game against the Boston Bruins will be Bryan Smolinski's 1,000th NHL game, making him the second Canadien this season to reach the milestone. In an ironic twist, he will face the team he started his career with to mark the achievement. Smolinski made his NHL debut on March 27, 1993 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He becomes the 27th U.S.-born player to play in 1,000 NHL games and the 28th American to reach the milestone (Brett Hull being the exception since he was born in Canada but is considered a U.S. player).

Alex Kovalev will be the next member of the Canadiens to play in his 1,000th game when the Habs play in Carolina on Friday.