James van Riemsdyk played his 1000th NHL game in the Boston Bruins' 2-1 loss against the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night at TD Garden.

The TD Garden crowd rose to its feet and applauded James van Riemsdyk for hitting the 1000-game milestone.

“That was really special and cool,” van Riemsdyk said Tuesday following the Boston Bruins’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“When I got the opportunity to get a chance to join the group here and join this team, it was something I was super excited about. The passion of the fans, you could always feel that over the years for the Bruins…It’s nice to be on the right side of that.”

Despite his team’s loss, van Riemsdyk was able to appreciate the accolade and take a moment to reflect on what’s been a 15-season NHL career for him thus far.

“It feels a little surreal, to be honest. You don’t kind of realize I think the significance of it until you get into the league,” van Riemsdyk said. “I remember guys who were kind of around this point when I was coming in, and to think it’s all these years later – it’s pretty cool.”

Since signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Bruins in July, van Riemsdyk has become a reliable and versatile veteran piece of the team’s forward group. Recently, van Riemsdyk has been on the third line with Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic, but the winger has also played key top-six minutes alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak.

Through 60 games in the Black and Gold, van Riemsdyk has logged 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists).

“It’s super exciting to get the chance to play in this league for as long as I have. Definitely feel super honored, and you don’t take that for granted,” van Riemsdyk said.

The official ceremony for van Riemsdyk’s 1000 games will be hosted at TD Garden prior to March 16’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers selected van Riemsdyk second overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, and he had two separate stints with the team –– 2009-2012 and 2018-2023.

“That’s definitely something that will make it even more special,” van Riemsdyk said of Philadelphia being involved in the celebration. “Have a lot of history there – came into the league with them, got drafted by them, spent a lot of years, a lot of games there.”

For now, though, van Riemsdyk and the Bruins will focus on getting back in the win column when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs for a rematch Thursday night at TD Garden.