On fan appreciation night, Claude Giroux soaked up most of the appreciation as the Senators defeated Carolina 3-2 on Monday night.

When it comes to opportunities for NHL milestones, Ottawa Senators' winger Claude Giroux has a definite flair for the dramatic.

Last March, he played in his 1000th career NHL game and it also turned out to be his final contest as a Philadelphia Flyer. In October, when he played his first game in Ottawa as a Senator, he scored one minute into the contest on his very first shift. And in November, when he got his 300th career NHL goal, it was also in Ottawa against his old team, the Flyers.

You can now add Monday's 3-2 win over Carolina as a crisp, new page in Giroux's big book of dramatic milestones. Entering the Senators' home finale, the second last game of their season, Giroux needed just two points to hit 1000 for his career. Not only did Giroux get the milestone out of the way quickly in the first period, but he also scored the game-winner. So fan appreciation night quickly morphed into appreciation for Claude Giroux's excellent career and an outstanding first season in Ottawa.

Giroux opened the scoring at the 5:51 mark, his 999th point, on a perfect feed from Brady Tkachuk. The captain was parked on the left wing boards near the top of the circle and spotted Giroux sprinting to the far post. Tkachuk hit him right on the tape and Giroux one-timed a snap shot past Frederik Andersen for the 1-0 lead.

Late in the first, the top line struck again and history was made.

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Giroux accepted another nice pass from Tkachuk and feathered it past 'Canes defenceman Brady Skjei onto the stick of Tim Stutzle. The young German's quick wrister made it 2-0, but the score hardly mattered at that point. The large Ottawa crowd of 18,688 was on its feet cheering exclusively for Giroux, his milestone, and the amazing season he's had. 

Stutzle ignored his chance to celebrate with Giroux, immediately skating after the souvenir puck to give to his linemate. Giroux was left hanging for a moment, then disappeared into a Tkachuk bear hug. The entire team then left the bench, delaying the game to mob and congratulate Giroux.

“I was just trying to keep my emotions intact,” Giroux said. “I knew it was going to happen that they were all going to come out on the ice. But to actually (see it) happen, it was definitely a little different. It was special.”

Early in the second period, Shane Pinto appeared to give the Senators a 3-0 lead, ramming home a nice pass from Tyler Kleven. However, a coach's challenge pulled that one off the board as replays showed, in the moments before the goal, Kleven was way offside.

At 5 on 5, the Senators pitched a shutout against the 'Canes, who entered the game with the league's second best record. But when down a man, there were a couple of glitches.

During a second period 4 on 4, Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub got crossed up in coverage, allowing Brett Pesce a clear path to the net and his shot past Mads Sogaard cut Ottawa's lead in half.

Early in the third on the power play, Brent Burns tied it at 2 with a slap shot from the point that beat Sogaard high on the glove side.

But Giroux's big night had a happy ending. Midway through the third, the 35-year-old veteran restored Ottawa's lead when Shane Pinto got in behind Carolina's defence. With Skjei bearing down on him, Pinto dropped the puck back to Giroux, who took a backhanded swat at it and beat Andersen glove side for the game winner. 

In the dying seconds, there was no shortage of tense moments as Carolina pushed hard for the equalizer. But Sogaard stood tall, as 6-foot-7 goalies often do, to finish off a night to remember in Ottawa.

“(Giroux) has had a heck of a year,” head coach D.J. Smith said after the game. “He's just a smart player. He knows where to go to find pucks. He knows how to make plays. He could have had 6 or 7 points tonight, to be honest with you, if guys finished the passes that he gave them.”

Giroux is now the 96th NHL player to reach 1000 points. The two-goal performance also leaves Giroux with 34 on the season, matching his single-season best (2017-18). But his positive, wide-ranging impact on a young Ottawa Senators team cannot be measured by points alone.

“Everybody who knows G, he does not care about points,” Stutzle said. “He's had a hell of a career already...and just having him as a teammate and learning from him is really special and yeah, we love him.”

Giroux and the Senators will close out the 2022-23 season this Thursday in Buffalo.