Penguins Celebrate Star Defenseman's Milestone Game
The Pittsburgh Penguins pulled out all of the stops to celebrate a star defender's 1,000th game.
PITTSBURGH – For the fifth time in the last four seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins are celebrating a player appearing in their 1,000th career game. Following in the footsteps of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Lars Eller, the Penguins held to tradition to celebrate Erik Karlsson.
Taking the ice for warmups, everyone on the Penguins donned sweaters with Karlsson’s name and No. 65 on the back.
Normally, Penguins who are appearing in their 1,000th game get to lead warmup stretches, but that was passed for this occasion. Instead of stretches, his teammates imitated some stick twirls Karlsson is keen of.
Following warm-ups, traditional ceremonies took place for Karlsson. A video tribute was played, a personalized painting and a silver stick were presented to Karlsson to honor the achievement.
The video featured moments throughout Karlsson's Hall of Fame career and congratulation clips from multiple former teammates.
Prior to everything, Penguins players and management honored Karlsson privately in the locker room with gifts.
Karlsson is nearing the end of his first season with the Penguins and has been a treat for the team. His presence as a player and person has elevated the team in multiple areas. Karlsson leads Penguins defensemen in scoring with 52 points in 79 games.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins