Toronto’s Auston Matthews set a franchise best Tuesday night, at the beginning of his career. In Montreal, Andrei Markov hit a franchise milestone as he moves towards the conclusion of his career.
With an assist on Artturi Lehkonen’s third-period goal, Markov tied Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe for second in all-time scoring by a Canadiens defenceman.
The home crowd met that achievement with a standing ovation, which you can see at the top of this post.
Markov, 38, was drafted in the sixth round (162nd overall) by the Canadiens in 1998, but didn’t have his rookie season until 2000-01, when he scored 23 points in 63 games. He is in his 16th NHL season, all of which have come with the Habs, and is in the final year of his contract that pays $5.75 million against the cap.
In 58 games this season, Markov has six goals and 36 points.
While Markov will likely pass Lapointe for sole possession of No. 2 on the Habs’ all-time defence scoring list, he won’t be able to chase down Larry Robinson, who holds the team record with 883 points.
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