When the Toronto Maple Leafs’ season began earlier this month, it was just a matter of when, not if, John Tavares would join the National Hockey League’s elite scoring club.
It took him 1,195 games over 17 seasons, but in Columbus, Ohio, at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday, Tavares notched his 500th regular season goal. With the Maple Leafs down 6-1 in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tavares’ wrist shot found its way past goalie Elvis Merzļikins at 15:45 to bring the score to 6–2. Toronto would tally one more goal before the final buzzer, coming out on the losing end of a 6–3 game with their Eastern Conference foe.
