Flyers on hand as Hartnell is honored for 1,000th game
Scott Hartnell is pleased that his former teammates are around as the Blue Jackets celebrate his milestone.
COLUMBUS - Technically, it was his 1,001st NHL game - but the Blue Jackets waited until last night to officially honor Scott Hartnell for hitting the millennium milestone against his former team.
Before the game, Hartnell was presented with a silver stick, a Tiffany crystal, a shiny watch from his teammates and a commemorative painting depicting the three stops in his career: Nashville, Philadelphia and Columbus. His parents, Bill and Joy, joined him on the ice from Lloydminster, Alberta.
Hartnell, 32, became the 297th player in league history to hit 1,000 games on Tuesday against Los Angeles.
Hartnell skated in more than half of those games (517) with the Flyers. After breaking in with the Predators as a first-round pick in 2000, he wasn't quite sure he'd made it all the way to 1,000.
"I was running around and I would hit guys and sometimes not even realize there was a puck out there," Hartnell said. "A couple concussions later, and it's like, jeez, I am a good player. I wanted to develop that [skill] aspect of my game as much as possible without losing that physical part."
He also took a stick in the eye in his second season, causing him to miss a significant amount of time after almost losing his vision, which is why he wears a visor.
Hartnell was surprised by best friend Kimmo Timonen - who played in 953 of those games with him in Nashville and Philadelphia - before Tuesday's game.
"He lied to me on text message a few days prior," Hartnell said. "I said I wish you could come and he said, 'Yeah, too bad I'm skating now. I can't get there.' I saw him in the parking lot before the game and I gave him a big hug. It was pretty special that he made the effort."
Hartnell is now 48 games into his tenure as a Blue Jacket. He acknowledged it took him a few months, even after the season started, to get over the shock that he wasn't a Flyer anymore. He has come to grips with that now.
"In the beginning, I was always watching the Flyers games and the stats and who was scoring," Hartnell said. "I haven't done that as much in the last couple months. I'm not thinking about the Flyers. Obviously, I love Philly and I had a great time there. But you've got to turn the page sometime and move forward."
Read buzzing
Matt Read joked that he lost a few pounds in stress alone before his shot found the top of the twine in Montreal on Tuesday night for his first goal in 26 games. It was his first goal since Dec. 11.
"I'm not going to say that I picked the corner or anything," Read said with a laugh. "I just saw 'Simmer' going to the net, and I tried to shoot the puck and use him as a screen. It still feels good to finally score, just to get that feeling back."
Despite his careerlong scoring drought, Read said he tried to keep a positive attitude. His line, with mates Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier, is buzzing. Including their two strikes last night, they scored three consecutive goals for the Flyers. Simmonds later scored a power play goal.
"I think even around the arena, if you're depressed or down, you can't really show it around the locker room," Read said. "I think that's bull[bleep]. It's a team game. I'm a little happier today, a little less stressed. Still, every game matters. Every shift, you've got to go out there and try to do something positive for your team."