Friday, 4 a.m.
A player builds his monument one brick at a time. He makes his journey at step at a time. He writes his legacy one words at a time.
Just ask Steven Stamkos, who added another memory Thursday night.
Stamkos assisted on Victor Hedman's game-winning goal in a 2-1 triumph over the Ottawa Senators, adding the total of his career up to 900 points. Only Martin St. Louis, with 958, has more with the Bolts.
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Considering all the injury time Stamkos has missed in his recent years, it's a fairly impressive total.
“That was special," Stamkos said. "Anytime you can do anything like that at home in a win in front of your family and friends, it’s just that much more special. A hundred more and that will be nice one, but you have to get to this to get to there."
Stamkos was gratified that it was Hedman's goal that he assisted on.
"It’s fitting for him to be a part of that," Stamkos said. "We go way back here. We've been through a lot of miles stones, a lot of downs and a tot of ups. More ups recently. It’s been great o go through that together. He’s a tremendous friend and a tremendous teammate."
It was the seventh win in the last eight games for the Bolts, who are now tied with Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division.
"We were just sliding under the radar, which is fine for us," Stamkos said. "We’re just sliding . We don’t mind that. We jsut have to find a way to get points. It hasn’t been pretty at times. We’re the Tampa Bay Find-a-ways . We find a way to win, a way to get points."
Said coach Jon Cooper: "If you're the defending champs you don't go unnoticed. But there were a lot of teams you were noticing over us. Find-a-ways is a good way to put it. Every night they did something different."
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevski won his 16th game, most in the NHL.
The Bolts now go on the road, traveling to Colorado for a Saturday night game. The puck is scheduled to drop at 9 p.m.