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  6. article_body => "<p>Joe Thornton seems to notch another career milestone every night he takes the ice, and the Sharks' game Monday night in Vancouver was no different.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, he notched a couple.<\/p>\n<p>Thornton entered the contest tied with Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for ninth place on the NHL's all-time assists list.<\/p>\n<p>\"He's a legend,\" Thornton said of Howe on the pregame broadcast. \"My father told me lots of stories about him when I was younger, but it's a huge honor to be up there with him.\"<\/p>\n<p>After the second period, Thornton occupied ninth all on his own. He surpassed Howe with a primary assist on Kevin Labanc's second-period tally, which made the score 6-1 in favor of San Jose.<\/p>\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jumbo passes Mr. Hockey for the 9th spot on the all-time assist list <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Abnoz3364f\">pic.twitter.com\/Abnoz3364f<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCSSharks\/status\/1095183816442839040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n<p>In breaking the tie with Howe, Thornton also tied another Hall of Famer in former Shark Teemu Selanne.<\/p>\n<p>The assist on Labanc's goal marked the 1,457th point of Thornton's career, tying him with Selanne for 15th on the NHL's all-time points list.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/bayarea\/sharks\/sharks-praise-kevin-labanc-after-he-tallies-his-first-career-nhl-hat-trick\" id=\"media-card-link-399576\" is=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Sharks praise Labanc after his first career NHL hat trick<\/a><strong>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It's not every day you surpass not one&nbsp;but two of the greatest players to ever step on the ice. But, given the rate Thornton has moved&nbsp;up these lists as of late, perhaps we should get used to it.<\/p>\n"
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Sharks

Sharks

Joe Thornton seems to notch another career milestone every night he takes the ice, and the Sharks' game Monday night in Vancouver was no different.

In fact, he notched a couple.

Thornton entered the contest tied with Hall of Famer Gordie Howe for ninth place on the NHL's all-time assists list.

"He's a legend," Thornton said of Howe on the pregame broadcast. "My father told me lots of stories about him when I was younger, but it's a huge honor to be up there with him."

After the second period, Thornton occupied ninth all on his own. He surpassed Howe with a primary assist on Kevin Labanc's second-period tally, which made the score 6-1 in favor of San Jose.

In breaking the tie with Howe, Thornton also tied another Hall of Famer in former Shark Teemu Selanne.

The assist on Labanc's goal marked the 1,457th point of Thornton's career, tying him with Selanne for 15th on the NHL's all-time points list.

[RELATED: Sharks praise Labanc after his first career NHL hat trick]

It's not every day you surpass not one but two of the greatest players to ever step on the ice. But, given the rate Thornton has moved up these lists as of late, perhaps we should get used to it.

Â