Thornton Looking to Become 16th Player with 10 50-Assist Seasons

Sitting at 48 assists through 68 games this season, San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton needs just two more helpers to become the 16th player in NHL history with 50 or more assists in 10 different seasons, per Sportsnet Stats.

Following an assist-less showing in Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the 35-year-old center will get his next crack at the milestone in Monday's road game against the Ottawa Senators.

While largely a pushover in recent seasons, the Senators suddenly find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, due in large part to some fantastic work by rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond, who has widely become known as "The Hamburglar."

Thornton and the Sharks thus figure to have their hands full, though the veteran did produce a pair of multi-assist games last week, and the Hamburglar finally seems to be cooling down a bit.

If Thornton doesn't hit the mark Monday evening, his next chance will come in Thursday's road game against the Detroit Red Wings.

Given his impressive track record of durability and production, there's little question Thornton will pick up two more assists over the final 10 games of the season.

He previously reached 50 assists every year from 2002-03 to 2009-10, before falling just one short in 2010-11. He got back over the hump in 2011-12 and 2013-14 but was obviously unable to overcome the lockout in 2012-13.