Jagr assist puts him behind only Gretzky in NHL scoring

Jaromir Jagr sits alone atop his own mountain.

The 44-year-old Florida Panther drew an assist on Aleksander Barkov's goal at 13:20 of the third period Thursday night against the Boston Bruins to move past Mark Messier and into sole possession of second on the National Hockey League's career scoring list, behind only Wayne Gretzky.

"I appreciate everything ... over my hockey career, and I thank the fans," Jagr said in a brief ceremony during which he was given a golden stick.

Jagr, though, said previously he considers Gretzky's 2,857 career points to be otherworldly and so considers No. 2 to be as good as it can get.

In a video, Gretzky offered congratulations. "You play the game the right way," he told Jagr.

The game was stopped for a celebration, and Jagr came onto the ice to accept the commemorative golden stick from the Panthers. He waved to the crowd, got congratulatory stick-taps from both teams, and the game — his 1,663rd in the NHL — resumed. 

On his historic assist, Jagr was parked in front of the Boston net when the puck richocheted off his backside to Barkov, who fired it past Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask.

"My whole life I have wondered why God gave me such a big  butt and today, after almost 45 years, it dawned on me," Jagr wrote in his native Czech in a post on his Facebook page.
 
"I thought I would score a goal or make a beautiful pass, but the reality was totally different. They hit my backside, and  the puck bounced off to Barkov who scored.
 
"I was a bit ashamed of such an extraordinary point but, as they say, history doesn't ask how but how many."

The Bruins went on to win 3-1.