SAN JOSE — Joe Thornton tends to project a ho-hum attitude when it comes to the collection of remarkable milestones he’s stacking up.
Earlier this week, when he became the seventh player in NHL history to score 400 goals, record 1,000 assists and play in 1,500 games, he couldn’t even name another player on the list. The one guy that he assumed was in the club, Wayne Gretzky, actually fell 13 games short of joining the group.
But when Thornton discovered who he could tie for 11th place on the NHL’s all-time assists list with a helper in the Sharks (10-7-3) showdown with the St.