Joe Thornton is on the verge of another jumbo accomplishment, and it just might come Sunday against his original team.
The Sharks’ top center is three assists from becoming the 13th player in NHL history to reach 1,000. San Jose plays at Arizona on Saturday before Boston makes its only visit of the regular season on Sunday. The Bruins drafted Thornton first overall in 1997 — one pick before the Sharks selected Patrick Marleau — and dealt him to San Jose in November 2005.
Surprisingly, the last-place Coyotes have held Thornton scoreless in the teams’ first four meetings.