The Tampa Bay Lightning secured a 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks. This victory marked Jon Cooper’s 1,000th NHL game as a head coach, making it a night to celebrate.

The game was a nail-biter. The Lightning sealed the win when Darren Raddysh redirected a pass from Brandon Hagel, scoring at 2:47 in overtime. Goalie Lukas Dostal kept the Ducks in the game by stopping key shots from Anthony Cirelli but couldn’t block the decisive strike.

For Jon Cooper, the game had special significance. He became the 32nd coach to reach 1,000 games in NHL history. He’s the fifth to accomplish this with one team, the Lightning. “A thousand games? Like, what?” said Jon Cooper to NHL.com.

Before the match, Cooper had 594 wins in 999 games, the highest number of victories recorded by any coach with one team in their first 1,000 games. Reflecting on his career, Cooper expressed disbelief, “No way, on New Year’s Eve? Like, a thousand games, it seems like you’re ancient,” he said.

During the first period, Tampa Bay dominated but faced a 1-0 hole after J.J. Moser scored at the 13:30 mark with a shot under Dostal’s glove. Brayden Point’s goal was disallowed due to an offside review.

The second period saw sloppy plays leading to scoring chances. Jansen Harkins tied the game for the Ducks. Meanwhile, Point put the Lightning in the lead with a pass from Nikita Kucherov.

The third period saw Anaheim’s forecheck leveling the game at 2-2. Beckett Sennecke’s wrist shot evened the score. Kucherov responded with a power-play goal, assisted by Hagel. The Ducks tied it again with Mason McTavish scoring from Pavel Mintyukov’s pass.

Andrei Vasilevskiy protected the net for the Lightning, while Dostal fought hard for the Ducks. The win also marked Tampa Bay’s fifth consecutive victory. Their next challenge is against Los Angeles in back-to-back games, paving the way for a strong start to the New Year.

Brandon Hagel praised Cooper’s leadership, saying, “’Coop’ has been incredible, keeping a group tight,” Hagel mentioned to NHL.com.

Under Cooper, Tampa Bay won two Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021, along with other accomplishments. His NHL career started 22 years ago in Texas with a junior hockey team. Statistics show a regular-season record of 594-319-86 before the game in his 14th season.