John Tavares scored his 500th NHL goal on Wednesday, hitting the milestone in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

The goal at 15:45 of the third period made Tavares the 49th player to reach the mark. Tavares scored with a snap shot low in the left circle, going short side off a pass from Matthew Knies from the slot.

Tavares scored No. 499 on a breakaway in overtime to give Toronto a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

The 35-year-old center has 1,128 points (500 goals, 628 assists) in 1,194 NHL regular-season games with the Maple Leafs and New York Islanders. He has 228 goals in 526 regular-season games with Toronto since signing a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million average annual value) as a free a

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