Nashville Predators forward James Neal scored his 20th goal of the season during Tuesday's 5-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, marking the seventh time in seven NHL seasons that he has scored 20 or more goals, per Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN.com.
Tuesday's goal wasn't one of his more important ones, as the 27-year-old winger scored during the second period to extend his team's lead to 5-1.
While he's not producing at the same rate he did for the Pittsburgh Penguins the past few years, Neal hit the 20-goal mark with 25 games remaining in Nashville's season, giving him a solid chance to reach 30 for the second time in his career.
Neal scored 40 times in 2011-12, and while he maintained similar per-game production over the following two seasons, the NHL lockout and injuries held him under 30 goals in both campaigns.
Of course, the missed time makes Neal's streak of 20-goal seasons all the more impressive, and he's one of just seven active players to hit the mark in each of their first seven seasons, per Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN.com.
The others are Jaromir Jagr, Alexander Ovechkin, Thomas Vanek, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Toews, with all of those players besides Jagr still working on the streak.
Of the bunch, only Neal, Jagr and Vanek have played for more than one team, with Neal being the only one to play for multiple franchises in the first seven seasons of his career.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2368776-james-neal-records-20-goals-for-7th-time-in-7-seasons
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