Krenn: Counting down Stamkos' top 10 goals

Five hundred goals.
With a goal vs. the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, Steven Stamkos became the first player in Lightning franchise history and the 47th player in NHL history to score 500 career goals. He is the 23rd player in NHL history to score 500 goals with a single franchise.
From his first NHL goal against Buffalo to his 500th against Vancouver, Stamkos has ripped one-timers, redirected shots, showcased soft hands, and everything in between.
Here are some of my favorites from the greatest goal scorer in Tampa Bay franchise history.

1. 60

Going into the 82nd and final game of the regular season on April 7, 2012, Stamkos had tallied 59 goals on the year and was just one shy of making history with the last game of the year being played at MTS Centre in Winnipeg against the Jets.
Prior to the contest, Alex Ovechkin was the only player to score 60 goals since 1996 and only 19 players in NHL history had lit the lamp 60 times in one season. That changed with 16:31 left in the third period when Stamkos took a pass from his longtime linemate, Martin St. Louis, and ripped a wrist shot past Ondrej Pavelec to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead.
Disappointed with the opposing team scoring, the Winnipeg fans groaned and booed for a brief moment before acknowledging the rare feat with a standing ovation for the then-22-year-old star. Up until that point, chants of "No goal Stamkos" were echoing throughout the arena for the first two periods.
"They were booing me all game and when that went in, they obviously knew the magnitude of that goal and I have a lot of respect for all the fans here," said Stamkos. "That made it even more special, to like I said do it in Canada and have them do an ovation like that, it was amazing."
Stamkos netted 48 even-strength goals that season, still the most even-strength goals in a single season by any player this century. The 60 goals remain a Lightning franchise record today.
2. All-Time Leader

It was only a matter of time before Stamkos became the Lightning's all-time points leader and, of course, the major accomplishment came off his signature one-timer from the left circle, on the power play, against his favorite childhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The goal was Stamkos's 954th career point, moving him past St. Louis for the Bolts franchise record.
"The fans were amazing," Stamkos said. "To be out there on the ice when it's just you saluting that crowd, it's not quite skating around with the Stanley Cup, but it's a pretty special moment if you can have any anything like that happen to you in your career and be recognized as an individual like that.
"It just brings back all the time that you've spent with the guys here in Tampa, all the people that have helped you along your way - your family, your friends. It's just that rush of emotion and adrenaline. You don't know how it's going to feel until it happens, so that's the cool part about it.
"Like I said, to do it the way it happened with Kuch and Heddy, who have assisted on many of my goals on the power play on the one-timer - it was just it was a special moment."
The face of the Lightning franchise, Stamkos deserves to be atop the leaderboard, and he still has plenty of points left in the tank.
3. Duck Hunting

One of the best goals in Lightning history from a skill perspective, Stamkos scoring from the seat of his pants against the Ducks will go down as one of the craziest goals Bolts fans have ever seen.
To keep his focus on the puck as he was going down, let alone bat it out of midair and into the net, was an unreal display of skill that will always be remembered as one of the best goals of Stamkos's career.
4. The First 50
It only took Stamkos one full season in the NHL before he scored 50 goals for the first time in just his second year in the league. With his shot from the point, Stamkos joined Vincent Lecavalier as the only two players in Lightning franchise history to score 50 goals in a single season. Doing it on home ice with the excitement of the home fans made it that much more special.
5. Panther Precision

This was one of those "You've got to be kidding me" goals from Stamkos. With under 10 seconds remaining in the contest and the Bolts trailing by one, Stamkos took a pass from Victor Hedman and managed to roof a one-timer, top shelf, with his skates nearly touching the goal line.
Lightning fans have seen Stamkos hammer plenty of one-timers past goaltenders from that left circle, but this time, he was completely below the circle and perfectly finessed his one-timer past James Reimer. An all-timer from the captain.
6. Spin It

After earning a penalty shot against the Canadiens in his third NHL season, I don't think anyone in the building saw this one coming. It was just the second penalty shot of Stamkos's career after failing to score on his previous attempt.
Lightning fans have become familiar with some of Stamkos's signature breakaway moves - the wrist shot into the top left corner, or the backhand-forehand deke, but he brought all the flair for this one to give the Bolts a 3-1 lead over the Habs. Superb skill.
7. Blues Cruise

Speaking of skill, how about this highlight-reel goal against the St. Louis Blues?
Coming down on a 2-on-1 with St. Louis, Stamkos showed perfect patience and pulled off a beautiful toe drag around Alex Pietrangelo, who was drafted fourth overall the year Stamkos was selected by Tampa Bay with the number one overall selection.
The slick hands combined with the perfect finish into the top right corner was a thing of beauty.
8. Stop & Snipe

This was just a pure snipe, a goal scorer's goal. Flying into the Detroit zone with two defenders nearby, Stamkos slammed on the brakes, pulled the puck right onto his forehand and absolutely ripped a wrist shot into the top left corner.
The shot nailed the back bar and came right out, to the point where the official right next to the goal didn't even see the puck go in the net and thought it rang off the crossbar. Just a complete bullet from one of the top shooters of this generation.
9. Around the World

How often do you see a goal like this in the NHL?
Watching this play live, it felt like Stamkos had the puck on his stick for an eternity as he skated through the Ottawa zone. When he got to the hashmarks, plenty of Bolts fans were surely yelling, "Shoot it!"
But with the amount of possession he had leading up to the goal, it was only right that Stamkos held the puck for one extra second, and it was the perfect decision as he outwaited Robin Lehner and beat him for one of the truly fun goals of the captain's career.
10. Batter Up!

What a goal.
Trailing by one and needing a game-tying goal, the Bolts captain came through with another display of elite hand-eye coordination.
After a rebound popped up into the air, Stamkos quickly choked all the way up on his stick and waited the perfect amount of time, allowing the puck to get just below the crossbar before putting his baseball skills on full display, batting the puck past Lehner, and tying the game for the Bolts. Another display of elite skill.