Vanessa Carlton kicks off celebration for Carlson before 1,000th game

John Carlson might not have walked “A Thousand Miles,” but he’ll hit 1,000 NHL games … tonight.

The Washington Capitals defenseman is set to hit the milestone on Saturday night as the Capitals host the Boston Bruins, and he had some help from Grammy-nominated artist Vanessa Carlton to start the celebrations.

The team posted a video on social media of the singer/songwriter performing a remix of her hit song, changing the lyrics to reference Carlson’s career, including the 2018 Stanley Cup championship and his “shot of thunder.”

The song was only the beginning of the veteran defenseman's celebrations.

Before the game, Carlson's wife and four kids watched warmups from the Capitals bench. The kids wore custom 1,000 games sweatshirts that had the their dad's No. 74 on the back and the word "Dad" on the hoods.

After, they read the Capitals starting lineup in the locker room. His youngest son, Sawyer, also made sure to deliver his dad's gloves to him.

Carlson was drafted by the Capitals in 2008 and made his debut in 2009. He has spent his entire career with the team, scoring 148 goals and recording 667 points in his first 999 games.