Zdeno Chara Scores 200th Career Goal, Becomes 22nd Defenseman To Reach Milestone

Yesterday was a great day for Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. First, he signed a one-year, team-friendly contract extension. Then, in Boston's 7-3 win against the Florida Panthers—he made history.

Chara scored his fifth goal of the season 5:05 into the second period to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. It wasn't just any goal, though—it was the 200th of Chara's career, as he became just the 22nd defenseman in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

​Here's the Captain's milestone goal:

□GOAL□

GIVE THIS MAN AS MANY 1 YEAR CONTRACTS AS HE WANTS! Chara scores his 200th career goal

5:05 Chara#NHLBruins- 3#FlaPanthers- 1 pic.twitter.com/oRRnXkY3vf

— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS) March 24, 2019

A simple, passionate, effective celly from the 42-year-old:

Zdeno Chara of the @NHLBruins is the 22nd player in NHL history listed as a defenseman to score 200+ career regular-season goals. https://t.co/fzFckoL0sl #NHLStats #BOSvsFLA pic.twitter.com/oHaFYDWkaY

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 24, 2019

After the game, the future Hall of Famer dedicated number 200 to his father:

"I would like to dedicate this goal to my dad. He brought me to hockey and he was always very supportive...last few weeks he was joking about when I was gonna score."

□ Zdeno Chara dedicates his 200th NHL goal to his father: pic.twitter.com/mFWF07YHNL

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 24, 2019

And it just so happened to occur in the game that the Bruins clinched a playoff spot.

What a day for Big Z and the Bruins!