Shane Doan reaches 1,400-game milestone with Coyotes

NEWARK, N.J. – Not until he’s done playing professionally will Coyotes captain Shane Doan be able to fully appreciate the accolades he amassed during his time in the NHL.

“It’s something that makes me pause for a second but get right back at it right away,” he said.

That focus is probably one of the reasons why Doan has been able to accrue so many, most recently appearing in career Game No. 1,400 Tuesday against the Devils. He became the 34th player in NHL history to reach the milestone and eighth to do so with one franchise – this only days after he tallied the 900th point of his career.

“I’m awful grateful to be with the same organization the whole time,” Doan said. “I mean, that’s probably one of the cooler things of the whole thing is that I’ve been able to do it with the same organization, meaning that they haven’t wanted to get rid of me up to this point. You’re always grateful for those opportunities.”

After adding a goal and two assists in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Bruins, Doan is only 27 points shy of the franchise point leader Dale Hawerchuk. The production was also a much-needed boost from the veteran crew of the Coyotes.

“It’s always frustrating when you feel like you haven’t contributed the way you want to,” Doan said. “So to get going and get on the board is always nice.”

East-Coast living

The Coyotes saw two familiar faces on the Devils’ blue line as defensemen John Moore and David Schlemko both joined New Jersey during the offseason.

Moore was sent to the Coyotes last season as part of the return from the Rangers for defenseman Keith Yandle and contributed a goal and four assists in 19 games. After the season, he became a restricted free agent but when the Coyotes didn’t extend a qualifying offer to the 24-year-old before the June 29 deadline, Moore became an unrestricted free agent.

Only days later, Moore signed a three-year, $5 million contract with the Devils.

“Yeah, I was a little bit surprised,” Moore said. “It kind of came out of nowhere. We were all under the impression (a qualifying offer) was going to happen. That’s the way I left thinking, but it is a business and you can definitely understand with the way things finished them wanting to change things up. But, fortunately enough, I landed in a great spot here.”

Schlemko left during the season, getting picked up on waivers by Dallas in January.

After only five games, the Stars placed him on waivers and Schlemko was grabbed by the Flames. He went on to have a steady role in Calgary, playing in all 11 of their playoff games.

But a cluttered blue line pushed Schlemko, 28, out of the picture during the summer, and he didn’t find a new home until September – signing a one-year deal worth $625,000.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s a little stressful – especially with another baby on the way and not really knowing where you’re going to end up living,” said Schlemko, who spent parts of seven seasons with the team after getting signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007. “I was one of the lucky ones. You look at the kind of talent that’s been out there just in training camp on tryouts. So I felt lucky to just have a job coming into training camp and things have been really good.”

Injury update

Winger Jordan Martinook was back in the lineup against the Devils after sitting out Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.

Forward Joe Vitale was still getting tests done Tuesday on an upper-body injury suffered from a fight with Boston’s Kevan Miller in Saturday’s game, coach Dave Tippett said.

He remains on injured reserve and is not with the team on the road.

The Coyotes recalled winger Matthias Plachta from their American Hockey League affiliate Monday to take Vitale’s roster spot.

“Kind of based on training camp, we thought he was the right guy to call,” Tippett said. “A little more mature guy; he’s not young (24 years old). But if we need him, we’ll know him in there. He’s just a solid two-way player.”

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