LOS ANGELES -- When you think of players who reach 1,000 games you think of the stars, the point-per-game players and 30-goal scorers.
Then there's Trevor Lewis. He's not a star and he'll never threaten to make the Hall-of-Fame. Instead, he's made a career out of reliable defensive play, hard work and being one of the best teammates in hockey.
As a testament to his consistency and the little things he does, no player has won the Los Angeles Kings' unsung player award more times than Lewis.
His contributions don't jump off the scoresheet and won't make the highlight reels, but few players have earned the respect of their teammates like Lewis has.
The Kings' 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning was the perfect embodiment of Lewis too. It wasn't a pretty game, the Kings were outskilled for most of the net, but they found a way to win. They ground out a result and buttoned things up late, and of course, it was Lewis who Jim Hiller looked to when the Kings were holding a 2-1 lead as well.
"Lewyw, we call him the wild thing, like the movie Major League, once we get a lead he comes out of the bullpen," said Hiller postgame. "So it was a night that we scored late, so Lewy is out of the bullpen and down there in the 5-on-6 battling with Kopi and Juice. We didn't do it because it was his 1,000th game, we did it because that's his job."
Lewis has made a career of being that dependable type of player, someone who can play around 10 minutes but someone you can look to late in games to see out a win.
He's done that in LA throughout the years and in stops elsewhere, but to get game 1,000 back in with the Kings was fitting.
"It's unbelievable, I couldn't have asked to do it with a better organization or better bunch of guys," said Lewis postgame. "I've been through a lot with the trainers and some of the guys in here, to do it in a Kings sweater is something special."
It was a special moment for Lewis and you can bet no one was happier for Lewis than his teammates.