James van Riemsdyk's kids help celebrate dad's 1,000th NHL game

It might be James van Riemsdyk’s special day, but it was his kids who stole the show.

With their dad playing in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday, van Riemsdyk’s two kids showed up to TD Garden in adorable outfits, and even brought a special sign.

Both his 3-year-old daughter and his 1-year-old son game dressed in custom sweatshirts with “van Riemsdyk 1000” on the back and the logos of the three teams he’s played for on the sleeve (Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maples Leafs, Boston Bruins).

His son had on a beanie with “1000” on the front.

When dad came over during warmups, his daughter held up a sign that read, “Yay Dad 1000 NHL games!” and had some very fancy designs.

And she couldn’t help but to blow him a kiss as he skated away after a family photo.

At the beginning of the game, van Riemsdyk got a standing ovation from the Boston crowd in acknowledgement of his achievement.

“That was really special and cool," said van Riemsdyk after Tuesday's game. "So far I can’t speak enough about my experience as far as being here and getting treated by the guys on the team, the organization and the fans and stuff like that. So it’s been great so far. Hoping for that to continue to get better as we get down the stretch and head towards the goals that we want to accomplish as a team.”

The team will honor van Riemsdyk for his 1,000 NHL games before the Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday March 16.

-- NHL.com Staff Writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report