Knights’ Phil Kessel breaks Keith Yandle’s consecutive game record originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The NHL has a new iron man.
Phil Kessel of the Las Vegas Knights played in his 990th consecutive regular-season game on Tuesday, setting a new league record. The 17-year veteran took the ice against the San Jose Sharks and, once the puck dropped, extended a streak that first began on Nov. 3, 2009.
“Obviously I’ve played a long time, I’m getting old,” Kessel told ESPN after setting the record. “I had a fun time doing it. A lot of games.”
The 35-year-old Kessel surpassed the previous record held by former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle, who first set the record in January after playing in 965 straight games and extended it to 989 games before retiring ahead of the start of the 2022-2023 season. Prior to Yandle, the record was held by former Montreal Canadiens forward Doug Jarvis, whose streak of 964 games ended Oct. 10, 1987.
The Sharks acknowledged Kessel’s achievement during the game’s first stoppage and played a tribute video narrated by Yandle, who congratulated the new record holder.
Shortly after, Kessel reached another milestone by opening the scoring with the 400th goal of his career. He became the 12th American-born player to score 400 NHL goals.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion, who also has 559 assists, has played in 1,212 career games with Boston, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Arizona and Las Vegas.
Kessel was asked how many more games he has in him.
“Until they tell me I have to quit, you know,” he said. “I like playing still. So, try and play as long as I can.”
