Phil Kessel has an opportunity to take control of a pretty remarkable record this upcoming season with the Vegas Golden Knights. He has an opportunity to become the leader in the iron man streak for the entire NHL.
Unfortunately, the Vegas Golden Knights are picking up where they left off last season with injuries. They are without their goaltender, Robin Lehner, all season, and there are a few different players injured as of now.
Luckily though, Phil Kessel appears to be ready for the new season with a record on the line. On Monday, Kessel played in the Golden Knights’ 2-1 loss to the Kings. While the team lost the game, Kessel did get involved with an assist and a few shots on goal.
While Kessel might be new to Vegas, he is no stranger to the NHL as he has the longest active ironman streak entering the 2022-23 NHL season. Kessel has played 982 consecutive NHL games, which is closing in on the best ever.
Phil Kessel Iron Man Streak Tracker With The Vegas Golden Knights
Phil Kessel is just seven games away from tying Keith Yandle for first place at 989 consecutive games played. Yandle’s streak ended last March and he has since retired, so Kessel really is the only one competing for this record.
So Kessel is just seven games away from tying the most games played in NHL history. That means he could take the record against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 25 when he plays in his potential 990th straight NHL game. After that one would imagine there is one more milestone for Kessel to hit.
Phil Kessel has the potential to play in 1000 straight NHL games. In his career, he has already played in 1204, and he is only 18 games away from taking first place here. Kessel’s potential 1000th straight NHL game would come on Nov. 17, 2022, against the Arizona Coyotes in Vegas.
I mean, it would have been hilarious if that game ended up falling in Arizona in their new rink. The Kessel reunion in Arizona won’t happen until January of 2023.
Kessel has just 18 games to go till he plays in his 1000th NHL game, and I think the Golden Knights will honor that for him this upcoming season. As long as he is healthy Kessel should play the first 18 games of the year to get the record, then after that, it is up to the team to decide whether or not he belongs in the lineup.
Checkout Kessel in the Golden Knights uniform below:
Vegas Golden Kessel ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/hajGgCdUXL
— NHL (@NHL) September 27, 2022
It will be interesting to watch this play out this upcoming season. Kessel has played in a lot of consecutive games and he is closing in on the league record for most consecutive games played. Watching him potentially pass Yandle and hit 1000 games is going to be fun, and then after that, all attention in Vegas will go back to getting them back into the playoffs this upcoming season.
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The 2022-23 NHL season is just around the corner for the Vegas Golden Knights. The team opens their season on Oct. 11 in Los Angeles, facing off against the Kings. I do not know about you, but I cannot wait for that first game!