Phil Kessel Breaks NHL Record, Reaches Another Milestone on Tuesday

It’s official: no player in NHL history has played more games consecutively than forward Phil Kessel.

Tuesday night, in his eighth game as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Kessel laced up the skates for his 990th straight game. His path to 990 consecutive games spanned his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Arizona Coyotes, and Golden Knights

The record for consecutive games played was just broken last season by defenseman Keith Yandle, but with his recent retirement, the record now belongs to Kessel.

Phil Kessel broke the NHL’s ironman streak on Tuesday.

Playing in 990 games in a row is an unbelievable feat, and Kessel has done it at such a high level since he began his streak during the 2009-2010 season.

The 35-year-old Wisconsin native has put together four 80-point campaigns during his ironman streak, including a 92-point season while playing for the Penguins. Of course, he added a pair of Stanley Cup championships as well while with the Pens.

In total, Kessel has tallied 959 points over the course of 1,212 NHL games, and to get to that 959-point mark, the 2006 first-round pick of the Boston Bruins had to reach another milestone in Tuesday’s game against the Sharks.

In what turned out to be a 4-2 victory for his Golden Knights, Kessel opened the scoring with an impressive goal that just so happened to be the 400th of his career. It was also his first goal since joining Vegas.

Personally, I love that this is a record that belongs to Phil Kessel. His time in Toronto was not easy, and after finding success in Pittsburgh, he sort of slid under the radar while playing with a bad Arizona team for three seasons.

For him to come back into the national spotlight this season as he continues to quietly go about his Hall of Fame career is incredible for him, and you just can’t help but root for Phil the Thrill.

Kessel and the Golden Knights return to the ice on Friday to play the Anaheim Ducks, but the next milestone date to circle on your calendar is November 17 when Phil will potentially play in his 1,000th consecutive game.