It was a big night on Tuesday for the Vegas Golden Knights, who were able to defeat their rival San Jose Sharks by a 4-2 final. That said, the main topic of discussion both prior to and after the game revolved around one man and one man only: Phil Kessel.
The 35-year-old Phil Kessel, who signed a one-year deal with the Golden Knights this offseason, set the NHL’s all time iron man streak, suiting up for the 990th consecutive game of his career. In doing so, he passed recently retired defenseman Keith Yandle, who set the record himself just last season with 989. Prior to Yandle, Doug Jarvis held the record for 34 years.
That accomplishment is one that has generated plenty of buzz surrounding Kessel, particularly in recent weeks. The Sharks organization and its fan base recognized how big of a deal it was, and chose to honor him early in the first period.
While this was extremely impressive in its own right, Kessel was far from content on the evening. The American born winger also entered the contest with 399 career goals, and, in fitting fashion, was able to score the opening tally of the contest for number 400. He is just one of 12 American-born players to hit the illustrious mark.
This game was big for Phil Kessel, who has struggled early on in his Golden Knights tenure. Entering tonight’s contest, he had registered just two assists through seven games. It is somewhat of a concern given that he had an off eight-goal, 52-point season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2022-23. That said, perhaps this big night is what it will take to get him going.
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