Phil Kessel has been one of the best pure goal scorers to play the game over the past 10 seasons and the two-time Stanley Cup champion rarely takes a night off.
The 5th overall pick from the 2006 draft has never missed more than 12 games during a regular season and he hasn’t missed a game since the 2009-10 season; his first with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Wednesday night Kessel suited up for his 1,106th career game and it also happened to be his 884th consecutive game, putting him in a tie with Steve Larmer for 5th all-time on the list for most consecutive games played.
Kessel is one of three active players currently in the top five for the "Ironman" steak, with Keith Yandle sitting 3rd at 906 games and Patrick Marleau sitting 4th at 892 games, but there’s a good chance that one of the three could finish their careers in first place on the list. Coincidentally, all three of their streaks started in the same year, but Yandle and Marleau’s streaks started at the end of the 2008-09 season, while Kessel’s started November 3, 2009.
Gary Unger sits 2nd on the all-time list at 914 games, while Doug Jarvis holds the record at 964 games, but Yandle is just eight games back of Unger for 2nd spot. If Marleau can play another season there’s a good chance he can take one of the top two spots, but don’t count Kessel out of the running just yet.
