Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Kessel streak reached magical 1,000 Thursday

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The first player announced from the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ starting lineup Thursday was Phil Kessel, a nod to his one-of-akind milestone.

It was one of several tributes at T-Mobile Arena to the NHL’s “Ironman.”

Kessel became the the first player in NHL history to appear in 1,000 consecutiv­e games, the cherry on top of a 4-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes that snapped the Knights’ twogame losing skid.

“It’s phenomenal, especially the way the game is played and it’s so physical now,” Knights forward William Carrier said of Kessel’s feat. “And he’s won Stanley Cups. It’s not like they’re easy games. He’s been there and grinding, and the playoffs are tough. I tip my cap to him. I don’t think we’ll see that ever again.”

Kessel’s streak started Nov. 3, 2009, while he was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he set the NHL record when he appeared in his 990th consecutiv­e game Oct. 25 at San Jose.

Since the NHL was founded in 1917-18, 369 players have played 1,000 career games, and none did it consecutiv­ely until Kessel.

Before the game against the Coyotes, the Knights honored Kessel, whose wife, Sandra, and daughter, Kapri, were in attendance.

President of hockey operations George McPhee presented Kessel with a special edition, 3-liter bottle of Foley Johnson wine to honor his record-breaking 990th consecutiv­e game.

The two-time Stanley Cup winner also was given a custom sculpture inspired by Las Vegas to recognize his 1,000th consecutiv­e NHL game, while the announced crowd of 17,708 received a towel with the “Phi1Kessel” hashtag to commemorat­e the achievemen­t.

Saturday’s games

The New Jersey Devils won their 12th game in a row with a 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa. Akira Schmid made 25 saves and Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, Yegor

Sharangovi­ch and Michael McLeod scored for New Jersey (15-3-0). Ottawa, meanwjile, lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Chants of “Fire D.J.!” — coach D.J. Smith — were heard around the arena late in the game.

• Boston tied the NHL record for most consecutiv­e wins at home to start a season (11) as David Pastrnak scored two goals in a 6-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.Coincident­ally, the team whose record the Bruins broke was the 1963-64 Blackhawks.

•Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon scored, Alexandar Georgiev made 32 saves and the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche shut out the Capitals in Washington, 4-0.

• Filip Hronek scored twice in the second period, and the Detroit Red Wings beat Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-1, in Columbus, Ohio, for their second win in a row on the road.

•Rasmus Andersson scored in the fifth round of a shootout and Calgary defeated Florida, 5-4, in Sunrise, Fla.

• William Nylander scored twice and Matt Murray made 32 saves as Toronto handed visitingBu­ffalo its eighth loss in a row, 5-2.

• Cole Caufield scored with 1.9 seconds left to force overtime. The Montreal Canadiens then beat the Philadelph­ia Flyers 5-4 in a shootout in Montreal.

 ?? Chris Unger/Getty Images ?? Phil Kessel skates in game No. 1,000 in a row.
Chris Unger/Getty Images Phil Kessel skates in game No. 1,000 in a row.

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