Kessel becomes the 338th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone and the 13th player in franchise history to skate in his 1,000th game with the team (Serge Savard, Randy Carlyle, Rick Tocchet, Teppo Numminen, Paul Ranheim, Geoff Sanderson, Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin, Derek Morris, Steve Sullivan & Radim Vrbata).
The Madison, Wisconsin native also becomes the 47th American player to reach the 1,000-game plateau. He is now the fifth fastest player to reach 1,000 games among the 21 active players who have reached the milestone.
The two-time Stanley Cup Champion enters tonight having played in 777 consecutive games, which is the third-longest active games played streak (Keith Yandle: 801 games & Patrick Marleau: 789 games). It is also the seventh-longest streak in NHL history. Kessel has not missed a game since Oct. 31, 2009.
The 6-foot, 202-pound Kessel was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins (first round, fifth overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He has totaled 357-467-824 with 102 power-play goals and 65 game-winning goals in 999 career games with the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins and Coyotes. Kessel has also registered 33-44-77 in 87 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances. The veteran winger has scored 25 goals or more in nine of the past 11 seasons while only Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have had more 25-goal seasons since Kessel entered the NHL in 2006-07.
