Today, Phil Kessel is the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
Despite a serious scare, his ironman streak of consecutive games played will indeed reach No. 790 on Sunday night when the Penguins play host to the Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.
Kessel, whose streak is the third-longest among active players and 10th-longest all-time, had been a game-time decision with what Mike Sullivan said was a lower body injury.
Kessel left Saturday night's win over the Canadiens in the third period and did not return. It appeared that Kessel was struck by a puck as he showed some discomfort as he skated back to the bench with 11:28 remaining in the game:
Though Kessel is not known for his physical play -- he has just 17 blocks and 10 hits this season -- the streak, which dates back to the 2009-10 season, is a remarkable testament to a player who overcame testicular cancer. Sullivan, who played 709 games in his 11-year NHL playing career, is impressed with his star forward’s longevity.
"This is a hard league, it s violent game, it's belligerent out there," Sullivan said. "I think it's one of those kind of milestones are just an indication of a player's durability, mental toughness. A commitment to play the game hard each and every night, and to play though some of the milder injuries that maybe would keep other guys out," Sullivan said.
Kessel has been enjoying his finest statistical season with the Penguins, registering a career-high 87 points in 79 games.
• In other injury news, Derick Brassard will miss his third straight game with a groin injury.
• Matt Murray will start in net, earning his first back-to-back starts this season. Sullivan said the decision to play Murray was because the goalie hasn't played a lot of games this season, the two games are at home and it was an opportunity to get him on a run.
• Sullivan said he's confident in his team's playoff chances wherever it plays. While he's keeping an eye on playoff seeding, his decision-making over the regular season's final days is based solely on putting his team in the best possible position to succeed.
"Obviously, we've had had a lot of success at home this year," he said. "Also, I think our team has shown an ability to have success on the road, particularly in the playoffs. Are we concerned about that in the playoffs? No, because I know this group can win, regardless of where the rink is. I know this team can win. Would we prefer to try put ourselves in the best possible position? Yes, and that's what we're trying to do."
• Sullivan on Alex Ovechkin reaching 1,000 games tonight: "It's a lot of games. I think it's a testament to a player's durability, perseverance and talent level. Alex is a guy that has all of those."
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