Cal Ripken Jr. congratulates Phil Kessel on iron man record

Oct 24, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Phil Kessel (8) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at T-Mobile Arena. Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

MLB 'Iron Man' Cal Ripken Jr. congratulates Golden Knights' Phil Kessel on breaking record

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 10/26/22

Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel broke the NHL's ironman record by playing in his 990th consecutive game on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. Prior to the contest, some of his current and former teammates shared stories about Kessel, who hasn't sat out a game since October 31, 2009, when he missed a tilt against the Montreal Canadiens with a shoulder injury that kept him out of the lineup for the first month of that season.

Late in the first period of Tuesday's battle with the Sharks, with the scored knotted at 0, the 35-year-old notched his first goal of the season (and 400th of his career). The Golden Knights ended up defeating host San Jose 4-2 to improve to 6-2-0 and on Wednesday morning, MLB's "Iron Man" posted a congratulatory message to Kessel on Twitter.

Congratulations to Phil. Playing so many consecutive games in the grueling and demanding sport of hockey is remarkable. He clearly has a passion for and love of his sport. I’m sure that the Golden Knights and the Las Vegas fans celebrated with Phil and his teammates, way to go! https://t.co/1BOZyycQ9u
— Cal Ripken, Jr. (@CalRipkenJr) October 26, 2022

A two-time AL MVP, 19-time All-Star, AL Rookie of the Year and 1983 World Series champion, Ripken Jr. was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. The career-long member of the Baltimore Orioles also broke what was thought to be one of baseball's immortal all-time records on September 6, 1995, when he played in his 2,131st straight game, passing Lou Gehrig's previous mark.

Kessel's next chance to increase his streak to 991 will come at 6 p.m. ET Friday when Vegas hosts the Anaheim Ducks.

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