Phil Kessel Reaches Two Career Milestones in Win Over San Jose Sharks
Phil Kessel #PhilKessel
Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel scored the 400th goal of his career the same game he became the NHL’s “Iron Man.”
When it is said an event couldn’t have been written any better, it’s because the manner in which it happened was a rarity among all possible scenarios.
For Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel, a storybook night took place on back-to-back evenings, only one was much sweeter than the other.
When Kessel put the Golden Knights on the board on Monday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was set to go down as his 400th career goal in the same night he tied the Ironman record for the most consecutive NHL games played.
That goal would be called back, though, as a coaching challenge forced a review that declared an offside violation against Vegas that had been committed just prior to the goal.
Then, just over 24 hours later, Kessel found the back of the net yet again, this time on the night he officially broke the record when the Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks, 4-2. This one would count.
The goal gave Vegas a 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first period, but the second period would prove to be a different story.
San Jose forward Nico Sturm would send one between the pipes just over 5 and a half minutes into the period, tying the game at a goal apiece.
The Sharks would later score in just the final minute of the period with a goal from forward Matt Nieto.
San Jose would take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. But Vegas was far from done.
The Golden Knights would tie the game with a goal from defenseman Shea Theodore just under a minute into the third.
For more than 12 minutes, the score would stay even at 2-2.
That stalemate would end with a goal from Golden Knights forward William Karlsson, who had been assisted by fellow linemate Reilly Smith and defenseman Alec Martinez.
Just over a minute later, Vegas’ lead was extended to 4-2 with a goal from the captain himself, Mark Stone.
The Golden Knights would hold on to advance to 6-2-0 on the year.
Vegas goaltender Adin Hill recorded 29 saves against his former team, while 10 Golden Knights scored at least a point, with Theodore having two on the night.
The team will be back in action for another divisional meeting Friday at T-Mobile Arena, this time against the Anaheim Ducks.
For all VGK Today news, follow @HondoCarpenter and @champion_aidan on Twitter.
Please make sure you tell us your thoughts in our Facebook group WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.