Kessel Sets Ironman Mark, Scores 400th goal in 4-2 Vegas Victory

Phil Kessel scored his 400th career NHL goal in his 990th consecutive league game, breaking the NHL's most consecutive games played record as the Vegas Golden Knights edged the San Jose Sharks 4-2 Tuesday night at the SAP Center.

Kessel only logged 1 goal throughout the entirety of the game, but it was at least the first of the night by either side, coming at 15:51 of the opening period. Vegas held that 1-0 lead heading into the 2nd period of play. In the 2nd period, San Jose scored a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead heading to the 3rd, tallies from Nico Sturm (4) at 5:33 and Matt Nieto (1) at 19:25 giving the Sharks their first advantage of the night. However, it would be the only goals they would score and it wouldn't even last a full minute into the 3rd period, as Shea Theodore (2) scored 55 seconds in to tie the game at 2. Vegas's final goals on the night came in the last 8 minutes of the period, from William Karlsson (3) at 13:13 and Mark Stone (2) at 14:15 for the final pucks in the cage. Theodore also tallied one assist alongside his solo goal game, helping out on Stone's tally.

The Knights and Sharks were dead even on shots, each logging 31 for a combined 62 pucks toward the net. San Jose outhit Vegas by a ratio of 23-14, making them the more physical team that night. They also won 1 more faceoff than Vegas, holding a 30-29 lead in that statistic. The Sharks only received 1 penalty, a 2-minute interference call on Sturm against Vegas' Chandler Stevenson. The Knights received a pair of penalties, a goalie interference call, and a roughing penalty, each also 2 minutes.

Vegas' next outing is a Friday evening clash with Pacific Division rival Anaheim at 6 pm et. The Knights stand at 6-2-0 and top of that division while Anaheim sits at 1-4-1 and 2nd last in the Pacific. San Jos, meanwhile, drops to 2-7-0 and remains 6th in the Pacific. Their next matchup is a late-night faceoff with Toronto at home at 10:30 pm et. The Leafs sit at 4-3-0 and 3rd in the Atlantic Division, fresh off a 3-1 loss to Vegas on the road two days ago.