The Maple Leafs' forward skipped Friday's practice after a rough game against the Dallas Stars that saw him take a nasty cross-check from Jamie Benn. LAS VEGAS — Phil Kessel is an enigma in every sense of the word. He may not come across as the most athletic player in the NHL, but on Monday night he’ll tie Keith Yandle’s record for consecutive games played when he takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the very same club where he notched the first 446 games of the streak. “It’s pretty impressive,” Auston Matthews told reporters following Maple Leafs practice on Sunday. “When you’re looking at him you wouldn’t think he would be that guy with the ironman streak, but he’s had an incredible career and he’s a lot of fun to watch.” Morgan Rielly is the only current Maple Leaf to be a teammate of Kessel’s while during his tenure in Toronto. The defenseman played in 154 of Kessel’s ironman streak. “He’s had a great career and a lot goes into doing what he’s been able to do,” former Kessel teammate Morgan Rielly said. “Lots of games. Lots of travel. Lots of things have to go your way in order to get to where he is now.” [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ9YQXvWxJE[/embed] Michael Bunting played in 21 games with Kessel while with the Arizona Coyotes during the 2020-21 season. Zach Aston-Reese and Matt Murray were teammates with Kessel in Pittsburgh, but neither will be in the lineup on Monday. Aston-Reese played in 59 games with Kessel, but he is a healthy scratch against the Golden Knights. He will at least be in attendance to see Kessel tie the milestone. Murray played in 161 games with Kessel. He is on long-term injured reserve with an adductor injury and not on Toronto’s current five-game road trip. But many veterans on the Leafs have come across Kessel as an opponent. “Playing against Phil you’re always just chatting him up a little bit and he always makes you laugh,” Wayne Simmonds said. “You don’t want to smile but you generally can’t help it with that voice of his, right?” Simmonds had the chance to catch up with Kessel last season when the Arizona Coyotes were in down. It was two days removed from when Kessel played in just one shift before the birth of his daughter. Both Simmonds and Kessel named their daughers Kapri. “It was pretty cool,” Simmonds said. Following Monday’s game, Kessel is set to break Yandle’s record on Tuesday when the Golden Nights take on the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. If Kessel can make it to Game No. 1000, that would occur on Nov. 17 against the Coyotes. “To be available and consistently reliable for your team is a very difficult thing to do,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Kessler. “It’s a skill in itself and he’s been the model for it in this era of player and history of the game. It’s quite impressive.”
