Vegas Golden Knights’ Phil Kessel misses Game 5 vs. Jets, first absence since 2009

Veteran NHL forward Phil Kessel sat out of the Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday evening, marking the first time he’s missed one of his team’s games since 2009.

William Carrier replaced Kessel in the lineup for Game 5 of the Golden Knights’ series against the Jets. Carrier had been out with a lower-body injury since March 3.

Vegas leads Winnipeg three games to one in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and can advance with a victory at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. For Kessel, it’ll be his first absence since October 31, 2009, back when he was a member of the Boston Bruins.

Kessel recorded a pair of assists while averaging 11:47 through Vegas’ first four games of the series. Daily Faceoff‘s Mike McKenna shared his take on the Kessel scratch on his Twitter account on Thursday evening:

OK straight up, from someone who watches every VGK game: Kessel is the player that should sit. @SinBinVegas & I talked about it last night. But I didn't think VGK would actually healthy scratch him. It's the right call by Cassidy but I'm still surprised

— Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56) April 28, 2023

Kessel owns the all-time NHL record for most consecutive regular-season games played, with 1,064. He surpassed Keith Yandle’s record with his 990th consecutive game last October. (Kessel missing Thursday’s playoff game does not impact the status of his iron-man streak).

The Bruins originally selected Kessel in the first round (No. 5 overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft. The five-foot-eleven right wing made his NHL debut with Boston in the 2006–07 season and emerged as a 30-goal scorer two years later, potting 36 in 70 games in 2008–09.

However, that would end up being Kessel’s final year in Boston. The Bruins ended up trading the Wisconsin-born winger to the Toronto Maple Leafs the following summer for a package including the draft picks used to select Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.

After six seasons in Toronto, Kessel moved on to join the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015. He won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins and collected 45 points in 49 games during the team’s 2016 and 2017 playoff runs. The Penguins traded Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes in 2019; he scored 133 points in 208 games over three seasons in the desert before signing with the Golden Knights in 2022.

Through 1,286 career games over parts of 17 regular seasons with the Bruins, Maple Leafs, Penguins, Coyotes, and Golden Knights, Kessel has collected 413 and 992 points. He’s added 34 goals and 83 points in 100 playoff contests split between all five teams.