When Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel put the puck past Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith in the first period of Thursday's game, he joined a group of just five players to eclipse 20 goals in each of the last seven seasons, per Sportsnet Stats.
Kessel's goal was the Leafs' only score of the game, as they went on to lose, 3-1, in part due to Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson's long-range shot that ended up as the quickest shorthanded goal to start a period in NHL history, per Elias Sports Bureau.
Kessel joined Rick Nash, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos in the group of players to score 20 goals in each of the past seven seasons, but four other players are still eligible to reach the mark by the end of the ongoing campaign, per Hockey-Reference.com.
The former Minnesota Golden Gophers forward finished Thursday's contest with the one goal on six shots over 20 minutes, 41 seconds of ice time. The milestone was a rare positive in Toronto, as the Maple Leafs lost their eighth straight tilt, moving the team to 22-24-4 on the season.
One thing needed to reach 20 goals in seven straight seasons is ...
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Kessel Becomes 5th Player to Net 20 Goals in Each of Last 7 Seasons
January 30th, 2015 by Bleacher Report Milestones Leave a reply »
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