Hurricanes’ Brent Burns plays in 915th consecutive game, 4th most in NHL history

Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Brent Burns was in the lineup against the Montreal Canadiens Friday night, dressing in his 915th consecutive regular-season game, taking sole possession of fourth on the all-time ironman list in NHL history.

Going into the game, Burns was tied with Garry Unger for most consecutive games. The only players in NHL history to play more consecutive games is Phil Kessel, Keith Yandle and Doug Jarvis.

The 40-year-old Burns has five goals and 20 assists for 25 points in 71 regular-season games this season. In his three years with the Hurricanes, Burns has 33 goals and 96 assists for 129 points in 235 regular-season games.

In 21 NHL seasons, Burns, taken 20th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, has now played in 1,487 career regular-season games, scoring 260 goals and 646 assists for 906 points with the Wild, Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks.

Burns’ best offensive season came in 2018-19, scoring 16 goals and 67 assists for a career-high 83 points. In 2016-17, he scored a career-high 29 goals, finishing with 76 points and winning the Norris Trophy.

He has also appeared in 120 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, scoring 23 goals and 52 assists for 75 points.

The Hurricanes went into Friday night with a 43-24-4 record and 90 points, second in the Metropolitan Division. They are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and are on pace to play the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Forward Sebastian Aho leads the team in all offensive categories, scoring 27 goals and 39 assists for 66 points, while teammate Seth Jarvis has 27 goals and 29 assists for 56 points.