Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on X at @Sheng_Peng.
Brent Burns didn’t want to talk about it.
When the Carolina Hurricanes step on the ice against the Sharks on Thursday night at SAP Center, Burns will play his 911th consecutive game, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history, passing ex-San Jose teammate Patrick Marleau.
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But Burns, whether because of superstition or the typical hockey player’s penchant to not want to talk about himself, brushed off the question.
That, of course, doesn’t diminish the accomplishment.
It’s always special to see Burns in San Jose, where the 40-year-old became a superstar. From 2015 to 2019, Burns was the most productive defenseman in the NHL, his 84 goals and 217 assists and 301 points pacing the league. He won the Norris Trophy in 2017 and was a finalist two other times in that four-season span.
And three years since the Sharks traded him to the Hurricanes, Burns keeps ticking, 17 games away from 1,500 in his career, and 153 from Phil Kessel’s record iron man streak of 1,064.
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