2 players can break Phil Kessel's record in Stanley Cup Final.

In spite of the fact that he was often clowned on during his career in the National Hockey League, there's no denying the fact that former NHL forward Phil Kessel was a truly great player. Perhaps Kessel's greatest attribute however was his durability, still holding the title as the NHL's ironman and setting a number of other similar milestones throughout his career.

One such milestone would come during Kessel's tenure as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins when, over a 3 year span, he set an all-time record for the most games played over one such stretch with a whopping 307 games under his belt over that period of time.

It was a mark that truly spoke to Kessel's fortitude as a hockey player but now, with the Florida Panthers headed back to the Stanley Cup Final this year, two of their players have a legitimate chance at breaking the record established by Kessel between 2015 and 2018.

Interestingly enough both Panthers forward Sam Reinhart and defenseman Gustav Forsling currently sit at 303 games each over a similar stretch, only 4 games back of Kessel, meaning that they will at least get the chance to tie Kessel should the Cup Final only last 4 games. Of course both players will have to remain healthy in order to even have a chance at catching Kessel, something that is easier said than done at this time of the year.

Given that this is a relatively obscure record, even the players themselves were shocked to learn that they had been on the ice for that many games in such a short period of time.

"That is crazy," said Forsling as per the AP's Tim Reynolds. "I didn’t know that stat. That is crazy, for sure. It’s a lot of preparation and a lot of recovery and you have to do the right things. Otherwise, you’re going to be struggling out there — because that’s a lot of hockey. And mentally, you’ve got to take days off and not think about hockey as much. I have a son now; that takes my mind off things."

Do you think Kessel's record will be broken this year? And if so will one or both of these men be the one(s) to break it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.