Iron Man Streak Ends For Recchi

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 12, 1998 / 9:58 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

Mark Recchi's current league-high streak of 570 straight games ended Saturday when the Montreal Canadiens' forward was scratched due to pneumonia.

Recchi had not missed a game since March 31, 1991 in the Pittsburgh Penguins' season finale, ranking him eighth on the NHL's all-time list of consecutive games played.

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But Recchi said he had been sick for a few weeks and that he made the decision to end his streak.

"I don't have any energy at all. There's no way I can play," said Recchi, who now has missed only three games in his 10-year career due to injuries.

"I was no longer able to help the team on the ice, and the best way to help the team was to take a rest."

The Canadiens had lost their last three games coming into Saturday night's game with the Nashville Predators and were 0-4-1 over their last five.

Recchi, 30, currently is the Canadiens' leading scorer with 22 points this season, and he has 322 lifetime goals.

The all-time ironman record of 964 games is held by Doug Jarvis, a former Canadiens player. The active leader is now Rod Brind'Amour of the Philadelphia Flyers at 428 games entering Saturday night's action.