Flyers to sit Keith Yandle, ending NHL-record iron man streak at 989 games

Keith Yandle's record-breaking iron man streak of 989 consecutive NHL games will end Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers announced.

"When you make a decision like this, it's an organizational decision," Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo said, via ESPN. "It's made in the best interest in what's right for the Philadelphia Flyers going forward."

Yandle, 35, became the record holder in January when he passed Doug Jarvis with his 966th straight game. The record will next be threatened by Phil Kessel of the Arizona Coyotes, who played in his 968th consecutive game Friday night.

While the Flyers are calling Yandle a healthy scratch, he missed practice earlier this week due to an illness and Yeo spoke about the possibility of sitting the veteran. On Saturday, the coach said Yandle took the news of his streak ending well.

"He received it exactly the way you'd expect Keith Yandle to handle it," Yeo said. "Obviously disappointed, which you'd expect from a competitor. My only hope is that he recognizes how amazing it is what he's done."

The Flyers will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.