the NHL ironman closing in on 1,000 consecutive games

Consistency often gets overlooked. We can be as oblivious to the employee who comes to work on time and performs tasks without complaint as we are to a member of a theater’s backstage crew.

Yet Tuesday night, when he takes the ice in Elmont, New York against the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle will get his moment in the spotlight.

Yandle will break a 36-year-old record by playing in his 965th consecutive NHL game. Yandle will pass Doug Jarvis, who never missed any of the 964 games he played during a 13-year career with three teams.

“That’s an amazing accomplishment,” Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo said. “For a record like this, a lot goes into it: the commitment to play through injuries, through pain, through sickness, and to make sure that you bring the consistency night after night.”

Yandle offered a more subdued response.

“Obviously, anytime you can have a record, as I would imagine, it’s pretty cool,” he said. “But for me, it’s just about being available and being ready to go and play every night.”

Yandle’s response reflects his upbringing. His father, Bud, drove delivery trucks for FedEx for 30 years, making round trips in the middle of the night. His mother, Patti, worked as a FedEx dispatcher despite suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

“Definitely my parents had a huge, huge influence on me,” said Yandle, 35. “You know, just seeing hard work, seeing my parents going to work every day. My brother and sister are the same way. You don’t have to look too far for some great influences.”

Yandle displayed that diligence early. As a teenager in suburban Boston, he found motivation in trying to surpass another defenseman his age, Dan McGoff, a local star who attracted attention from scouts.

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“He was probably the best defenseman at the ‘86 year level,” Yandle said, referring…