Skrastins breaks NHL durability record

Karlis Skrastins broke Tim Horton's NHL record for durability by a defenseman when he played in his 487th consecutive regular-season game on Thursday.

Skrastins was honored by the Colorado Avalanche before their home game against Atlanta with a video tribute that included images of the late Horton, who played from 1950-74, mostly with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Before the puck was dropped, Skrastins came out and took a bow amid spinning "487" images on the ice.

He was joined by two of Horton's four daughters along with his wife, Zane, and general manager Francois Giguere during the short ceremony.

Since joining the NHL in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee, Skrastins, who grew up in Latvia's capital city of Riga, has missed just one game, on Feb. 18, 2000, when he sat out against St. Louis because of a shoulder injury.

Just three days later, he started his ironman streak -- on the 26th anniversary of Horton's death in an automobile accident in Canada.

"I don't have a big secret," Skrastins, one of the league's top shot-blockers, said this week. "Maybe just hard work and a lot of effort."

Skrastins has played through many injuries, including a broken wrist and a bum knee that needed surgery.