Pittsburgh Penguins right-winger Phil
Kessel is proving that last season’s excellent playoff performance definitely
wasn’t a fluke. Kessel arguably should have won the Conn Smythe Trophy last campaign
after leading his team in playoff scoring race with 10 goals and 12 assists in 24
games and guiding the Penguins to the Stanley Cup. He’s at it again this season
with five goals and eight assists in his first 10 postseason contests to rank
third in league scoring. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise since Kessel has
now posted 56 points in his first 56 career playoff outings with 28 goals and
28 assists.
Kessel earned the ridiculous and undeserved
reputation of being a coach killer while being the Toronto Maple Leafs best
player for six seasons, but Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said nothing could be
further from the truth. Sullivan said Kessel is able to lift the level of his
game once the playoffs arrive, but also does an excellent gob for the team in
the regular campaign. Kessel scored 26 goals and 59 points for Pittsburgh last
season in his first year for the club and improved to 23 goals and 70 points in
2016/17. While he may not be scoring at a 30-goal pace in Pittsburgh, Kessel’s
an extremely underrated passer and playmaker and was tied for 10th
in the league in assists this season.
There are currently just two active players
who have scored points at a better pace in the playoffs in their career over a
minimum of 40 game. These are Kessel’s Pittsburgh teammates and future Hall of
Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And when it comes to goals per game in
the playoffs, the 29-year-old Kessel ranks second in active players behind
forward Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. But unlike Crosby and
Malkin, Kessel produces more points-per game in the playoffs than he does during
regular seasons while those two players see their totals drop slightly.
Kessel’s no slouch in regular-season play though
as he’s scored 296 goals along with 649 points in 832 games. He averages .78
points per game and .36 goals per game, but raises that number to one point and
.50 goals per outing in the playoffs. Kessel has always been a clutch
postseason performer no matter which team he suited up for. He scored three
goals and for points in four games for Boston against Montreal back in 2007/08
in his playoff debut ad then added six goals and 11 points in 11 games for the
Bruins the following year.
Kessel even managed to produce for a weak
Leafs team in his one playoff venture with Toronto by scoring four goals and
six points in seven games against Boston in 2012/13. The Penguins have already
reaped the rewards by acquiring Kessel from Toronto. They have a Stanley Cup
championship under their belt with the skilled right-winger in the lineup and
coach Sullivan said he’s no longer surprised at Kessel’s outstanding play.
Pittsburgh currently have their hands full with the Washington Capitals in the
Eastern Conference semifinals, but there’s a good chance Kessel could win his
second straight Stanley Cup this season to forever silence his critics.
Labels: Ian Palmer