The unexpected success of the Boston Bruins this season can be traced to the revival of its resilient goal scorer.
The two words every NHL player hates to hear: healthy scratch.
Phil Kessel has been through a lot in his young career but being told his team stood a better chance of winning with him out of the lineup last spring during the playoffs really hurt.
"Nobody ever wants to be a healthy scratch," said the 21-year-old Kessel. "It was a tough decision, but it's something you have to deal with. You get over it. It just makes you want to work harder to get better."
It has been a vastly improved Kessel who has helped the Boston Bruins climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings this season. Playing on a line with Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, Kessel had 19 goals and 31 points through 30 games. He was on a league-best 15-game point streak and was named the first star of the week Monday after scoring three goals and eight points in the Bruins past four games.
Kessel, who was born in Madison, WI, was tabbed at one point to be the first player chosen in the 2006 NHL draft, but ultimately slipped to fifth, chosen after Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Nicklas Backstrom.
He had a decent first year scoring 11 goals and 29 points despite missing 12 games while recovering from surgery after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Last season Kessel scored 19 goals and 37 points.
The Bruins are unquestionably the biggest surprise in the NHL this season; second in points behind the San Jose Sharks. Certainly the team's top line had a lot to do with the success. Savard ranks tenth in league scoring with eight goals and 32 points while Lucic, a fan favourite who is quickly establishing himself as a scoring and fighting threat, has seven goals and 17 points.
Also, Tim Thomas is proving he's no flash in the pan between the pipes while Manny Fernandez is healthy and playing well after playing just four games last season. But there's more. Michael Ryder is enjoying a bounce-back year after falling out of grace in Montreal last season and Dennis Wideman continues to prove the Bruins knew exactly what they were getting when they traded Brad Boyes to get him two years ago.
When you consider the Bruins have been bit by the injury bug, losing veteran winger Marco Sturm and defencemen Aaron Ward and Andrew Ference for long periods, it is quite remarkable how well the team is doing. Much of the credit must go to coach Claude Julian.
After the team missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Julian started to getting things turned around by making a pact with Savard. He told the deft passer that if he paid a little bit more attention to defence, meaning he'd have to sacrifice a few points, he'd guarantee a trip to the playoffs. Savard, who was coming off back-to-back ninth place finishes in scoring, accepted the deal. Given the fact Savard had played 585 games in the NHL and had never been to the playoffs, it wasn't a tough decision.
Well, it looks as though Julian has gotten Kessel to buy into the same program, too. Recently the coach said Kessel is no longer cheating - leaving the defensive zone early - in an effort to secure points. He is grasping the team concept and that is a big reason why his scoring has taken off. Kessel comes back deeper in his team's zone and that is where he takes possession of the puck.
"The coach likes good two-way hockey," Kessel said. "He says if you come back deep in your zone you're going to get the puck more often and that will lead to more scoring chances."
It also helps to shoot more. In his first two seasons Kessel averaged 2.5 shots per game. Through 30 games this season he was at 3.2 SPG.
"I'm not really making a conscious decision to shoot more often," he said, "But when you play with a center like Savard, he gets you the puck in more shooting spots. I get a lot more opportunities to take shots."
Kessel will probably never do an interview throughout the rest of his career without the subject of his cancer being part of the equation. Asked if he has a greater appreciation for the game as a cancer survivor, Kessel said there was never any doubt about his love for the game.
"You always have a love for the game, but you just don't realize how much you're going to miss it until you're out," Kessel said. "I was so bored. I didn't know what to do with myself. I realized then that I could never be a guy who didn't play hockey. I just wanted to get better and get back to playing as quick as I could."
