Lupul sets a high standard

It's not as though Joffrey Lupul has to do the work of two, but he knows no matter how well he plays, if his linemate Phil Kessel isn't lighting it up, his own game will be questioned.

That's because Kessel is a goal-scorer, pure and simple. When he gets the puck, 99 per cent of the time he's thinking shot, even though during the pre-season he made a couple of nifty passes that more than likely caught the opposition off balance.

Luckily for Lupul, Kessel and, of course, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kessel is off to a great start to the season. Kessel has three goals and five points in Toronto's first two games and is currently tied for first in NHL scoring with four other players, two of whom have played three games. Lupul, meanwhile, has a goal and four points while Tyler Bozak, the centre on the line, has an assist. The trio is also a combined plus-10.

"I think having a camp together - Phil and I played most of the games together - really helped," Lupul said. "Obviously Tim Connolly was going to be on the line, but he got hurt and Tyler Bozak has come in and done a nice job. It's only two games, but we've been successful and we're confident that we can keep it going."

The Leafs are practicing all week in preparation for their third game of the season Saturday night at home against the Calgary Flames.

Lupul, 28, is in his first full season with the Maple Leafs having been traded to Toronto along with young defenceman Jake Gardiner for veteran D-man Francois Beauchemin at the trade deadline last year. Anaheim's first pick (seventh overall) in the 2002 NHL entry draft, Lupul has been a journeyman who has never really established himself as a bona fide font-line player. He did score 25 goals and 50 points two years ago for the Philadelphia Flyers, but he hasn't been able to stay in one place for long enough to establish himself as money in the bank for his teams.

Being placed on a line with Kessel is a golden opportunity to finally take his game to another level. Heaven knows the guy has the skill to be a consistent producer. Lupul said he welcomes the opportunity to play on the top line.

"I think since I'm physically the biggest guy on the first, first and foremost my job is to win puck battles and if I can keep pucks alive for our line it'll give us more of a chance to play on offence," Lupul said. "Secondly, I think Phil is a unique player in a sense that he's not really a guy that needs a set-up man; he's a guy that needs a linemate to get him the puck in the neutral zone. It's not like you're going to carry the puck and wait for the perfect time to feed him for a shot. He's more of a guy that goes up and down the wing. If I can make good plays on my own and get the puck over to the wing for him, he'll create a lot of the chances himself."

Kessel, like Lupul, has been productive with 98 goals in his last three seasons, but there's a sense he can still produce more. In fact, the expectation is he'll do just that this season.

"I think 40 goals would be good," said Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "He's done the thirties thing a few times so 40 would be nice."

For his part, Kessel doesn't want to attach a number to his expectations for the season.

"You can always improve on the year before," Kessel said. "If I score 20 goals or 10 goals and we make the playoffs, it doesn't matter. We're here to win games and getting the wins is most important."

Lupul understands how important it is for the Leafs - and their playoff hopes - that Kessel gets his numbers up. The odds on the Leafs making it into the postseason for the first time in seven seasons decrease significantly if Kessel isn't scoring. Kessel, you'll recall, was traded to Toronto in September of 2009 for a pair of first round picks as well as a second-rounder. It was a controversial deal, to say the least.

"It is interesting that way," Lupul said. "I don't know if it's because of how the team acquired Phil, but people are always looking for him to score goals. In a way it's not really fair to him. Hopefully it won't happen, but chances are there will be five or six games in a row when Phil won't score a goal and he might be doing all the same little things he's doing now, but the puck won't go in for him. I can shoot the puck and I am competent in taking the puck so hopefully as the season goes on I can take a little bit of pressure off of him."

Coach Wilson understands the pressure on Kessel to score and the role Lupul will play in helping him achieve success.

"When you look at a line you have to see if there's balance, I don't really care who scores. It helps us when Phil scores because he feels so much better about himself," Wilson said. "I think Lupes wants to score and he could very well have four goals at this point. His skating is so much better this year compared to where he was a year ago and he's so good in the corners and strong on his feet that he'll open up a lot of ice for Phil."

Playing with Kessel comes with responsibility, Wilson insisted.

"Phil wants the puck all the time," said the coach. "He's like 7-11 - he's always open; or at least that's what he says. We kid him about that. He has an understanding with his linemates and they are man enough to say, 'You weren't open and that's why I didn't pass you the puck.' Lupes has played with a lot of good players so he's mentally tough enough to handle listening to a guy telling him he's open all the time even though he's not (open)."

Lupul expanded on the lofty expectations on Kessel, comparing him to a former linemate in Philadelphia, Mike Richards.

"Mike is not as dynamic a player as Phil, but he's definitely a world class player," Lupul said. "He plays both ends of the rink so he doesn't get the same pressure on him that Phil gets. If Phil isn't scoring then people aren't happy. Mike Richards, if he's not scoring, he's still killing penalties and blocking shots and stuff."

As for his own expectations for this season, Lupul has a number in mind that will make him happy.

"Thirty goals is the one I would like, but it's not like I'm going to judge my entire season on whether or not I get that many," Lupul said. "In the role I play I can do a lot of other things to help the team. I've been around 30 before so it would be a nice milestone to have. Again, if I only get 25 and I help the team get into the playoffs that's what it's all about."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.