Kessel hoping to get the last belly laugh

Pin Pittsburgh hil Kessel said it’s not been easy to change the way he plays. Even harder is changing how others view the way he plays.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward enters the Stanley Cup Final tied for fifth in playoff scoring with 18 points in 18 games. He had two goals and set up the overtime winner in a series-clinching win against Washington in the Eastern Conference semifinal and then scored four times in seven games against Tampa Bay in the conference final.

But as reporters stood around and waited to talk to the player who would be a favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy if the voting were held today, the question on everyone’s mind was how come Team USA did not name Kessel to its final roster for the World Cup of Hockey?

“I’m trying to decide whether I’m going to give you a long answer or a short one,” said Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, before settling on the latter. “So I’m surprised.”

Surprised might be an understatement. It might have been surprising when Kessel, who led the 2014 Olympics in scoring, did not make the initial 16-man roster back in March. But to completely snub him was a baffling decision, considering how well he has played in the three months since then.

As Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said as he tried to make sense of it, Kessel “is a bit of a misunderstood guy.”

Indeed, he is the walking contradiction. He’s the ultratalented scorer who gets criticized for not backchecking. He’s fast, but looks fat. He has a blazing snap shot that can win you games, but the lazy narrative is that you cannot win with him on your team.

That last part might be why he — and Tyler Johnson — was snubbed in favour of role players such as Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky. While Kessel had scored five goals and eight points in six games in the 2014 Olympics, he came up empty in a 1-0 semi- final loss to Canada and a 5-0 loss to Finland in the bronze medal game.

Of course, so did the rest of the team. But Kessel, who the Toronto Maple Leafs got rid of rather than traded, seemed to shoulder most of the blame.

“Obviously you’re a little disappointed, but it is what it is,” Kessel said during Sunday’s Stanley Cup Media Day. “I’ve had a pretty good playoffs and I’ve always done pretty well for them in all the tournaments I’ve played for them. But we’re in the Stanley Cup final, so I can’t be too disappointed.”

That last part was as close as Kessel would get to actually rubbing his success in his detractors’ faces. According to his teammates, it’s more than justified. Though he had a rocky start to the season, Kessel has been everything the Penguins hoped for when they acquired him from the Leafs in a trade last summer.

Sullivan said “we would not be playing in the Stanley Cup final without (Kessel’s) contribution.”

And Sidney Crosby added, “I definitely expected him to be on the (World Cup) team” based on “the playoffs that he’s had.”

Indeed, Kessel saved his best for last. After managing only six points in October and six points December, he finished with 19 points in the final 21 games of the season. Along with linemates Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino, Kessel has given the Penguins the type of scoring depth that helped push them past the Rangers, Capitals and Lighting in the playoffs.

“I think Phil deserves all the credit for how his game has evolved over the course of the season,” said Sullivan.

“We have asked him to and challenged him to improve aspects of his game away from the puck and along the boards and he’s embraced that and been receptive to that.”

For his part, Kessel doesn’t believe he has changed that much with his game. He has not suddenly become a twoway forward or even defensively responsible.

His job is the same as it was in Toronto: score goals and put up points, which is what he has been doing in these playoffs. And the Penguins, who have so much depth that Kessel is playing on what might be considered the third line, are OK with that.

“I’ve always put up decent numbers,” said Kessel. “Sometimes in the regular season, it doesn’t go well for stretches. That’s part of the game. In the playoffs, every game matters and you have to show up for every one.”