Leafs win despite Kessel drought
Toronto sniper hasn’t lit lamp in seven games
TORONTO • By Feb. 6, 2011, almost a month had passed since Phil Kessel scored a goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the strain was evident.
Coach Ron Wilson exiled him to the third line for practice and, when asked about the move, Kessel said he had not heard even a single word of encouragement:
“Me and Ron don’t really talk — so that’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
Kessel endured four more games without a goal. It was a 14-game drought and it was the talk of the town. And yet, he still finished the season with 32 goals, the higher of his first two seasons with the Leafs. He went higher still last year, scoring a career-high 37 goals.
On Thursday, though, the talk again was about a drought.
The 25 year old had not scored a goal since the NHL emerged from its lockout, a stretch of six scoreless games. He had not gone seven games without a goal since the frustration of that season with Wilson.
Plenty has changed since then. Wilson was fired last March. And Kessel, unlike stretches during his last drought, had obviously been the victim of poor luck — not a poor relationship with his head coach.
That continued against the Washington Capitals. Toronto eked out a 3-2 win at home — its first win at the Air Canada Centre this season — but its most skilled winger became a dominant storyline because of the variety in which he was denied his first goal of the year as his drought hit seven games.
Kessel had three shots in the first period. He added two more in the second. And at every turn, Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth found a way to turn him away. Another pass, from linemate James van Riemsdyk on a two-on-one early in the third period, just skipped past Kessel’s stick. The crowd groaned. “It’s tough to not get frustrated,” Kessel said after the game. “But you’ve got to try your best. We’re winning the game, so what does it matter, right?
“That’s the most important thing.”
Kessel had been flying against the Caps. His rebound in the first led to a power-play goal from van Riemsdyk. The fact he was held without a goal seemed like a statistical anomaly that will level out during the course of the season — even one shortened by a lockout.
“Kess is an unbelievable player,” Leafs goaltender James Reimer said. “He’s got a heck of a shot. Even today in practice, I thought he broke my hand when I— shockingly — stopped him. He’s a great player. He’s scoring in practice. It’s not even worth a story.
“He’ll get going. And he’ll score 40 this year, probably.”
Meanwhile, the Leafs beefed up and claimed monstrous 6-foot-5, 230-pound forward Frazer McLaren off waivers from the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.