Kessel Needs to be Better!

     With just one goal in his last twelve games Phil Kessel is causing Leafs fans to wonder if he's the player Brian Burke thought he was getting when he traded for him in September.  Obviously Kessel is a highly gifted player and already the most talented player on this team.  The question is, does he have ALL the tools needed to help guide the Leafs to the promised land. 
     Phil Kessel's recent mediocre play is not the reason for the Leafs latest lack of success, but it is a contributor.  December was a very important month for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  It was an opportunity to reach a number of key milestones and position the team for a genuine run for the post season.  With teams like the Flyers, Canadiens, Islanders and Thrashers plummeting in the standings, last month was a golden opportunity to move up and gain some ground on the rest of the Eastern Conference bottom dwellers.  Unfortunately the Leafs and Kessel failed to take advantage.
     The Leafs came out of the blocks like gangbusters in December.  They began the month going 6 - 3  with 5 of those wins coming against Eastern Conference rivals.  Phil Kessel was on a 3 game goal streak with 5 goals and 5 assists in those 9 games.  With Kessel scoring at more than a point a game they were making a charge and moving back towards respectability.  They even looked like they may finish the month at 500%.

     Since that charge, the Leafs and Kessel have been far from respectable.  They went 2 - 5 in the last seven games of 2009 and began the new year with only 1 win in their first 5.  During this period Kessel has managed just 1 goal and 1 assist.  His point production is worst among all noteworthy Leaf forwards and is even taking a backseat to 3 defenseman.  Even Luke Schenn has been more prolific during this span.
     Nobody is expecting Phil Kessel to carry this team single-handedly.  He also gets a pass for having to play with such a talent starved group of forwards.  Combine this last point with fact that opponents have figured out that if you shut-down Kessel, you shut-down the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Having said this, stars in the NHL are supposed to be able to overcome such things and find ways to succeed.  Not only has he failed at this he's become all but invisible.  If Toronto is going to salvage this season at all, this just cannot happen.
     It's still much too early to judge whether Brain Burke gave up too much for Kessel.  Carolina is trying their best (or worst) to land the number one pick in next years draft so leafs fans may not have to endure the agony of watching Boston use our selection to take Taylor Hall.  With every loss however, it does seem certain Burke did trade a lottery pick.  Too make matters worse, none of the players Burke aquired last season with the exception of junior prospect Nazeem Kadri are making much impact at any level.
     All this boils down to one important fact.  The team we have this year is probably going to look very much like the team we have next year.  Granted Burke will have some money to play with in the off-season and many of our current players may not be back, but with teams holding on to their young core players more than ever, good, young, free agents may be hard to land.
     Kessel is not big, he's not truculent, and he's not a fighter.  He's a fast, flashy forward, who can beat defenseman and goalies from almost anywhere.  He's been this for most of the season, hopefully he will wake up and bee that player again.  If not, this already disastrous season will only bet worse.

Leafs have Monster of a Game!

     There's no doubt the Toronto Maple Leafs have their fair share of faults, but one thing they do have going for them is good timing.  Just when I thought they were slipping back to the form that found them in danger of being O for October they bounced back with a shutout against the Boston Bruins.  There's really no bad time for a win obviously, but the timing on this one was perfect.

     This was Jonas Gustavsson's first game back after his second heart operation.  Although he wasn't exactly overworked, he did make all the right saves at the right time.  His presence in net seemed to restore some of the teams confidence coming off back to back losses this week.  In both games Toronto looked terrible in almost all aspects of their game but in Friday's game against Buffalo it was definitely a lack of timely saves that let them down.  Actually any saves would have been good.

     It was also about time they came up with as good effort against the Bruins.  They've been owned by this divisional opponent and needed this win to prove to fans and critics they can beat teams of this caliber.  The fact that it was a shutout at home on a Saturday night was even more icing on the cake.

     Vesa Toskala has been very good this month and should take a lot of credit for the Leafs return to the playoff race.  Having said this, it was clearly time for a break.  After being pulled in Buffalo it was easy to see.  With the Monsters return that's now possible.  With a 7 - 4 record so far this month and 5 games left, a winning record for the month of December is definitely within the realm of possibilities as well.

     More great timing was provided by Nikolai Kulemin as well.  He probably played his best game this year blocking shots and provided his usual strong defensive play.  Other credit should go to Francois Beauchemin and Jason Blake.  Both players have picked the most demanding part of the schedule this season to play their best hockey.

     There's no doubt Leaf fans have put up with a lot this season.  October was horrendous.  November was better but not good enough to make us ALL believers.   The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't been perfect this month, but just when we needed them to be great they have been.  They've vaulted back into the playoff race by gelling as a team and for the most part sticking to Ron Wilson's game plan.  Their good players have been good and their one or two great players have been great.  When the new year rings in, they could find themselves a five-hundred hockey team with a playoff position.  Not bad for a team with  only 1 win in their first 13 games.

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     As tough as the schedule has been In December, it does`t look like January is going to get much better.  What are your thoughts?  Are they up for the task or will January's pace return them to mediocrity?

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Toronto 2 Boston 0