Pittsburgh Penguins: Phil Kessel is the Heart and Soul of This Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins may be trailing in the Eastern Conference 2-1 right now, but I’d like to rewind back to game two and look at one specific player.

The Pittsburgh Penguins offensive efforts have not always been there throughout these playoffs. We have seen the offence struggle many games and burst out other games. But one thing is for sure, throughout the injuries, some players have been giving it their all no matter what. One player in particular is Phil Kessel.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Now looking at game two of the Eastern Conference Finals against Ottawa, Kessel really showed how much effort he is putting into this team. We saw many instances of Kessel getting very overworked because plays were just not going as planned.

If this shows anything at all, it shows that Phil Kessel truly is the heart and soul of this team.

Looking Back

Let’s look back at last year’s playoff run. Although Sidney Crosby may have won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoffs MVP, Phil Kessel was the Penguins leading scorer of the playoffs with 22 points in 24 games. Offensively, his efforts clearly showed, and he was always a player the team could count on.

Heading into the season, he was our iron man. He played a full 82 games and he really worked hard to improve his point total from last season.

He finished the season with 70 points, third on the entire Penguins team. In these first two rounds he has definitely shown he can still compete, putting up…

The Heart

Phil Kessel was shown expressing his anger towards Evgeni Malkin and others on Monday night. While this could be an uncalled for action by many, I think this was a great gesture.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are definitely the leaders of the team. But they make mistakes too. Who tells them when they make mistakes? Well Phil Kessel is the next guy in line, and out of all players you can see he really wanted to win that game.

Next: Penguins Need to Boost Their Offence

His competitive nature drove him to toughen up and instruct his teammates for the good of the team. He is the type of player we need in these playoffs.

Phil Kessel is often overlooked because the Penguins have the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang and others. However Kessel is arguably the third best player and he can slot in as the best player on many teams. I strongly believe Phil Kessel is the backbone of this team, and his on ice presence is crucial to the team’s success.