BlueWhiteBlood
New member
CarltonTheBear said:I remember last season Kessel was among the league leaders (or losers) in 5-on-5 goals against. He had some pretty good company at the top of that list in St. Louis, Stamkos, Tavares, and Staal, but it still wasn't really something to be proud of obviously. So I was curious to see how he was doing in that regard this season, especially considering his lack of goals.
Last season, Kessel was on the ice for 76 even-strength goals in 82 games. This season he's been on the ice for 4 even-strength goals in 7 games. Over an 82 games season that would average out to be 47 goals against. That's a small sample size for sure, but still it's nice to see a change there.
Stats like that aren't exactly a perfect indicator of a players defensive ability, but it's a little more simple than going into all of the corsi stuff.
You can tell from his play that he's playing much better than he did last year, at least he appears to be more of a complete player. I haven't been worried in the least bit about his scoring, because I'm quite confident that he'll start scoring a whole bunch.
Every season he's been with the Leafs, he seems to have improved something about his game that makes him a better player. How much his new found defensive game lasts and whether or not it has more to do with Carlyle barking, remains a scrip't not yet written. But, I think he'll continue to improve, personally.