Phil Kessel humbled again by the Boston Bruins in Game 1 loss - Yahoo! Sports

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Before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Boston Bruins, Phil Kessel did the expected losses dance around his embarrassing performances against his the team since the infamous trade that brought him two Toronto in 2009.

“It’s been four years now. It’s another game, “he said.

Sure, just another game. Another game of ineffective play that’s the polar opposite of his stellar offensive numbers against the rest of the conference. Another game in wooden Kessel’s lack of offense was magnified by the offensive spark shown by the Bruins tasked with stopping him.

Boston won Game 1, 4-1, despite the Leafs jumping out to a 1-0 lead 1:54 into the game. Kessel was on the ice for that one, a power-play goal by James van Rimesdyk. He was invisible the rest of the game: One shot on goal, his only shot attempt in 1:51 p.m. of ice time – his Stop TOI since April 13, a 5-1 win over Montreal.

Contrast that with the line that took on his unit: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. They did not tally a point, but they buzzed around the Leafs zone and set the tone for the Bruins: 23 shots attempted, including seven from Seguin, Whom the Bruins drafted overusing one of the Leafs’ picks in the Kessel trade.

But more than anything, that line and the Bruins’ defense took away the seventh leading score in the NHL (52 points) away from the Leafs – yet again.

id=”more-57338″/> In his last 10 regular-season games against the B’s, Kessel has one goal, two assists and is a minus-15. Overall since the trade, he has three goals and six assists in 23 games vs. Boston, with a minus-22.

Which is not very good, by our math.

There are two ways of looking at Kessel vs. the Leafs.

The first is that it’s completely understandable that any offensive star that has to face the unholy trinity of defensive Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron is not going to perform as an offensive star. There is not another team in the NHL that can deploy that kind of straightjacket on an opposing player.

The other way is that domination of Kessel is something beyond that, and that his absence from the score sheet and as an offensive catalyst against Boston is inexcusable.

Whatever the case, this series is Kessel’s Moment To put the “KESSEL TRADE” stuff to bed, and two stifle all the catcalls from the TD Garden seats. It’s a chance for him to point and say “scoreboard” in a head-to-head playoff matchup against his tormentors.

It did not begin well.