Maple Leafs winger Phil Kessel received two honors for his recent scoring prowess, as he was the runner-up in both Three Stars of the Week and Player of the Month honors handed out by the NHL.
Per the press release from the NHL.com website, Kessel recorded seven points (3-4--7) last week, helping the Maple Leafs (30-21-6) climb to third place in the Atlantic Division with three consecutive victories. He earned an assist on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Jan. 28, recorded two assists in a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers Jan. 30 and tallied his fifth career hat trick and one assist in a 6-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 1.
The 26-year-old Madison, Wisc. native leads the Maple Leafs in scoring and is fourth in the League overall with 61 points (30-31--61) in 57 games. His 30 goals rank second in the League to Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (39).
Kessel finished second to Team USA team captain Zach Parise, who was named 1st Star of the Week for scoring eight points in three games for the Minnesota Wild. Calgary forward Mikael Backlund was named Third Star.
The Leafs leading scorer also finished second for NHL Player of the Month, he was tied for the league scoring lead in January with 20 points (7 G, 13 A) in 15 games, with the Leafs as they were 9-5-1 for the month and moved past Montreal into third spot in the Atlantic Division.
Carolina goaltender Anton Khoudobin, who posted a 10-4 record for the Hurricanes in January finished ahead of Kessel and fellow Team USA member Joe Pavelski was third.
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The Leafs did a bit of roster tweaking on Monday, as center Greg Mckegg was returned to the Toronto Marlies and veteran Jerred Smithson was recalled. The 21-year-old St. Thomas, ON native played just 3:43 in his NHL debut against Ottawa on Saturday, losing five of six draws and saw little ice time past the halfway mark of the game, when coach Randy Carlyle shortened his bench.
The 34-year-old Smithson has no points in 17 games with the Leafs and just three points in 26 games with the Marlies, but is an extremely effective on faceoffs, winning 58.6% of his draws during an earlier stint with Toronto.
Winger James van Riemsdyk missed Monday’s practice at the MasterCard Center with the flu and may travel separate from the club, but it is unclear whether it will affect his status for Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Panthers, the first of two contests in the Sunshine State.
“We don’t if he’s(van Riemsdyk) gonna travel with us or he’ll take his own flight down later today or early tomorrow morning.” Leafs Coach Randy Carlyle indicated after practice.
Winger David Clarkson participated fully in practice, skating with Mason Raymond and Jay McClement and is considered probable for Tuesday. Carlyle stated that wingers Carter Ashton(hand), Trevor Smith(muscle pull) and Peter Holland(lace bite) are definitely out.
Center Dave Bolland replaced van Riemsdyk alongside Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel at the club’s practice facility in Etobicoke, ON and will travel with the club for the annual father’s road trip.
Sportsnet FAN 590’s David Alter reports that Bolland struggled to make a hard stop during a skating drill and believes that it is doubtful that the 27-year-old Mimico, ON native will be ready to return to the lineup for any of the three games before the February 9th break for the Sochi Olympics.
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