{"id":29831,"date":"2017-05-16T10:35:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T10:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=29831"},"modified":"2017-05-16T10:35:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T10:35:19","slug":"phil-kessel-turns-emotion-action-pittsburgh-penguins-game-2-win-ottawa-senators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/phil-kessel-turns-emotion-action-pittsburgh-penguins-game-2-win-ottawa-senators.html","title":{"rendered":"Phil Kessel turns emotion into action in Pittsburgh Penguins\u00a0Game 2 win over Ottawa Senators"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPhil Kessel turns emotion into action in Pittsburgh Penguins Game 2 win over Ottawa Senators<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
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\n\tTelevision cameras discovered a frustrated Phil Kessel on the bench ranting like a mad man during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs crazy as the scene looked to onlookers, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan knew immediately that Kessel was where he needed to be.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“And Phil's an emotional guy,” Sullivan said. “When he comes back to the bench, he wants a pass and if he doesn't get it, he lets a guy know. I have no problem with that. I don't think our team has any problem with that.”<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Sullivan sees Kessel in lunatic mode, he knows he’s fully invested in doing what needs to be done.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKessel did transform emotion into action when he scored on his own rebound with 6:55 left in regulation to spark the Penguins to a 1-0 win against the Ottawa Senators. The win ties the series at 1-1 heading to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“When he plays with that fire, he’s angry out there, and he’s pretty tough to stop,” Penguins center Matt Cullen said.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Penguins, overrun by injuries, needed Kessel’s offense and his game has been quiet of late. Before netting the game-winner in Game 2, Kessel had scored only once and registered only two points in his past six games.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt’s not only goals the Penguins need from Kessel. They need his passion, spunk and emotional outbursts. He’s their top-scoring winger, fire starter and court jester.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“I think our players get a kick out of him, quite honestly,” Sullivan said.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSullivan gives his players license to say what’s on their mind during the game because he believes it raises the level of game awareness.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“Our coaching staff — we like the juice on the bench,” Sullivan said. “I’d much rather have a bench that’s invested in trying to win, with emotion and personality to it, than a group of guys that are flatlined."<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe video of Kessel shows Kunitz laughing at Kessel’s antics. After the game, Kunitz said he couldn’t remember exactly what Kessel was raving about. Kessel couldn’t recall either.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“Obviously it’s an emotional game,” Kessel said. “There are ups and downs. I think I yelled more than once.”<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKunitz said players all "blow off steam" in different ways.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“Some guys like to talk, some guys like to yell out loud and some guys like to kick the boards,” Kunitz said. “Whatever gets you back engaged is fine with us.”<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKunitz said Kessel is a player who believes he’s open all of the time, and that could have been the issue.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat didn’t need to be said was that the Penguins needed to raise their performance level in Game 2 after losing Game 1.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSullivan has said continually that the Penguins’ strength is their resolve, their ability to dig deeper when they face adversity. That's where they were at in Game 2.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAlready without injured defenseman Kris Letang and Trevor Daley, they lost Justin Schultz to injury in the first period of Game 2. They played with five defensemen most of the game. Already playing without injured forward Patric Hornqvist, they lost Bryan Rust to an injury in that same first period. Their status is still unknown.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t“They’ve got some really good players who turned it on, and they were hard to manage,” Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKessel put it a different way. “We stuck with it,” he said. “Hung with it, and found a way. Pretty resilient. We’ve been there before.”<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt wasn’t the first time Kessel became fully animated on the bench in this postseason. And it likely won’t be the last if the Penguins get to the Stanley Cup Final.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:- https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nhl\/columnist\/allen\/2017\/05\/16\/phil-kessel-sparks-pittsburgh-penguins-game-2-win-ottawa-senators\/101736730\/<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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