PHN Extra: A Tale of Two Phils Complicates Phil Kessel Report Card

It was the best of Kessel, it was the worst of Kessel, it was the season of backchecking, it was the playoffs of gaffes, it was the season of assists, it was the playoffs of turnovers, it was the winter of effort, it was the spring of selfishness.

How to grade Phil Kessel’s 2017-18 is like a tale of two players. Kessel benefactors will point to 92 points with 34 goals. They’ll look to Kessel’s effort for the first 60 games of the season and his 5v5 production when the team mostly could not score at even strength. And, Kessel helped create the most prolific power play in Penguins history.