Phil Kessel shines as Toronto Maple Leafs win second straight over Ottawa Senators 6-5 -NHL Update
Maple Leafs could not have had it better as their star player, Phil Kessel, rose to the occasion and scored his first hat-trick of the new 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season to lead Toronto to their second straight victory, 6-5, against
Ottawa Senators on Saturday, October 8, at a sold-out Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kessel showed why he was one of the leagues former top draft picks and surprised Ottawa Senators with a dominating performance.
For the 24-year-old, it was good sportsmanship by his teammates that led Toronto to their exhilarating victory at home.
"I'm playing with good line-mates", Kessel said. "They're getting the puck in good areas to me, and I was able to bury them".
Toronto took control of the match early on as Mikhail Grabovski scored at the 12:58 mark on their first power play opportunity of the first period, followed by Phil Kessel for his first of the season.
Mike Brown and Ottawa’s Zenon Konopka were given five-minute majors for exchanging fists early into the contest.
Joffrey Lupul took advantage of another power play giving Kessel his first assist.
It was Kessel who scored with 1:11 remaining in the second to set Toronto ahead by a vast margin, 4-0, entering the final period of regulation.
Toronto Maple Leafs' goalie, James Reimer, was hoping for his back-to-back shutout as he blanked Montreal Canadiens in their first season matchup earlier Thursday night.
"I'm hoping it was all a dream and I'm going to go out there for the third period", said James Reimer, who had his shutout streak broken at 101:42. "But, you know what, a win's a win”.
Ottawa Senators finally decided that enough was enough as Colin Greening at last put them up on the scoreboard at the 1:42 mark.
Colton Orr widened the gap nearly a minute later but it was Senators' captain, Daniel Alfredsson who scored shorthanded, followed by Jason Spezza on a power play and Alfredsson again on another added man advantage, all in nearly five minutes of each other.
Had Kessel not scored his third of the night with less than three minutes remaining, Stephane Da Costa of Ottawa could have levelled the matchup and forced an uncertain overtime extension with his goal at 18:06.
Toronto Maple Leafs continue their 5 game stay at home as they face-off against Calgary Flames on Saturday, October 15, while Ottawa Senators prepare for their home season opener on Tuesday against Minnesota Wild.
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