SAN JOSE, Calif. — Phil Kessel came to meet the media Friday afternoon in black slacks and a white golf shirt, only it was hockey that he had just played, not golf. There has been no golf yet this summer for the 28-year-old native of Madison, Wisconsin, which helps explain another thing not often seen on his face this time of year: smiles.
Kessel, whose career until recently had been characterized as strong individually but mostly devoid of team success, has been flashing a wide-jowled, toothy grin a lot lately. Monday's Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final was his 22nd playoff game of this postseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which equaled the number of postseason games he had combined through the first nine seasons of his career with Boston and Toronto.
This whole "winning" thing is a welcome change for Kessel, and he's making sure he takes some time to enjoy it.
"It's a big difference, isn't it?" Kessel said when asked what it's like to play into June for the first time in his 10-year career. "Most of the time I've had really long summers, but this will be a short one. I'm OK with it. It's a lot of fun."
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Adrian Dater
After Turmoil in Toronto, Phil Kessel Is Getting the Last Laugh with Penguins
June 8th, 2016 by Adrian Dater Leave a reply »
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