Will Kessel's 30 goal season streak come to an end?

[4evaBlue]

No chance at 30 whatsoever (well never say never I guess). I would factor in that they're crunching an extra 7-10 games into a typical schedule (I'm assuming the season won't end 2-3 weeks later than usual). There'll be a few extra nights where guys are on their 3rd night out of 4 or 4 of 5 and are just too gassed. IMO the smart teams will actually do their best to keep guys in the 35-40 game range instead of aiming for the full 48. 20 goals is going to be fantastic. To me, this year with this schedule 30 goals is well beyond 50 goal pace for a typical regular season.

I don't think there'll be any 4 games in 5 nights stretches, but the 3 games in 4 nights argument works both ways. Sometimes they'll be the ones facing teams who have played 3 games in 4 nights, with tired defensemen who will be easier to take advantage of. Either way, it will be an interesting sprint to the finish.

 

[satyr9]

I don't think there'll be any 4 games in 5 nights stretches, but the 3 games in 4 nights argument works both ways. Sometimes they'll be the ones facing teams who have played 3 games in 4 nights, with tired defensemen who will be easier to take advantage of. Either way, it will be an interesting sprint to the finish.

I hope you're right about no 4 in 5's, but there are a lot of games to get in. My argument about tired affecting both ways is that coaches going into games without fresh legs try to slow everything down, but I accept it could go a bit either way from a whose tired perspective.

So yes, you're right that there may be a few extra opportunities for Kessel to take advantage of a wiped out team, but mostly I think the whole league will be more tired, leading to less of what Kessel does.

Now, if Kessel were Dave Andreychuk, I;d be more inclined to argue your side. Tired equals sloppy and d-men would have a harder time going through the repetitive and difficult job of dislodging him. Still, it may turn out that all the tiredness leads to tons of special teams and the top scorers on good PPs get more points than expected. Even so, 30 goals seems like a pure pipedream to me.

 

[Suntouchable13]

I couldn't care less about individual accomplishments. As long as the Leafs are in the playoffs, I am happy. That's all I care about. If the Leafs make the playoffs and Kessel scores only 15 goals in 48 games, it would not matter to me in the least bit. If his streak comes to an end and the Leafs make the playoffs I won't care. If Kessel does continue his streak but the Leafs miss the playoffs, it won't be a consolation to me.

 

[Kessely Snipes]

The only player I could see getting 30 is Stamkos, maybe Malkin.

 

[Joey Hoser]

IMO the smart teams will actually do their best to keep guys in the 35-40 game range instead of aiming for the full 48. 20 goals is going to be fantastic. To me, this year with this schedule 30 goals is well beyond 50 goal pace for a typical regular season.

Defencemen and goalies will get gassed just the same though. The schedule will effect everyone the same, so I would think the only anomolies your going to get in terms of production are flukes which appear more prominent because of there being fewer games to even things out.

 

[Macoun4life]

I think there might be a lot more goals scored this year than usual because of the jammed schedule. Backups will get more games than usual, which means weaker goaltending. When teams are tired, sometimes it just turns into shot for shot games with less defence. Don't know if Kessel can pot 30 though without a legit centre...

 

[Leaf4Life]

Kessel scores in bunches. If he goes on a hot streak then 30 goals might be possible.

 

[Porn*]

26 goals.

 

[Captain Clutch 13]

I doubt he hits 30 (50 goal pace) with Tyler Bozak as his center, Lupul can only do so much. Anywhere between 20-30 is likely. He is always a strong starter so a 48 game season should favor him.

I seriously cant wait to watch him play again, even if we lose I still love watching him play.

 

[Cor]

I say 23.

 

[12345*]

Goal per game suckas.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Kess is going for 50 this year.

 

[12345*]

Carlyle says blocking shots the first priority of the new Leafs playbook, Randy says Flamingoing isn't an option.

Meh, not a huge proponent of blocked shots - at least, not in the regular season. Thats how players stop dropping like flies. More important is ensuring we match the mini-overloads by the opponents forwards on the boards. Thats how we got pinned in the zone so many times. That, and clearing the front of the net.

 

[robdicks]

I'm really worried about Kessel. Conditioning has been rumored to be an issue for him in the past, and with a half-season after a year where he was probably pretty proud of himself, I am worried that maybe he didn't keep his conditioning at a level that it should be at.

This is all speculation of course, and I guess you can make the argument that he has become more mature, and that's why he was so ready for his breakout year last year, but I would be lying if I said that I'm not worried.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I hope Kessel can try for 30 goals, however if he gets 25 then I will be ok with that.

 

[RogerRoeper*]

Yes it will, but only because it's a short season.

I still think he's a threat to be a top 5 overall points scorer this season.

 

[MapleLeafs9]

Will remember this when people are asking for Burkes head after this season.

I meant like, it doesn't count for his goal streak. Not exactly a fair chance to score 30 goals don't you think?

 

[Finnish your Czech]

No way he gets 30 goals this season. I'd be happy with 20+

 

[Leaf Army]

No way he gets 30 goals this season. I'd be happy with 20+

I don't know how many goals Kessel will score this year but I have no idea why you can say he won't score 30 so definitively.

It's not far off his pace from last year.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

The more goals Kessel scores this year, the more his value goes up, this is good for Burke and good for Leafs if he is to be traded at some point.

Same applies to any Leaf.

 

[RoyalGremlin]

If Kessel gets 30 in 48 games we know he is an elite scorer. simple.

 

[Winreims]

I'm predicting 20-25 goals for Kessel (hopefully).

 

[Kyle93]

I think Kessel can get 25 goals

 

[James Duthie]

I say his max is 30, and that's pushing it, because in February Kessel tends to go into a goal slump every year and I don't know why.

 

[Myke]

Will remember this when people are asking for Burkes head after this season.

It doesn't count in the sense that there are not enough games for him to get to 30 goals at his usual pace. He still has to perform as does the rest of the team and Burke is accountable for that at the end of the day even in a short season.