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PHT’s Morning Skate: Phil Kessel’s impressive journey

Phil Kessel

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Phil Kessel celebrates scoring a goal during second period NHL hockey action against the Calgary Flames in Toronto on Saturday Oct. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

Chris Young

PHT’s Morning Skate takes a look around the world of hockey to see what’s happening and what we’ll be talking about around the NHL world and beyond.

Patrick Kane’s return to right wing might have been the biggest story going into Friday night’s game against the New York Islanders, and he seemed comfortable for sure with two assists. Still, his running mate Jonathan Toews stole the show, with a goal and an assist plus a shootout tally. (CSN Chicago.)

Former Avs blue chips Chris Stewart (one assist) and Kevin Shattenkirk (power-play goal) drew a measure of revenge against their former team, but Colorado won - thanks in large part to Ryan O’Reilly. (Denver Post.)

Sure, the Blues failed in the shootout, but that game would’ve been finished in overtime if Jaroslav Halak didn’t make this deft swipe:

One thought that keeps recurring lately is how people don’t seem to appreciate all that Phil Kessel has gone through to become a league-leading scorer. Lukas Hardonk takes a look at his journey from testicular cancer to red-hot sniper. (The Hockey Writers.)

Brad Richards is enjoying single life in New York, which must have something to do with Olivia Munn, right? (Tampa Bay Online.)

Matt Beleskey’s hit on Sean Couturier might just draw the attention of the Shanahammer, but we’ll see. (Eric Stephens.)

Ryan Jones didn’t just register his first multiple goal game last night; he actually pulled off a hat trick. (NHL.com.)

Jones wasn’t the only unlikely guy to score one more than once in that Edmonton Oilers-Columbus Blue Jackets game, though. Derek Dorsett managed two tallies of his one, including this highlight reel piece.

Check out the NHL’s three stars of comedy via Sean McIndoe of “Down Goes Brown.” (Grantland.)

Final thought: if there’s one thing that is driving me nuts, it’s the confusion over the Detroit Red Wings’ streaky play. It’s not a coincidence. Instead, it’s a matter of their schedule. They’re winning when they’re at home (10-2-1) and average on the road (6-5-0). The few diverging points come when they play weak opponents away from Joe Louis Arena, although winning the Thanksgiving Showdown in Boston ranks as a promising break from that trend. (Red Wings schedule.)