|
Has Phil Kessel played his last game of the season?
The possibility was raised Monday morning when the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer left the ice less than five minutes into the team’s practice at the Mastercard Centre.
“We’re trying to discover what it is, a muscle cramp or a muscle pull,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. “We’ll send him to the doctor and hopefully later on today we will know.
“If you can’t go full, there’s no point in practising.”
Wilson refused to divulge what part of the body Kessel injured, but he played sparingly in the third period of Saturday’s game against Boston. With 30 goals and 25 assists in 67 games, Kessel is leading the team in scoring in his first season as a Leaf. On Saturday, he played on a line with Mikhail Grabovski and Nik Kulemin.
Wilson didn’t rule out a return for Kessel but it will depend on the medical opinion. With just three games remaining, it would be pointless to return him to the lineup if he has a muscle issue.
The coach did acknowledge that winger Wayne Primeau will be in the lineup for the team’s final home game of the season Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
