Penguins assistant wants Kessel back to shoot-first philosophy

Everyone knows Penguins forward Phil Kessel has one of the most lethal wrist shots in the entire game. With that in mind, assistant coach Rick Tocchet would like to see him utilize it more often throughout the rest of the Stanley Cup Final.

"A guy with that caliber of shot, very rarely he should be looking to pass," Tocchet told Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "He's an unselfish guy, but he's got to be selfish in these moments. If he gets those three chances again, I think he's got to come off the wall and really rip 'em."

The three chances Tocchet was referring to all came on the power play in Game 3. One shot got blocked, Kessel flubbed another, and he attempted a cross-crease pass to Sidney Crosby on the third, which was certainly the right play.

Nevertheless, a more aggressive mindset from Kessel could ignite a slumping Pittsburgh power play, which is just 1-for-13 in this series. It could also spark the forward, who has just two goals in his last 12 games.

And Tocchet isn't just looking to see more shots out of Kessel with the man advantage.

"If he's going down the wing and he's in around the dots, unless it's a two-on-one and he's got somebody wide open, he should be ripping it," Tocchet said. "I told Phil if you do that early in the game, it's amazing how the game comes to you. If you pass those shots up in the first couple of periods, it kind of closes your mind."

Kessel's evolution into more of a pass-first player hasn't happened overnight. It's been a trend ever since his days in Toronto (SPG = shots per game).

*2012-13 season was shortened to 48 games for NHL lockout.

Kessel's shot-per-game numbers have taken a pretty steady downturn since his first year in Toronto. In fact, this past season he took 1.45 less shots per game compared to his first year with the Leafs. That's a pretty staggering philosophical shift.

Kessel has become a better passer through the years, and he's arguably one of the most underrated playmakers in the game, but it still wouldn't hurt for him to get back to some of his old ways - like he did during last year's playoff run.

"I just think if he has that home-run attitude, that 'Let me swing the bat, I'm not looking to hit a single, I want to hit a home run' attitude, that's when he's really got it," Tocchet said. "So I just reminded him, 'Hey, shoot.'"

And as Wayne Gretzky once said: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."

It's hard to argue against The Great One.