Mono Does What NHL Defenses Cannot: Take Out Phil Kessel

When I was in high school, we would always ask "Who did you kiss?" when we found out someone we knew had mononucleosis. I'm a bit older now, and I understand that you don't just get mono from kissing, so I'll avoid the sophomoric joke when reporting this story. I'm sure you appreciate this.

It's been a season of great play and great fortune for the Boston Bruins. Young guys have stepped into key roles and played really well, and they have gotten great goaltending from an unlikely veteran tandem. The news they got Monday is probably the first real bad news they have received all season.

The Bruins announced Monday that All-Star forward Phil Kessel has a case of mono and will be out indefinitely. They placed him on injured reserve after Monday's practice, and did not give a timetable for his return.

Losing Kessel is a pretty big deal for the Eastern Conference's top team. He leads the team - and is in the top five in the NHL - with 24 goals scored. He's third with 41 points. Like David Krejci and Blake Wheeler, he's developed quickly into a top-flight offensive player in this league.

The Bruins have some goal-scorers. Michael Ryder has 17 goals, Krejci has 16, Marc Savard 14, and Wheeler 13. They are deep and they are talented, and they should be able to overcome Kessel's loss, provided it's not a long-term absence. No team is necessarily programmed to easily overcome the loss of a star player for a long time.

But how long will they miss him for? I looked up mono on Wikipedia, and this is the answer I found.

Rest is recommended during the acute phase of the infection, but activity should be resumed once acute symptoms have resolved. Nevertheless heavy physical activity and contact sports should be avoided to mitigate the risk of splenic rupture, for at least one month following initial infection and until splenomegaly has resolved, as determined by ultrasound scan.

Hopefully for the Bruins, it doesn't take that long for Kessel to come back. Even with their depth, the East race could look a lot different if he's out that long.