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It’s Pittsburgh Penguins Day at PHT

By Ryan DadounAug 27, 2015, 9:00 AM EDT
27 Comments

Throughout the month of August, PHT will be dedicating a day to all 30 NHL clubs. Today’s team? The Pittsburgh Penguins.

After another disappointing finish in the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to change course by replacing GM Ray Shero and head coach Dan Bylsma with Jim Rutherford and Mike Johnston respectively prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign. The results, at least as far as last season was concerned, were not desirable.

To be fair, Pittsburgh was strong for much of the campaign and was even in the running for the Presidents’ Trophy through March 12 with a 39-18-10 record. However, they went 4-9-2 for the remainder of the season and they just barely secured the second Wild Card seed. That set up a first round series against the New York Rangers that the Penguins lost in five games.

For a team that’s home to two of the best forwards in the league, the Penguins’ big weakness last season was actually their offense. Years of subpar drafting beyond first round picks and a top-heavy salary balance sheet seemed to finally catch up with the Penguins as they were thin on scoring threats outside of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Chris Kunitz, James Neal, and Jussi Jokinen provided the Penguins with at least 57 points each in 2013-14, but the 35-year-old Kunitz slid to 40 points, Neal had been dealt to Nashville in exchange for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling, and Jokinen left as an unrestricted free agent. Consequently, Malkin and Crosby were the only Penguins players to record more than 57 points last season.

Pittsburgh went from being tied for the fifth best offense in 2013-14 to finishing in a tie for 18th just one season later. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had a strong campaign and that continued into the 2015 playoffs, but the Penguins provided him with just eight goals of support over five games against the Rangers.

Off-season recap

Rutherford has moved to bolster the Penguins’ offense over the summer. He brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh in a blockbuster trade with Toronto that also involved the Penguins conceding 2014 first round pick Kasperi Kapanen. Nearly a month later, Pittsburgh acquired Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening, and a 2016 second round pick from Vancouver in exchange for Brandon Sutter and a 2016 third round selection.

Pittsburgh further addressed its forward depth with the signings of Eric Fehr (three years, $6 million) and Matt Cullen (one-year, $800K).

Combine that with the return of Pascal Dupuis (blood clots) and Pittsburgh’s group of forwards should look significantly different this season.

Sharks sign Finnish scorer Donskoi

By Mike HalfordMay 19, 2015, 1:19 PM EDT
3 Comments

The San Jose Sharks have agreed to terms with Finnish forward Joonas Donskoi, per Sports Consulting Group agent Scott Bartlett.

It’s a two-year pact, with Finnish news outlet Ilta-Sanomat reporting an average annual value of $925,000.

Donskoi, 23, is coming off a banner 2014-15 campaign in which he scored 49 points in 58 games for SM-liiga club Karpat, then captured the Jari Kurri Trophy as playoff MVP.

A former Florida draftee (99th overall, 2010), Donskoi followed up his successful season with Karpat by scoring eight points in eight games for Finland at the World Hockey Championships. Donskoi finished third on the team in scoring, three back of Florida’s Jussi Jokinen.

This is the second young veteran San Jose has scooped out of Europe in as many years. Last summer, the club did very well in getting Swedish forward Melker Karlsson out of SHL club side Skelleftea; Karlsson went on to have a solid freshman campaign for the Sharks, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in 53 games.

Jagr, Panthers keep pace in wild card race

By Dhiren MahibanMar 29, 2015, 8:20 PM EDT
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Jaromir Jagr scored twice, including the game winner, as the Florida Panthers doubled up the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

Jagr’s second of the night, and 15th of the season, moves him two points back of former teammate Ron Francis for fourth on the NHL’s all-time points list.

With the win, Florida moved four points back of the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers trail the Senators by just one point.

Ottawa now trails Boston by three points.

“Everybody knows how important it was to win this game. It was Game 7 for us,” said Jagr. “We just have to get ready for the next Game 7 against Boston.”

Jagr’s agent met with Panthers’ GM Dale Talon on Saturday. The two sides appear interested in getting a deal done, but right now the focus is on the playoff race.

“Nobody really gives those kids any credit,” said Jagr of the young team in Florida. “How young they are, they’re so talented. They’re going to surprise the league in two years. They might win the cup the way and they’re going to get better and better. They don’t even have to do anything and they’re going to get better.”

Jussi Jokinen and Dave Bolland had the other Panthers goals while Dan Ellis made 25 saves for the win.

Florida has points in three straight games and five of their last six.

Senators captain Erik Karlsson scored his 20th of the season and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had the other for Ottawa. The Sens have lost three straight for the first time since Feb. 3-7.

Craig Anderson made his second straight start and made 33 saves in the loss.

Panthers’ playoff hopes take massive blow vs. Lightning

By Ryan DadounMar 24, 2015, 10:31 PM EDT
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The Florida Panthers have been treading water lately, but that’s not nearly good enough given their situation. After suffering a 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay tonight, Florida will need a lot of help in order to advance to the playoffs.

Florida was behind 2-0 going into the second period, but the Panthers rallied back with goals from Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Pirri, and Jonathan Huberdeau all within the span of two minutes.

As impressive as that stretch was though, it wasn’t enough. The Panthers outshot the Lightning 14-8 in the third frame, but Tampa Bay was the only team to find the back of the net in that period. Ryan Callahan scored the game-winner with 2:28 remaining to prevent Florida from getting even a mercy point.

The Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators were both idle tonight, so the Florida Panthers remain four and five points back respectively. However, they have now played in one more game than Ottawa. That combined with the Panthers big deficit when it comes to the tiebreaker ROW makes it hard to envision a Panthers’ comeback. That being said, Florida will have an opportunity to spark a hot streak against the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

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Cowen suspended three games for Jokinen headshot

By Mike HalfordFeb 23, 2015, 11:17 AM EDT
12 Comments

Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowen has been suspended three games for a high hit on Florida’s Jussi Jokinen, Sens head coach Dave Cameron confirmed.

Here’s the hit in question, which occurred during Ottawa’s 4-1 win on Saturday:

The incident happened early in the second period, with Cowen receiving an interference minor. Jokinen appeared to be shook up initially but didn’t miss any time, finishing the game with 16:21 TOI.

Cowen, 24, did have a history with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety as a repeat offender. Back in December of 2013, he was suspended two games for an illegal check to the heat of Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons:

As a result of today’s suspension, Cowen will miss Ottawa’s next three games: Wednesday in Anaheim, Thursday in Los Angeles and Saturday in San Jose.