Bayern Trupp » the second straight game

The Pittsburgh Penguins dealt a top scoring winger, improving their forward depth in the process. Numbers Game breaks down the trade sending James Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. The Predators Get: RW James Neal. Neal, 26, is a power forward who has been riding high while playing on Evgeni Malkins wing for the bulk of his time in Pittsburgh. Over the past three seasons, he has scored 88 goals, which ranks fifth, behind Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry and Phil Kessel. Hes also put up dominant possession stats, but a lot of that would figure to be related to the favourable ice time that he gets with Malkin. While the Predators are aiming to get more scoring in their game, they dont nearly have the playmakers to compare with Pittsburgh, so if Neal ends up playing with Mike Fisher, Colin Wilson or Calle Jarnkrok, none of them is particularly dominant offensively, so expect Neals production to dip. The question is, how far? Before he joined the Penguins, Neal had 131 points in 214 games with the Dallas Stars, a 50-point pace over an 82-game season. That should be about the baseline, with room to move up because Neal currently is a better player than he was from age 21 to 23, but we can also keep in mind that Neal has scored more than 60 points twice in his career. Neal is signed for four more years, at a cap hit of $5-million per season, so hes a reasonably-priced first line forward for the Predators. The Penguins Get: RW Patric Hornqvist and LW Nick Spaling. Hornqvist is a 27-year-old winger who has been one of the more prolific shooters in the game over the past five seasons. Hes a four-time 20-goal scorer who is most effective right around the crease, deflecting shots and knocking in rebounds. He played primarily with Mike Fisher last season (with Colin Wilson and Matt Cullen their most common linemates) and while that line was effective -- Hornqvists relative possession stats have always been really good -- its not quite as dynamic as what opportunities Hornqvist should have in Pittsburgh. If Neal is expected to see his scoring go down as a result of this trade, naturally Hornqvist should expect an uptick in his scoring numbers. He scored a career-high 53 points last season and while his on-ice shooting percentage was a career-best, it wasnt outrageous and is still below what is typical for wingers alongside Malkin or Crosby. Signed for four more years, at a cap hit of $4.25-million, Hornqvist comes a little cheaper than Neal, but not dramatically, so the Penguins have to expect that they are not going to lose much offensively. Spaling, 25, scored a career-best 32 points last season, playing a career-high 16:01 per game, and while he may not play quite as much in Pittsburgh, the hope is that he might help the Penguins bottom six forwards. However, Spalings possession stats have been rough for most of his time in Nashville, which doesnt suggest that hell be turning the tide on his own. A restricted free agent who earned $1.5-million last season, Spaling is looking at a raise, but the Penguins are probably not in position to give him a lot more money, but they need Spaling to give them more reliable minutes on the third line. It didnt come as a massive surprise that the Penguins moved Neal -- it has been rumoured as a possibility for some time -- but the return may be something of a surprise. The Penguins didnt save a bunch of money; rather, they found a couple of forwards with the hope that will help improve their depth up front. They sacrificed the most talented player in the deal, though, and that presents a certain amount of risk, particularly if Hornqvist doesnt produce at the same level. For a Nashville team that is making a concerted effort towards a more offensive style, Neal is a big addition, well worth the price they paid. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Ray Schalk Jersey . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). 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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Martin Jones NHL debut ended in a nine-round shootout, with the Anaheim Ducks high-scoring lineup taking turns bearing down on the Los Angeles Kings new goalie. Jones faced up to the pressure and turned away everything he saw, leading the Kings to a strong start to the Freeway Faceoff. Jones made 26 saves before his perfect shootout performance, and Dwight King scored the only shootout goal Tuesday night in the Kings 3-2 victory over the Ducks. Jeff Carter and captain Dustin Brown scored for the Kings, who have earned a point in 13 of their last 14 games. They barely escaped Orange County with a second point thanks to Jones, the 23-year-old AHL goalie who got a promotion after Jonathan Quicks injury. "To be honest, Ive been in that situation before," Jones said of the lengthy shootout. "Obviously, the shooters are a little bit of a higher level up here, but I just wanted to stay patient and stick with what Ive been doing down (in the AHL). Jones has spent nearly three weeks as the backup to Ben Scrivens, who started the Kings last 10 games after Quick went down with a groin injury. Scrivens has been one of the NHLs best netminders in Quicks absence, keeping Jones out of the crease until this back-to-back set. Jones was ready for the long-delayed opportunity, even against Anaheims vaunted collection of forwards. "Once you start the day and start going through your routine, everything is pretty familiar," Jones said. "And its the same game. It was intense, for sure. I wanted to make sure I was just prepared and as focused as I could be, and try to enjoy it a little bit if I could. It was a great experience, and something Ive dreamed about for a long time -- playing in an NHL game and getting a win. It was everything it was cracked up to be." Southern Californias two NHL teams started off their season series with an entertaining game befitting two clubs entering the night with their best combined record (35-14-8) in the two-decade, 113-game history of this head-to-head rivalry. Anaheim veteran Jonas Hiller made a season-high 49 saves and stopped Los Angeles first eight shootout attempts, but King scored on a wrist shot before Jones stopped Mathieu Perreault to end it. "Its good to see a kid play in his first game and get a win somehow," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. "Hes aa pretty poised guy when you watch him.dddddddddddd Hopefully this is something he can build on." Corey Perry and captain Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, still the only NHL team that hasnt lost in regulation at home. Anaheim is 10-0-2 at Honda Center, becoming just the third team to earn a point in its first 12 home games since the implementation of the shootout in 2005. "Its tough to lose it that way," said Hiller, who finished two saves shy of his career high. "I dont know if (King) missed the shot a little big, but it kind of caught me right between the pad and my glove. Its a tough one." Perry scored a tiebreaking power-play goal for Anaheim early in the third period, but Brown tied it for Los Angeles a few minutes later. Both teams had fruitless power plays during a hair-raising overtime, including a two-man advantage for Anaheim. "(Hiller) was tremendous," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He was the reason we got a point tonight. When you have the opportunity on your stick, whether you deserve to win the game or not, youve got to put it away. That killer instinct has been eluding us for a little bit now. Weve got to find it somewhere." The local rivals finally got their season series underway in front of a raucous bipartisan crowd. The 2012 Stanley Cup champion Kings and the 2013 Pacific Division champion Ducks are both serious title contenders again this year, and theyll meet at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25 for a landmark outdoor game. Perry put the Ducks ahead when he roofed a backhand off a pass from Penner, but just 3:29 later, Stoll won a faceoff to Brown, whose heavy shot escaped Hillers glove and trickled into Anaheims net. The goal was Browns first in seven games, just his second in 14 games. Los Angeles is in an 0-for-25 power-play slump over the past seven games. NOTES: Los Angeles scratched LW Daniel Carcillo and RW Linden Vey for the second straight game, dressing Matt Frattin and Colin Fraser. ... Anaheim scratched D Alex Grant, who scored a goal in his NHL debut in San Jose last Saturday. ... Los Angeles signed the 23-year-old Jones as an unrestricted free agent five years ago during his junior career in Calgary. He rose to a starting position for the Kings AHL affiliate in Manchester, but was stuck behind Quick and Jonathan Bernier, traded to Toronto last summer. ' ' '