If you would have told me before the season that with four games left that the Penguins’ number one center would be Jussi Jokinen, I would have said you were crazy. Then again, if you would have told me he would be the most productive player that got via trade this season I would have said the same thing. Well looking at the stats and everything you can make an argument that both those statements are true.
With a healthy Penguin squad, though, he becomes your third or fourth best option down the middle. But since Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin are both trying to get healthy for the playoffs and are out of the lineup, Jokinen has stepped up and played exceptionally well in their absence. For the most part, his wing mates have been changing, but his game has certainly not been.
Since coming over in a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes on April 3rd, Jokinen has scored four goals and recorded four assists in the six games that he’s dressed for. That’s a lot better than the production he had in his 33 games with the Canes in which he only had 11 points.
I’m not saying that the other pieces the Pens got are performing bad, I’m just saying compared to the expectations that Jokinen had coming in, he is definitely out-performing them. In nine games with the Penguins, Jarome Iginla has lit the lamp three times and added four helpers. That is without the likes of Crosby or Malkin centering his line, and without them on the top powerplay unit. Although it seems like Iginla and Kris Letang have had some pretty good chemistry on the powerplay.
Brendan Morrow is starting to find his stride in Pittsburgh at just the right time. Before coming to Pittsburgh, he only recorded 11 points in 29 games with the Dallas Stars. In 11 games with the Penguins he has nine points, so it’s easy to see that a change of scenery and the fact that the Penguins were just a better team helped his game out immensely. You can’t even compare Douglas Murray’s production with that of Jokinen’s because they are two different positions. But Murray is playing some great hockey for the team, and has fit in well.
All three of these guys that the Pens acquired before the deadline have done something for the team that Jokinen hasn’t, FIGHT. Murray dropped the gloves against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Morrow fought the ever-so hated PK Subban of the Montreal Canadiens, and most recently Iginla was fed up with the cheap shots that the Boston Bruins kept giving him, so he decided to fight Nathan Horton. All of these guys have the size and capability to stick up for themselves and that’s why they did so. Jokinen on the other hand isn’t known as a fighter, and it certainly isn’t part of his game. Fighting is an easy way to gain respect amongst your teammates, especially if you are a new guy. But I think that there is plenty of respect for Jokinen in that locker room just from his performance for the team in the absence of their best players.
Photo Credits: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
