The Penguins have recently beaten the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. Last night, they hung in there with the Tampa Bay Lightning despite going 0/5 on the power play.
The Pens are a good hockey team.
In order to beat those teams in a seven game series, the Pens need to get healthy, and Jim Rutherford needs to make a trade for a top-six forward.
Earlier this week on 105.9 the X, Jim Rutherford spoke about the deadline and said, “There’s not as many guys (as in years past) on the market place right now. So the prices are a little higher than I’d like. I‘ll continue to try to do something prior to the deadline on a daily basis. If the right guy comes along at the right price, we’ll be on it.”
“If we don’t do anything, we like our team,” Rutherford concluded.
I like the team, too. I just don't love their chances in a series against the better teams in the East without them making a move.
Tampa has seven players who have scored 13 or more goals. They're deep, skilled, fast, and have great goaltending. They're also a sneaky physical bunch.
Washington and Boston are similarly deep, and each of those teams is skilled.
The Penguins need to get Kahun, Bjugstad, and Dumoulin back. On top of that, they need to add a player to help make up for the loss of Jake Guentzel.
Jake is irreplaceable. A 40-goal-scorer isn't on the market. Still, acquiring a top flight left wing to play alongside Sidney Crosby would improve the Penguins top end scoring, and lengthen the lineup.
When playing teams like Boston, Washington, and Tampa, it's all hands on deck.
Go make it happen GMJR.