Whats the Deal with Neal?

James Neal, more than just a funny face... Part of the trade between the Penguins and the Stars involving Alex Goligoski, and Matt Niskanen. Niskanen has been doing a great job on Defense in place of Gogo, but James Neal had a lot more expectations by press, fans, and the organization ahead of him. So where is the production many of the Penguins faithful have wondered. So far it's been in Overtime or the Shootout, not in regulation, though not for lack of trying however.

Many of the Penguins nation have been upset with his production so far, putting up only one goal and four assists in the 15 games he's played since being traded. During the first six games Neal was held pointless and went for a -3 for that stretch of time.Then in the game against the Sabres on March 8th Neal finally got one behind the net and got an assist to break his scoring slump. Yet afterward he has yet to be able to score a goal in regulation despite putting up three assists, this doesn't necessarily mean he isn't hungry for the net or failing to get the puck past netminders, it just isn't happening in regulation time.

Which brings me to the value of a James Neal powerforward type of wingman, he thrives under the pressure and capitalizes on the other teams mistakes and cracking under the same pressure. When the game is on the line he makes all the right split second decisions you would expect a big time name to make. The plays he makes to keep the puck in the offensive zone in overtime, or the passes to T.K and other players that lead to goals or near goals are a work of art. His work in the shootout though is earning him a reputation of being a goalie killer, even if it won't translate to the playoffs entirely.

Of the past four games the Penguins have been in, they have gone to the shootout. Neal has participated in all four, scoring in three of the four and twice to win the game for the Penguins. Once against Detroit, and Friday evening against the Devils. Another Penguins wingman picked up before the trade deadline, Alexei Kovalev, won the other two games in a shootout for the Penguins and has scored in three of the four as well, Kovalev too is not producing as many points as Pens fans would like. Take a look at this shot Neal puts past Brodeur of the Devils, sealing their playoff fate on Friday night:

James was brought here to be the wingman for Sidney Crosby and to end the discussions of "Wheres that winger for Sid?" The problem though is that he hasn't put up nearly enough points to warrant that position. To put it in perspective, in the past 9 games Chris Kunitz has come back from injury and scored four goals and five assists, with a five game point streak during the stretch, where as Neal has only contributed three assists. It's his body of work you don't see in highlights that Neal shows his value, shots that don't get elevated enough, or just get barely blocked by the goaltender or even worse, ping off the crossbar. His ability to battle downlow and along the boards for the puck, his excellent passing ability and puck control, we forget these things when looking at just the numbers.

It's difficult too for Neal being the biggest target on the first line, that puts him on the other teams Defensive spotlight. Without a Sidney Crosby or an Evgeni Malkin out there to take the defense away from the wingmen it's a lot harder to get production from those forward positions. This is why Kunitz has more goals and points than Neal so far, he isn't under as tough of a defensive matchup. Teams do not fear the first line of this team, they merely acknowledge it's strengths and weaknesses, until James is out of the defensive spotlight he will continue to struggle to put up the points he was used to in Dallas, where Brad Richards took most of the attention away from the wingmen and allowed Neal to do his dirty work.

Many fans were comparing Neal to Poni' the trade that well, should of never been. The one blemish on the trading reputation of GM Ray Shero. Those fans were too quick to jump to conclusions in my opinion, as Neal has played with four different centers since coming to the team, and will play for a fifth different center if(when) Sidney Crosby comes back to the team healthy. Which could be as soon as a few games prior to the end of the regular season.Without being able to build up any chemistry with his line, how can we expect him to produce so quickly?

The all too obvious truth is that no one knows how James Neal and Sidney Crosby are going to work with each other, but after seeing Sid in practices getting that stick handling and passing and shooting going again the rest of the NHL should be scared of the prospect of a 18-87-72 line or even a 18-87-14 line. I'm of the opinion that if Neal gets time to work with Sid, with his heavy shot and his hockey intelligence the lamp will be lit time and time again and Neal will be a welcome long term addition to this Penguins team that is now going to the Playoffs for the fourth straight year after suffering through very... very dark times prior to the lockout.