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. Daryl Johnston Womens Jersey . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. Michael Gallup Womens Jersey . In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. 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Chara created a minor stir by leaving the Bruins early so he could take on the duties of flag bearer for his native Slovakia at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics. Boston split two games (1-0-1) without Chara in the lineup, but the reigning Eastern Conference champions still entered the break with a seven-point lead over Tampa Bay for the Atlantic Division lead. While Chara and Team Slovakia were knocked out in the qualification playoffs by the rival Czechs, the Bruins did have a representative win a medal of every kind in Sochi. Patrice Bergeron won gold with Team Canada, fellow Bruins forward Loui Eriksson picked up a silver for Sweden and goaltender Tuukka Rask earned a bronze medal with Finland. Now the trick for Bostons Olympians is to try and adapt quickly to the grind of the NHL season, and to get back their sleep schedule back to normal. "Im sure were going to feel it for a few days; theres no secret (to it)," said Chara after Mondays practice in Boston. "Youre on anywhere from a nine to twelve-hour time difference and you know, you felt it today. I felt it for sure today, a little bit of jet lag and its going to probably take a few daays.dddddddddddd" Boston won three of its last four games before the Olympics and closed its pre-break schedule with a 7-2 rout of Ottawa on Feb. 8. It marked the fourth time in eight games that the Bruins had scored six or more goals in a game. The Bruins will play five of their first eight games after the break on the road, where the club is just 14-10-2 this season compared to a stellar 23-6-2 mark on home ice. Boston is 2-1-0 against the Sabres this season with two meetings left in the season series. The Bs have three wins over their last five trips to Buffalo. The Sabres, who are last in the NHL with only 40 points on the season, had lost four straight before returning from the Olympic break with a 3-2 win over visiting Carolina on Tuesday. Christian Ehrhoff scored the winner with 43.4 seconds to play to lift the Sabres in the NHLs first tilt after the Winter Games. Ehrhoff also scored the first goal of the game, while Tyler Ennis added a marker for the Sabres. Ryan Miller stopped 36 shots to secure the victory. "It had to do a lot with Miller again," Ehrhoff said. "He made some huge saves for us. He was very sharp. He was our best player again tonight." Buffalo is opening its post-Olympics schedule on a three-game homestand. The Sabres, who are 10-17-5 at First Niagara this season, had lost eight straight as the host before posting Tuesdays win over the Hurricanes. ' ' '