The Fifth Liners

The Stanley Cup playoffs will soon be over, that means it'll soon be time to announce the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy , awarded to the playoffs' Most Valuable Player. Minty fresh breath. Is the Pittsburgh Penguins' forward Phil Kessel the skater who deserves to win the 2016 Conn Smythe? Kessel has taken a lot of stick over the last few seasons, mainly because he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team capable of making good players look bad.  As many a playoff bracket will attest, the Pens' march to the final took many by surprise. That success owes a lot to Phil Kessel. The former Bruin and Maple Leaf has (so far) played 23 playoff games, scored 10 goals and assisted on 12 more. Statistically he's the man driving the Pens' success, Kessel is leading the team on points with 22. Line-mate Nick Bonino, another contender for the Conn Smythe, has 18 points.  Speaking of which; the Hagelin - Bonino -Kessel line has contributed 20 goals i...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have parted ways with coach Mike Johnston and assistant coach Gary Agnew. It was announced today that Johnston and Agnew would be given a whole load more time to spend with their families over the holiday period, after GM Jim Rutherford relieved them of their coaching duties in Pittsburgh, while dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge, I assume. The Penguins have lost six of their last 10 games, three of those in overtime and the team definitely isn't playing up to its potential. Evgeni Malkin is playing well, as is off-season addition Phil Kessel . But that's not enough, the team are ranked 26th on the power play and 27th on team shooting and goals per game. Times aren't good when the Columbus Blue Jackets are scoring more. Superstar Sidney Crosby's  season has been forgettable by his own, usually phenomenal standards, only six goals so far. Johnston took over for the 2014/15 season, after former coach Dan Bylsma was shown the door, and the team fin...