Pending UFA's in final year of their contracts stepping up for Penguins

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Who have arguably been the Penguins top performers at the forward position over the last handful of regular season games and into the playoffs? It's been a group of pending unrestricted free agents for the Penguins, most notably role players Max Talbot, Arron Asham, Craig Adams and Mike Rupp.

Many of them are showing their value in several different areas:

Craig Adams the Penguins gritty 4th line center, has posted a team high 56.5% in the face-off circle during the post-season, well over his regular season percentage of 41.7 %.

Adams picked up his playing near the end of the regular season, collecting three points (1G-2A) over final the four regular-season games and his offensive production has carried into the playoffs, scoring Pittsburgh’s lone goal in Game 2 vs. Tampa Bay.

Adams also leads the Penguins with 12 postseason hits and a plus-3 rating (tied). He has 6 playoff goals with the Penguins in 40 games.