Nothing personal, of course, they just want the charismatic Colorado Avalanche forward to be traded for what might be his final shot at a Stanley Cup title.

The 39-year-old Iginla is receptive to any sort of deal ahead of the March 1 NHL trade deadline. He’s even spoken with general manager Joe Sakic about the situation, since the Avs are well out of the playoff picture.

Iginla has only seven goals in the final season of his three-year deal. He’s uncertain how much longer he will play.

”Iggy wants one last shot at the playoffs. Everybody in this dressing room, around the league, feels the same way,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. ”We’d love to see somebody like that win.”

Granted, Iginla’s probably not the first player teams inquire about when they place a call to the last-place Avalanche. That would be Landeskog or Matt Duchene.

But the Avalanche have a recent history of moving players to help them out – like when the team dealt Cody McLeod to Nashville last month.

”If he’s traded and has a chance to make a Cup run, he’s going to bring an amazing amount of experience to whatever team he’s traded to,” Duchene said. ”I’m hoping he can win a Stanley Cup this year. It would be pretty amazing to see that.”

This has been a trying season for an Avalanche team expecting big things even with the sudden departure of coach Patrick Roy in August. Their longest win streak is two games and they’re a league-worst 7-20-2 at home.

Grumbling, though, is far from Iginla’s style.

”Even when things are not going his way, he’s trying new things to find something that works,” Landeskog said. ”That goes to show what kind of determination he has.”

Iginla hasn’t given trade possibilities all that much thought. It’s wasted energy for something out of his control. He’s only been traded once near the deadline – when he went from Calgary to Pittsburgh on March 28, 2013.

”From my point of view, it’s nice to just focus on games, enjoy that part, enjoy competing,” said Iginla, a first-round pick by Dallas in 1995 before being shipped to Calgary that December. ”I might not be moving at the deadline. I don’t know.

”I’ve enjoyed it here and enjoyed the different relationships and getting to know the guys. It’s a great city. Lots of positives. We’ll see what happens.”

Iginla is currently 14th in league history for most games played (1,532), 16th in goals scored (618), 34th in points (1,289) and eighth in game-winners (97).

What’s more, he’s had 17 seasons with 20 or more goals, played in numerous All-Star Games and won two Olympic gold medals for Team Canada.

The only thing missing from his resume is a Stanley Cup title. He got close with the Flames in 2003-04, when they lost to Tampa Bay in Game 7.

”It would be awesome to have that final feather in his cap,” said Duchene, who lockers right next to Iginla at the practice facility. ”It’s cool to see the thirst and hunger he has for the game and for scoring goals. He’s like a little kid like that. I love to see it. I’m like that. I hope I’m still like that at his age.”

To think, Iginla wanted to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Grant Fuhr, and become a goaltender. As a youngster, Iginla even got goalie pads one year for Christmas.

”I thought I really loved it,” Iginla said. ”Then, we’re crushing teams and you’re stopping only six shots. I was like, `No.’ That was the end of that dream. I wanted to be in the action.”

He always has been, too. For how much longer, that’s difficult to say.

”Whether it’s this year, next year, I don’t know,” Iginla said. ”But we all want to be part of the playoffs.”

NOTES: Defenseman Erik Johnson said he plans to play Saturday against Buffalo as he returns from a broken leg that’s sidelined him since early December. … F Rene Bourque (head) won’t travel with the team to Nashville for a game Thursday night.

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The Avs have accumulated a league-worst 19 points through 23 games in coach Jared Bednar’s first season at the helm. They’re missing their captain, top defenseman and a consistent scoring punch as they tumble farther behind the Central Division leaders.

”There’s no question we’ve been pressing a little bit and pushing,” said Iginla, whose team begins a four-game trip Tuesday night in Nashville. ”We know the importance, because we don’t want to dig ourselves too big of a hole. We’ve just got to make sure we’re as sharp as we can be.”

Iginla shelved his old stick after scoring just one goal in his last 15 contests. They early returns on this particularly curved model are favorable, too. He beat Calvin Pickard with a shot in practice that had the backup goaltender gushing later on.

”I’m due. I’m due for a change,” said the 39-year-old Iginla, who’s scored 614 career goals and sits 11 away from tying Hall of Fame forward/Avalanche GM Joe Sakic for 15th place on the all-time list. ”I’d like to get contributing here, production-wise, for the group.”

The team has scored just 49 times this season, which is among the lowest in the league. They’re generating 29.2 shots per game – five less than NHL leader Pittsburgh.

The scoring chances have certainly been there for speedy forward Nathan MacKinnon, who had a league-high 61 shots in November. But he’s just not cashing in at the moment, with only four goals last month. He has five for the season and 10 assists.

”It’s a matter of putting the puck in the net, because once you get hot, they tend to start going in,” said MacKinnon, who a signed $44.1 million, seven-year deal in the offseason. ”It will turn for me.”

This could help turn the team’s luck around as well – captain Gabriel Landeskog is nearing a return after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. He skated Monday, but will miss Tuesday’s game.

”Landy is progressing,” Bednar said. ”He’s felt better every day for about the last three of four days.”

Still, the Avalanche will be without defenseman Erik Johnson for at least six-to-eight weeks after he broke his leg while blocking a shot against Dallas on Saturday. He’s been a big presence for Colorado this season with 10 assists.

For Bednar, the most puzzling aspect of Colorado’s struggles has been the inconsistency. One night, it could be the power play. The next, maybe the goaltending.

”Part of the reason we’re going through this and we’re neck deep in it right now is because it’s something different beating us every night,” said Bednar, who took over when Patrick Roy surprisingly stepped aside in August. ”It’s not the same thing. You cure one thing and get better at it and something else pops up.

”We’re lacking that unity, that consistency, that togetherness that you need in order to win a hockey game.”

Their play at home hasn’t helped. The Avs went 0-4-1 on their recent homestand to fall to 4-8-1 at Pepsi Center this season.

Heading out on the road might be the ideal thing to clear their heads.

”We have a chance to get a fresh start,” MacKinnon said. ”There’s some desperation, for sure, to be better. But we’re not going to be stressed. That would be the worst thing we could do.”

NOTES: Colorado recalled D Cody Goloubef from San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Asked what Goloubef brought, Bednar said: ”Well, he brings us a healthy defenseman right now.” … D Fedor Tyutin (lower body) will travel with the team and could play Tuesday. … Goaltender Semyon Varlamov will start in goal at Nashville.

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“I’m not talking about anything ahead of Game 5,” the Pittsburgh captain said when asked about a potential Eastern Conference final against the Boston Bruins.

But after the Penguins’ 7-3 victory Wednesday night, it’s hard to imagine Crosby and his teammates aren’t starting to think about facing the Bruins, who are up 3-0 over the New York Rangers.

Jarome Iginla and James Neal each scored twice, Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis added goals, and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves. Down 2-1 after the first period, the Penguins scored twice in a 40-second span early in the second and added four goals in the first 10 minutes of the third.

Milan Michalek, Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson scored for Ottawa. Senators goalie Craig Anderson was benched after Pittsburgh’s sixth goal, and Robin Lehner finished the game.

“There was a sense like, ‘OK, this might take as many shots as we can muster to break this guy.’ And fortunately, we kept on that mindset,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “It was a matter of, ‘We are going to have to fire anything and everything we can at this guy to get one by him.'”

Game 5 is Friday night in Pittsburgh.

“I know what we’re going to do,” Alfredsson said. “We’re going to go out and play one hell of a game. That doesn’t worry me at all. We never quit and that’s not going to stop now. We know the odds are against us in every way, but we never quit and that’s going to continue.”

But Alfredsson also conceded that the Senators faced long odds of rallying against the top-seeded Penguins.

“Probably not,” Alfredsson said, according to NHL.com. “[Pittsburgh’s] depth and our play right now … it doesn’t look too good.

“When you look at what we did, it wasn’t good enough. Does that mean [Pittsburgh] was good? Did we make them good? Who really cares? From our point of view, we didn’t manage the puck [well], we didn’t execute our passes, and subsequently, we got punished in the neutral zone. We turned way too many pucks over and gave them some freebies. It would have been nice to have the lead for a little bit longer, but now we’re back on our heels again. We didn’t shut them down when it matters.”

The 40-year-old captain was seen retrieving the puck at the end of the game, NHL.com reported, but Alfredsson insisted that the puck was a memento for his family and not a sign that he was considering retirement at season’s end.

Senators coach Paul MacLean didn’t take a single question after the game. Instead, he held up the scoresheet and said: “I think everything’s right here. It’s 7-3. See you in Pittsburgh. We’re going to Pittsburgh and we’re coming to play. Have a good night.”

The Senators, coming off a double-overtime victory Sunday night in Game 3, opened the scoring on Michalek’s short-handed goal at 2:29 of the first period. With defenseman Sergei Gonchar in the penalty box, Alfredsson fed the puck up the middle to a streaking Michalek, who broke through the defense and beat Vokoun low on the glove side for Ottawa’s second short-handed goal of the series.

It was the Senators’ first lead of the series. It wouldn’t last.

Neal tied it with 5:04 left in the period, picking up the loose puck in the slot and putting it in the back of the net. Turris put Ottawa back in front off a rebound with 3:45 left in the first.

Pittsburgh tied it early in the second when Kunitz got behind the defense and went in alone to beat Anderson. Less than a minute later, Anderson gave up a rebound on Kris Letang’s shot that landed on the tape of Iginla’s stick to make it 3-2.

Neal started the third-period flurry with a power-play goal at 1:59. Dupuis added a short-handed goal at 8:07, Crosby followed at 8:39, and Iginla scored on a power play at 9:53.

Alfredsson finished the scoring with a late power-play goal for his 100th career playoff point.

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The Hurricanes will receive a sixth-round draft pick if the Penguins win the Stanley Cup this year, a source told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun.

The acquisition of Jokinen is the latest improvement made recently by the Penguins, who also have added Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray ahead of Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline.

Jokinen, who turned 30 on Monday, has six goals and five assists in 33 games this season, his fourth full campaign with the Hurricanes.

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford confirmed the trade on his official Twitter account.

An eight-year veteran, Jokinen has 121 goals and 225 assists in 569 career games with Carolina, Tampa Bay and Dallas. He enjoyed his best season in 2009-10, when he scored a career-high 30 goals with the Hurricanes.

“We thank Jussi for his great service to our organization during the last five years,” Rutherford tweeted. “This deal is important for our team’s financial flexibility moving forward.”

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Pittsburgh, gearing for a run at the Stanley Cup, welcomed star forward Jarome Iginla to the lineup, but lost Sidney Crosby early in the first period after he was hit in the mouth with a puck.

Still, the Penguins managed to overcome the injury to Crosby on Saturday for their 15th straight victory as Matt Cooke and James Neal scored third-period goals during a 2-0 victory against the New York Islanders.

“It’s very tough to see that happen to anybody on the ice, but this is your teammate and Sid’s such a great player,” Iginla said. “It’s a very, very unfortunate play.”

Tomas Vokoun made 35 saves as Pittsburgh moved within two wins of the NHL record of 17 straight victories set by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins.

“The shutout is nice, but preserving the winning streak is even better,” Vokoun said. “It’s been great.”

It might be tough without Crosby.

Coach Dan Bylsma said Crosby lost several teeth and needed oral surgery. He did not know if Crosby would miss additional time and wasn’t sure if the injury affected his jaw.

“I just know he had some issues with his teeth,” Bylsma said. “Just from the replay I know that.”

Crosby, with 15 goals and 56 points, has enjoyed a resurgence this season, leading Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos by 10 points in the NHL scoring race.

Another head injury for Crosby, however, has to concern the Penguins.

Crosby has missed considerable time the past two years because of concussions. He was sidelined the final 41 games in 2011 and the Stanley Cup playoffs, and skipped most of the 2012 regular season as symptoms lingered.

“I think every time that type of thing happens to a player you think about it,” Bylsma said.

Crosby skated off the ice with a towel covering his mouth after a slap shot by teammate Brooks Orpik deflected off a stick and hit the NHL scoring leader in the face. Crosby, who immediately fell to the ice and tossed his stick in the air, did not return.

“When you see the replay, he had no chance to move,” Iginla said. “Guys were definitely checking to see how he was doing.”

Pittsburgh went 15-0-0 in March, the first perfect month in league history. The Penguins also won a franchise-best 12th straight at home.

The Penguins, with a win at home against Buffalo on Tuesday, will have a chance to tie the record of 17 straight wins the following night at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

As it stands, they’re tied with the 1981-82 Islanders for the second longest winning streak in NHL history.

“It’s exciting for our team, exciting for the players,” Neal said. “We want to keep the streak going.”

Iginla, a six-time All-Star, was acquired by the Penguins from Calgary early Thursday and he arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday night. He was in the lineup a game earlier than originally anticipated.

The move for Iginla, who waived his no-trade clause to come to Pittsburgh, was the Penguins’ third big deal in a week. Pittsburgh also obtained former Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow and defenseman Doug Murray from San Jose.

The record crowd at Consol Energy Center responded with a huge ovation when Iginla was announced as part of the starting lineup.

Iginla, who played right wing for most of his career in Calgary, skated the left side on a line with reigning NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin and Neal, an All-Star forward.

The excitement quickly turned to concern 1:28 into the game when Crosby left the ice.

Pittsburgh appeared stunned without its captain, and the Islanders took advantage, getting the first eight shots of the game, but came up empty against Vokoun.

Vokoun earned his second consecutive shutout. Vokoun who hasn’t been scored on in more than 162 minutes, relieved injured starter Marc-Andre Fleury during a 1-0 victory Tuesday against Montreal.

Vokoun’s biggest save came in the third period, stopping Islanders speedy forward Michael Grabner on a breakaway.

Cooke scored his sixth goal of the season at 8:10, picking up the rebound from defenseman Deryk Engelland’s shot at the top of the crease, and firing a spinning shot behind Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

“I went to the net and the puck hit me in the stomach,” Cooke said. “I stayed with it, tried to settle it and get it on net.”

Neal scored at 13:04, firing a wrist shot past Nabokov. It was his 18th goal.

The Islanders entered Saturday’s game tied with the New York Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Islanders, who handed Pittsburgh one of four losses on home ice, ended up losing for the third time during the Penguins’ 15-game winning streak.

“They’ve proven they can play without Crosby or Malkin, so it’s not so much that,” Islanders forward John Tavares said. “It’s more about us and executing and doing what we need to do to win hockey games.”

The Penguins received the biggest boost from their penalty kill.

Chris Kunitz, the team’s second-leading scorer, was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct late in the second period for checking Islanders center Josh Bailey from behind.

Bailey initiated contact, but Kunitz got the better of the play, sending Bailey dangerously into the boards. Bailey did not return.

“I saw the hit, I’m not going to comment on the hit,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “Fortunately (Bailey) is OK, but obviously stiff.”

The major penalty turned into a two-man advantage for the Islanders three minutes later when Orpik was whistled for tripping, but Pittsburgh successfully killed off both penalties.

“We had blocked shots, clears, we won some battles at the net,” Bylsma said. “That’s a long time to kill a 5-on-3 against a really good power play team.”

“Every time we get a big kill, it’s the loudest our crowd has been,” Cooke said. “The crowd was intense and it definitely energized us.”

Game notes

The Penguins have allowed nine goals in their past 11 games. … Paul Martin will have surgery Sunday on a broken bone and will miss six weeks. The Penguins are already without Kris Letang, the NHL’s leading scorer among defenseman, who is out seven to 10 days with a broken toe. … Orpik appeared in his 621st career game, tying Ron Stackhouse for fifth on the team’s games played list and first among defensemen.

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