Penguins recall Conner; Crosby gets assist - 04-23-10

The Penguins have recalled forward Chris Conner (right) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Conner appeared in eight NHL games this regular season and recorded three points (two goals, one assist) and was a minus-1.

Conner, 25, was the AHL Penguins' second leading scorer in the regular season with 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists) in 59 games.

A former player for the Stars, Conner does have one game of Stanley Cup playoff experience. He appeared in one contest for Dallas in the 2008 Western Conference final.

Note: Sidney Crosby was awarded a secondary assist on Kris Letang's first period goal in Game 5. The assist was orginally awarded to Bill Guerin.

EN Says: This is an interesting call-up. We're thinking Conner is probably just going to be a member of the "Black Aces" just to be around the team for experience in a playoff situation. But of all the players they could have recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he's probably the closest to his ceiling in terms of development. In other words, he's probably as good as he's going to get. Players like Nick Johnson or Eric Tangradi still have light years ahead of them in terms of development. Would they not benefit a little bit more from a move like this than Conner?

Soooo... there is a slight suspicion on our behalf about this move. Was Conner called up for more than just cleaning up pucks at the end of the morning skate?

Regarding the Crosby assist, Guerin totally whiffed on a shot attempt in the slot and the puck slid over to Letang who buried his chance. We wondered during the game how Guerin even got an assist to begin with.

Crosby now has 14 points in the series. The Penguins' franchise record for a playoff series is 17. Mario Lemieux set it in a 1992 Patrick Division semifinal series against the Capitals.

(Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)