Empty Netter Assists - 04-21-10
Playoff Stuff
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "We actually took a lot of dumb penalties." - Brooks Orpik being unfailingly honest.
-The Ottawa Citizen's recap. "When we turned the puck over, it was in the back of our net, and that’s what good teams do." - Senators coach Cory Clouston.
-The Associated Press' recap. "This was by far the wildest game I’ve been a part of in the playoffs." - Chris Kunitz.
-NHL.com's recap. "I think it was a big momentum changer for us." - Dan Byslma on Maxime Talbot's goal.
-Highlights:
-The Senators being sportsmanlike:
-Senators forward Chris Neil being popular:
-Senators defenseman Andy Sutton leveling Talbot:
-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage was solid:
-Happy times for the Senators. Not so much for Ottawa's Pascal Leclaire:
-Craig Adams laying into Andy Sutton:
-Happy times for Matt Cooke:
-Ottawa's Mike Fisher invading Marc-Andre Fleury's personal space:
-Alexei Ponikarovsky letting one loose by Ottawa's Erik Karlsson:
-We're not goaltending experts (much to the dismay of Andy Sutton), but we're not sure Ottawa's Brian Elliott played the right angle here:
-Happy times for Talbot:
-Chris Kunitz has five points in four games these playoffs.
-Welcome back Brent Johnson.
-He's no Brooks Orpik, but Kris Letang has a physical element to his game.
-"We have to learn from that second period." - Sergei Gonchar.
-"I don’t think we’re good enough to have just average goaltending." - Clouston.
Capitals-Canadiens
-Trailing the Capitals in the series, 2-1, the Canadiens are expected to turn to Carey Price as their starter in net for Game 4.
-Canadiens defenseman Jaroslav Spacek will be a game-time decision due to an undisclosed injury.
-The Habs have lost five consecutive home playoff games.
-Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore doesn't seem too bothered by the taunts from his former fans in Montreal.
-The Capitals are trying to get their miss-firing power play back on track. It is 0 for 14 so far this series.
Devils-Flyers
-Jeff Carter (above) had two goals and an assist for the Flyers in a 4-1 win against the Devils. Daniel Briere added a goal and two assists for Philadelphia while teammate Chris Pronger recorded two assists. Brian Boucher made 30 saves in the victory which gave Philadelphia a 3-1 series lead.
-Check out this ridiculous save New Jersey's Martin Brodeur made on Philadelphia's Simon Gagne:
-Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo being popular:
-Happy times for Boucher and Kimmo Timonen:
-Happy times for the Flyers:
-Brodeur getting low:
-Sad times for the Devils:
-Carter and Gagne will not be available for Game 5 due to foot injuries.
-"Win Game 5 and that puts the pressure on them." - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner on his team's hopes for a comeback.
-The Devils are on the verge of being eliminated in the first round for the third consecutive season.
Sabres-Bruins
-Sabres forward Paul Gaustad guaranteed a win in Game 4.
-With forward Thomas Vanek dealing with an ankle injury, the Sabres recalled forward Cody McCormick from Portland of the AHL.
-So far this series, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been better than Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller.
-Bruins forward Marc Savard passed a neuro-psych test which allows him to resume practicing.
Sharks-Avalanche
-Another night. Another thrilling game in this series. Joe Pavelski had an overtime goal and an assist for the Sharks in a 2-1 win at Colorado. Ryane Clowe (above, with Pavelski and Colorado's T.J. Galiardi) recorded two assists while Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves in the victory which tied the series, 2-2. Craig Anderson made 43 saves for the Avalanche.
-Pavelski's goal:
-Check out this stupid late hit Galiardi gave to San Jose's Devin Setoguchi:
-Happy times for the Sharks. Not so much for Colorado fans:
-San Jose's Manny Malhotra cared not for Anderson's personal space:
-"The bottom line now is we have to go in there and win a game." - Anderson on having to go back to San Jose.
-"The only thing that matters
to me is winning the series, and then I can officially turn the page on
that." - Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle on his own goal in Game 3.
-Re-acquired at the trade deadline, forward Stephane Yelle has been a vital part of Colorado's penalty killing.
Blackhawks-Predators
-David Legwand had a goal and two assists for the Predators in a 4-1 win against the Blackhawks. Teammate Steve Stullivan added two assists while Pekka Rinne (above) made 26 saves in the victory which gave Nashville a 2-1 series lead.
-Check out this save Rinne had to make after a little Fleuryian stickhandling:
-Check out this penalty shot goal by Nashville's Martin Erat:
-Check out this nice hit by Nashville's Francis Bouillon stuck on Chicago's Colin Fraser:
-Check out this photo of Sullivan and Joel Ward celebrating:
-Sullivan and Chicago's Kris Versteeg hugged it out:
-Look at how high the first row of seats are at Bridgestone Arena.
-Chicago's Antti Niemi had issues with this puck:
-A talking-to from coach Barry Trotz appeared to wake up Legwand.
-Forward Joel Ward sounds a lot like Nashville's version of Maxime Talbot.
-"They were definitely the harder working team and more desperate." - Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the Predators.
-A big hit early in the first period by Predators defenseman Shea Weber against Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane set the tone.
-If you can imagine such a thing, Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa has been somewhat invisible these playoffs.
Canucks-Kings
-Canucks coach Alain Vigneault called out a few of his players specifically.
-Three seasons after being a free agent signing, Kings forward Michal Handzus is starting to pay off.
Coyotes-Red Wings
-Jimmy Howard made 29 saves and led the Red Wings to a 3-0 shutout of the Coyotes. Henrik Zetterberg had two goals for Detroit with tied the series, 2-2. Ilya Bryzgalov made 32 saves for Phoenix.
-Check out this goal by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk:
-Detroit's Darren Helm > Phoenix's Zybnek Michalek:
-Check out this cheap shot to the head Detroit's Johan Franzen gave to Phoenix's Sami Lepisto:
-Happy times for the Red Wings. Not so much for Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov:
-Happy times for Datsyuk:
-Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi being popular:
-Coyotes forward and former Penguin Robert Lang fending off Helm:
-"When I woke up (Tuesday) morning, for some reason, I knew it was gonna be a great day." - Howard.
-"I would've stopped it with my face if I had to." - Howard on a save he made despite losing his mask:
-A good look at Howard staring down the puck sans lid:
-"I don't think anybody in this room expected this to go in five games." - Derek Morris.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Penguins
-The Staals are brothers. But only one of them is in line to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Central Division
-The Predators signed forward Linus Klasen to a one-year, two-way contract.
Adams Division
-Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Dallas' Brad Richards and Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis were named as finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
-Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony is a hockey fan.
(Photos: Penguins/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images and Canadian Press; Devils/Flyers-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images and Matt Slocum/Associated Press; Blackhawks/Predators-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press and Andy Lyons/Getty Images; Sharks/Avalanche-Marc Piscotty/Getty Images; Coyotes-Red Wings-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)