Empty Netters Assists - 5-27-09
Playoff Stuff
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. The Penguins don't care who they play in the Stanley Cup final. They just want to win.
-The Raleigh News & Observer's recap. This isn't how the Hurricanes wanted to go out.
-The Associated Press' recap. Sidney Crosby saved his most stunning move for after the game.
-NHL.com's recap. "We forced them to play our way." - Brooks Orpik on the Hurricanes.
-Mike Lange's goal calls.
"Last year, obviously, we didn't have the result we wanted and we figured we'd touch it this year." - Sidney Crosby (above with Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar) on why he decided to grope the Prince of Wales Trophy.
-Cool shot of Crosby with the Trophy among his teammates:
-"OMG:"
-We're pretty sure this kid had more velocity on this shot than Talbot had on his:
-"That's why they're Malkin and Crosby." - Craig Adams.
-Are the Penguins the best team in the NHL?
-The final minute of play, handshakes and trophy presentation:
-Postgame interviews with Crosby, Bill Guerin and Marc-Andre Fleury:
-The Staals are brothers.
-Carolina coach Paul Maurice compared Malkin to Jaromir Jagr.
-Assuming the Red Wings advance, will the Penguins be able to handle their crease-crashers?
-The scene outside Gate 3 at Mellon Arena.
-Game 4 slide show.
-Pittsburgh's a hockey tahn.
-So... Chicago or Detroit?
-Shelly Anderson's chat transcript from yesterday.
Hurricanes
-Goaltender Cam Ward finally lost a playoff series.
-Carolina has a lot of question marks going into this offseason.
-After tough series against the Devils and Bruins, the Hurricanes were just worn out by the time they faced the Penguins.
-Because Versus couldn't break away from Brian Engblom or Keith Jones yaking away, we can only show you CBC's coverage of Bill Cowher doing his thing with the Hurricanes' siren:
Red Wings
-Forward Pavel Datsyuk (foot) and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom ("lower body) were held out of practice yesterday.
-Forward Johan Franzen is a mean guy.
-Injuries have forced defenseman Jonathan Ericsson to become a valuable player.
-Only in Detroit could Fins and Swedes get along.
Blackhawks
-"We have to get better, myself first." - goaltender Cristobal Huet (right).
-The Blackhawks ain't quitting.
-Forward Martin Havlat (head) and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin ("lower body") skipped Tuesday's practice.
-Much like the Penguins last season, the Blackhawks are learning some hard lessons at the hands of the Red Wings.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Penguins
-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Kurtis McLean signed with Rauma Lukko, a team in Finland.
-Former AHL Penguins coach Glenn Patrick will coach Wyoming Seminary, a private school in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Atlantic Division
-Former Flyers forward Peter Zezel died at the age of 44 following a long battle with a blood disorder. In a career that spanned 15 seasons, Zezel appeared in 873 games with the Flyers, Blues, Capitals, Maple Leafs, Stars, Devils and Canucks:
-The Rangers signed defenseman Mike Del Zotto, their 2008 first-round pick, to a three-year entry-level deal.
Southeast Division
-The agent for Capitals forward Sergei Fedorov denied his cliet agreed to terms with a team in the KHL.
-An accused steroid dealer in Florida claims he solid substances to members of the Washington Capitals.
Central Division
-The Blues signed forward Jay McClement to a three-year deal worth $4.3 million.
Northwest DIvision
-Flames general manager Darryl Sutter named himself the best candidate to replace fired coach Mike Keenan.
Patrick Division
-NHLPA chief Paul Kelly created arguably the greatest term ever when he used "turtle wrestling" while complaining about Versus.
(Photos: Malkin, Crosby and Gonchar-Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Crosby and kid-Grant Halverson/Getty Images; Huet-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)