Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 2-28-09
Penguins
-Shelly Anderson's recap from last night's game. Eric Godard. Michael Jackson fan.
-The Associated Press' recap. Dan Bylsma didn't even see Evgeni Malkin's goal.
-The Chicago Tribune's recap. Were hard hats a good idea?
-The Chicago Sun-Times' recap. The Blackhawks are having issues winning at home.
-The start of the Chris Kunitz era:
-No word yet on Tyler Kennedy's health.
-Sidney Crosby's groin is still an issue.
-Chris Minard officially cleared waivers and was demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
-The Stars have released 500 extra tickets for tomorrow's game against the Penguins.
-Who should Chris Kunitz play with: Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin (right)?
-Today's round of Crosby bashing is brought to you by Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Chicago's Adam Burish.
-If you're going to bash Crosby, at least be clever about it. Like these folks.
-Is there such a thing as a Stanley Cup runners-up curse?
-Janne Pesonen had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who edged the Albany River Rats, 4-3. John Curry made 20 saves in the win.
-Of all people, Paul Bissonnette scored the winning goal last night.
-The disease is spreading through the organization. The AHL Penguins went 0-for-5 on the power play last night.
-Billy Ryan had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-2 loss to the Dayton Bombers. Curtis Darling made 33 saves in the loss.
-Former Penguins forward Dave McLlwain, 41, played his final professional game for Kolner Haie of the DEL in Germany.
Atlantic Division
-Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt was suspended five games by the NHL for a hit to the head of Toronto forward Niklas Hagman. Kudos to the NHL for actually doling out a significant suspension over this, but how is this still worth less than the six games Sean Avery got for being vulgar?
-Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur will make his second consecutive start tonight.
-New Jersey forward Zach Parise is going after 50 goals.
Northeast Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Mathieu Schneider's overtime goal gave the Canadiens a 4-3 win at Philadelphia. He also had an assist. Former Penguins Alex Kovalev led Montreal with a goal and two assists while teammate Tomas Plekanec added a goal and an assist. Fire Craig Patrick. He has scored a goal in five consecutive games. Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves in the win. Montreal is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 73 points, five more than the Penguins who are in 10th place with 68 points.
-How big has Mathieu Schneider (right) been since the the Canadiens picked him up in a trade with Atlanta almost two weeks ago? In his five games with the Habs, he has five points (three goals, two assists). Additionally, Montreal's once-sputtering power-play has gone 10-for-24 (42 percent) since his acqusition.
-Flyers forward Daniel Briere and defenseman Kimmo Timonen did not play last night. The Flyers are still trying to figure out how to squeeze Briere's salary under the salary cap. He was on long-term injured reserve while healing from a groin injury and his salary did not count towards the cap. Timonen is dealing with flu.
-The Canadiens claimed forward Glen Metropolit off waivers from the Flyers.
-The Senators recalled goaltender Martin Gerber from Binghamton of the AHL and demoted defenseman Brian Lee.
-The Bruins put Petteri Nokelainen on injured reserve due to an eye ailment and recalled forward Vladimir Sobotka from Providence of the AHL.
-Boston forwards Milan Lucic and Marc Savard are questionable with "upper-body" injuries.
-The Maple Leafs demoted defensemen Jamie Sifers and Anton Stralman to their AHL affiliate.
-Hockey Hall-of-Famer Jim Gregory, a former Maple Leafs general manager, suffered a heart attack.
Southeast Division
-The Thrashers activated forward Jim Slater (right) from injured reserve.
-A little help here for the Penguins. The Panthers have benched defenseman Nick Boynton for three games for disciplinary reasons.
-Carolina goaltending coach and former Penguin Tom Barrasso helped his team come up with a nice line combination.
-The Capitals have a big game against the Bruins tonight.
(Photos: Malkin and Schneider-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Slater-Dave Sanford/Getty Images)