Empty Netter Assists - Western Conference - 2-27-09
Central Division
-Rookie goaltender Steve Mason (right) made 19 saves and recorded his eighth career shutout as the Blue Jackets won at Edmonton, 1-0.
-Patrik Berglund recorded a goal and an assist for the Blues who beat the Stars, 3-1. Chris Mason made 41 saves in the win.
-Joel Ward had a goal and an assist for the Predators in a 4-1 defeat of the Coyotes. Ilya Bryzgalov made 43 saves in the loss.
-Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood is ready to play tonight after his 10-day benching.
-Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby is expected to play in his 1,000th career game tonight.
Northwest Division
-The Oilers activated forward Fernando Pisani from injured reserve.
-The Flames recalled forward Jame Van der Gulik from Quad City of the AHL.
-The Canucks recalled and demoted forward Michael Grabner from and to Manitoba of the AHL within the same day.
-Vancouver defenseman Shane O'Brien has a score to settle with the Lightning tonight.
-Canucks coach Alain Vigneault isn't too happy with forward Kyle Wellwood.
Pacific Division
-Brian Boucher made 23 saves and led the Sharks to a 2-1 win at Ottawa. Alex Auld made 22 saves in the loss.
-The Stars made a somewhat minor trade yesterday when they acquired forward Steve Begin from the Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Doug Janik. The move makes sense for Dallas which needs some warm bodies up front due to injuries to forwards Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards and Toby Petersen.
-What does the Ryan Whitney trade mean to the futures of defensemen Scott Niedermayer (right) and Chris Pronger in Anaheim?
-The city of Glendale, Ariz. is denying a report that the Coyotes are getting a break on their lease for Jobing.com Arena.
-"When a fat guy eating popcorn wants to boo me, it really doesn't matter." - Kings prospect Ryan Teubert.
-Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick, 39, doesn't want to grow up to be the next Chris Chelios.
Adams Division
-Avangard Omsk, the KHL team of former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr, got into the postseason on the last day of the regular season.
-The University of Wisconsin has invited the university of Michigan to an outdoor game at Camp Randall Stadium.
-This isn't really hockey news, but these two items are certainly something important to our field of work. First, the Rocky Mountain News in Denver is shutting down after today.
Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.
-Second, Newsday in New York will begin to charge readers for its online content.
(Photos: Mason-Jimmy Jeong/Associated Press; Niedermayer-Mark Avery-Associated Press)