Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 2-25-09
Penguins
-Marc-Andre Fleury isn't exactly crazy about Dan Bylsma's system.
(Kudos to PensBurgh for the find.)
-You may want to hold off on pre-ordering those Brad Boyes or Dustin Brown Penguins jerseys.
-ESPN's John Buccigross wonders if Evgeni Malkin is the best all-around talent in the NHL.
-In other news, ESPN apparently still covers hockey:
-How long should Fleury be considered "young."
-Former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr has been struggling lately in the KHL. (He better take the league minimum if he wants to play here again.)
-Erik Johnson and Andrew Lord each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-3 win at Trenton. Curtis Darling made 39 saves in the win.
Atlantic Division
-Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers in a comeback 4-2 win at Washington. Teammate Joffrey Lupul added two assists for the Flyers who scored three unanswered goals in the third period. Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with a goal and an assist.
-Flyers forward Mike Richards isn't exactly worried about Alex Ovechkin.
-Flyers forward Daniel Briere is expected to return to the lineup Friday. He has missed 33 games due to groin injuries.
-Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen is dealing with the flu.
-Hey, we thought Sidney Crosby was the only guy who took dives in Pennsylvania:
(Kudos to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! for the find.)
-Devils forward Travis Zajac is dealing with the flu.
-Things were a lot different on Day 1 of the John Tortorella regime for the Rangers.
-Tortorella thinks of himself as "honest" instead of "tough."
Northeast Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Byron Bitz scored two goals and led the Bruins to a 6-1 rout of the Panthers. Michael Ryder, in his first game back from facial injuries, had a goal and an assist for Boston while teammates Marc Savard and Stephane Yelle each added two assists. The Panthers are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 68 points, four more than the Penguins who are in 10th place with 64 points.
-Bitz had Bruins fans chanting his name.
-Check out this goal Boston Patrice Bergeron scored last night:
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves and recorded his first shutout of the season, a 3-0 defeat of the Canucks. Tomas Plekanec had a goal and an assist. The Habs are in fifth place with 71 points, seven more than the Penguins.
-Check out this all-out gutsy play Canadiens captain Saku Koivu made to set up Plekanec's goal:
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Alex Auld made 41 saves and led the Senators to a 4-2 defeat of the Hurricanes. Daniel Alfredsson and Antoine Vermette each had two assists for Ottawa. Carolina goaltender Cam Ward was chased after the first period when he gave up three goals on nine shots. The Hurricanes are in ninth place with 67 points, three more than the Penguins.
-The Bruins demoted defenseman Matt Hunwick and forward Vladimir Sobotka to Providence of the AHL.
-The Sabres made quite a few errors last night.
-The Buffalo News has another pretty good look at the demolition of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
-Could injured Montreal forward and former Penguin Robert Lang make a return for the playoffs?
-Despite having not reached the playoff since the lockout and that whole... you know.. recession thing... the Maple Leafs are raising ticket prices.
-The Maple Leafs held their annual outdoor practice.
Southeast Division
-Tobias Enstrom and Rich Peverly each had a goal and an assist for the Thrashers who edged the Avalanche, 4-3. Milan Hejduk led Colorado with two goals.
-Washington is taking too many penalties.
-Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin is clearly better at driving equipment carts than Sidney Crosby:
-The Capitals have started a female fan club which will be dedicated to scalping tickets to female Penguins fans.
-Can Washington goaltender Jose Theodore keep up his resurrected play in the postseason?
-Lightning general manager Brian Lawton said his team is not pursuing tampering charges against the Rangers.
-Will the Thrashers hang on to goaltender Kari Lehtonen?
-If you want defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, Panthers general manager Jacques Martin says you're going to have to pay.
-Tampa Bay forward Vincent Lecavalier suffered some sort of leg injury last night.
-Lightning forward and former Penguin Gary Roberts has a new BFF in rookie forward Steven Stamkos.