Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 1-30-09
Penguins
-The scoring race is Evgeni Malkin's to lose.
-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton-Hershey rivalry is reaching a new level.
-Pat Quinn, whose name has been connected in rumors, became Illinois' new governor. Wait...
-Random YouTube Find of the Day: Former Penguins enforcer, then of the Bruins, fighting Panthers goon Peter Worrell and shoving him into the Boston bench:
Atlantic Division
-Kyle Okposo had two goals for the Islanders in a 5-4 win at Atlanta. The victory snapped a 14-game road losing streak for New York. Mark Streit added two assists for the Islanders. Rich Peverly had a goal and two assist for the Thrashers.
-The Rangers traded forward Dan Fritsche to the Wild in exchange for defenseman Erik Reitz.
-The Islanders recalled former Pittsburgh Forge goaltender Peter Mannino from Bridgeport of the AHL. (We can't find a link. The Islanders' Web site is terrible.)
Northeast Division
-Former Penguins forward Dominic Moore had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs in a 7-4 win at Colorado. Fire Ray Shero. Jason Blake added a goal and two assists for Toronto while teammate Mikhail Grabovski had a goal and an assist. Milan Hejduk led the Avalanche with two goals.
-Two goals from Mike Fisher helped the Senators claim a 3-1 win at St. Louis.
-The Sabres have found something with the duo of Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford.
Southeast Division
-Scoreboard watch for the Penguins. Stephen Weiss had a goal and two assist for the Panthers who thumped the Canadiens, 5-1. Cory Stillman had three assist for Florida which now has 54 points, two more than the Penguins.
-Check out this fantastic goal Florida's Richard Zednik scored last night:
-More scoreboard watching for the Penguins. Eric Staal's goal with 1:36 left in regulation gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 win against the Lightning. The win moved Carolina to ninth place in the Eastern Conference and to 53 points, one more than the Penguins. Matt Cullen led the Hurricanes with a goal and an assist. Former Penguins forward Mark Recchi had a goal and an assist for the Lightning.
-The Hurricanes put defenseman Niclas Wallin on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Bryan Rodney from Albany of the AHL.
-The Lightning recalled goaltender Riku Helenius from Norfolk of the AHL and demoted goaltender Kari Ramo.
-Defenseman Boris Valabik has earned a permanent stay with the Thrashers.
-The Panthers want their fans to believe.