Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 12-17-08
Penguins
-Alex Goligoski hates coats.
-We'd keep that Ryan Malone jersey in mothballs.
-And we wouldn't preorder that Sean Avery Penguins jersey either.
-Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! got a hold of a translated interview with Evgeni Malkin. He's planning on buying a house and he likes green wallpaper.
-Wyshynski also provides the latest example of why the NHL's all-star voting is absurd.
-Devils forward Brian Rolston sought advice from Sidney Crosby (right) on high ankle sprains.
-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre/Citizens Voice seems to think the NHL Penguins will be making some call ups soon.
-Penguins prospect T.J. Kemp will play for Canada in the Spengler Cup. He will be joined by former Penguins Ric Jackman, Shawn Heins, Domenic Pittis, Randy Robitaille and Jeff Toms.
Atlantic Division
-Simon Gagne and Mike Richards each had a goal and two assists for the Flyers in a 5-2 defeat of the Avalanche. Philadelphia has won five consecutive games.
-Henrik Lundqvist made a "whopping" 19 saves for the Rangers in a 3-1 win at Anaheim.
-Check out this crazy little fight between New York's Aaron Voros and Anaheim's Steve Montador. Montador lands about 58 body shots early on:
-With goaltender Martin Biron dealing with the flu, the Flyers recalled goaltender Scott Monroe from their puppy-drowning AHL affiliate.
-Flyers assistant coach and former Penguins forward Joe Mullen is a big reason Philadelphia's power play has been hot.
-Philadelphia's unpredictable weather makes it a poor choice to host a Winter Classic.
-The Devils activated defenseman Andy Greene from injured reserve.
-The Islanders recalled forward Ben Walter from Bridgeport of the AHL.
Northeast Division
-Shootout goals by Jeremy Williams and Jason Blake gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 win against the Devils. Tomas Kaberle led Toronto with two assists.
-Check out Blake's shootout goal:
-Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.
-Buffalo forward Derek Roy expects to to be a point-per-game player.
-Ottawa forward and former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu dropped the gloves with Atlanta's Jim Slater last night:
Southeast Division
-Alex Ovechkin's overtime goal gave the Capitals a 5-4 win against the Islanders. Ovechkin finished with two goals. Former Penguins forward Richard Park had a goal and two assists for the Islanders who have lost seven consecutive games. Fire Craig Patrick.
-The Capitals had to go through warm-ups last night without a net.
-Former Penguins forward Colby Armstrong scored two goals and lifted the Thrashers to a 4-1 win at Ottawa. Todd White added a goal and an assist. Fire Ray Shero.
-Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk has been racking up the ice time lately.
-Two power-play goals by Eric Staal lifted the Hurricanes to a 3-2 win against the Canadiens. Teammate Sergei Samsonov contributed two assists.
(Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)