Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 12-15-08

Penguins

-Welcome back Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Tim Wallace (right) has added some grit to the Penguins.

-Paul Bissonnette scored the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' only goal in a 2-1 road loss to the rival Philadelphia Phantoms. John Curry made 23 saves in the loss.

-Bissonnette has a four-game scoring streak.

-A hat trick by Rob Sirianni lifted the Wheeling Nailers to a 5-1 defeat of the Reading Royals. Aaron Clarke added two assists while Curtis Darling made 25 saves in the win.

Atlantic Division

-The Rangers recalled defenseman Corey Potter from Hartford of the AHL.

-Time as the Islanders' starting goaltender is running out for Joey MacDonald.

-The Flyers do not have the room to sign free agent forward Mats Sundin.

Northeast Division

-The Senators demoted forward Cody Bass to Binghamton of the AHL.

-The Maple Leafs demoted defenseman Anton Stralman to their AHL affiliate.

-Habs forward Ben Maxwell is living the dream.

-Stop us if you've heard this before; Montreal forward Alex Kovalev (right) is streaky.

Southeast Division

-Panthers forward Stephen Weiss is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.

-The Hurricanes demoted Bryan Rodney to Albany of the AHL.

-The Lightning demoted forward Radek Smolenak to Norfolk of the AHL.

-Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet wishes his team had a real training camp.

-The Thrashers demoted forward Colin Stuart to Chicago of the AHL.

-Thrashers prospect and former Penguins draft pick Angelo Esposito made Canada's roster for the World Junior Championships. Fire Ray Shero.

(Photo: Wallace-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Kovalev-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)