Empty Netter Assists - Eastern Conference - 12-10-08
Penguins
-If you didn't see it (chances are you didn't considering it was on Versus), here's Sabres forward Paul Gaustad's hit on Ben Lovejoy from Monday night:
-Faceoff-Factor has an updated chart of all the Penguins' transactions this season.
-With all the movements back and fourth between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh, the AHL Penguins recalled forward Tommy Goebel from the Wheeling Nailers.
-Someone apparently knows what Maxime Talbot's whole deal is:
(Kudos to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! for the find.)
-The Dan Kesa-era Penguins are apparently popular in South Dakota. In the below video, actor Vinnie Jones, who has starred in films such as "Snatch," "X-Men: The Last Stand" and the completely underrated "EuroTrip," got into a bar fight in Sioux Falls, S.D. At the 0:34 mark of the clip, you can see someone in an old Penguins third jersey from the last 1990s and early 2000s get involved:
-We're assuming that individual felt a subtle reminder of Krzysztof Oliwa's reign of terror in that uniform would settle things down.
(Kudos to The Pensblog for the heads up.)
-The first steel beams for the new arena will be put in place next week.
-Defenseman Jacob Muzzin, a fifth-round pick of the Penguins in the 2007 draft, has been named an alternate captain of his junior team, the Plymouth Whalers.
-Former Penguins defenseman Greg Hotham will be a coach in the Ontario Junior Hockey League's all-star game.
Atlantic Division
-Martin Biron made 24 saves for the Flyers who edged the Islanders, 4-3. Flyers captain Mike Richards recorded two assists. Philadelphia moved into a tie for second place in the division with the Penguins.
-Goon Riley Cote really sparked the Flyers last night.
-Despite some changes, the Islanders still lost.
-Islanders defenseman Andy Sutton and forward Nate Thompson are dealing with the flu. Defenseman Joe Callahan was recalled from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis.
-Flyers defenseman Lasse Kukkonen has filled in nicely as an injury replacement.
Northeast Division
-Former Penguins forward Robert Lang had two goals and an assist for the Canadiens in a 4-1 defeat of the Flames. Another former Penguins forward, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay, each had two assists while playing on Lang's line. Habs rookie forward Matt D'Agostini extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves in the win.
-Some line juggling paid off for the Habs.
-Montreal lost defenseman Mathieu Dandenault (broken arm) and forward Christopher Higgins ("upper body") to injuries last night.
-The Canadiens are hoping Lang and Kovalev can mesh like they did when they were teammates in Pittsburgh.
-Ottawa plans on using one-timer starting goaltender Martin Gerber tonight in Chicago.
-The Sabres have had troubles at HSBC Arena.
Southeast Division
-It's nice to see there aren't any bitter feelings between the Lightning and former coach Barry Melrose (right). Melrose told a radio station he hopes the team doesn't win another game the rest of the season. He also said forward Steven Stamkos, the top overall pick in this year's draft, was not ready for the NHL.
-Current coach Rick Tocchet was not amused.
-Neither was co-owner Len Barrie.
-We'd like to be the first to congratulate Lightning owners Barrie and Oren Koules on their impending Southeast Division title by the way.
-Seriously, the de-evolution of this franchise from a Stanley Cup champion to an complete embarrasment has been stunning. The NHL should've given the sale of the team from William Davidson to Barrie, Koules and company a little bit more thought. No so much because financial concerns, but from a standpoint of ensuring the franchise wouldn't be run like a fantasy hockey team. This is just another example of the NHL's long history of allowing irresponsible and unqualified parties to assume control of a franchise.
-Lightning forwards Chris Gratton and Radim Vrbata cleared waivers. Gratton was then demoted to Norfolk of the AHL while Vrbata was assigned to Mlada Boleslav, a team in the Czech Republic.
-The Capitals are starting to get healthy.
-Washington defenseman Brian Pothier's life has been altered due to a concussion.
-If YouTube is a way to measure a player's popularity, goon Eric Boulton is No. 4 on the Thrashers.
-Is it any surprise former Penguins captain Ron Francis' move to a coach with the Hurricanes has gone smoothly?
(Photo: "Melrose"-Photobucket)