Bad timing - 10-12-08

EN friend Ann Vrabel spotted something a little off in the NHL's online shop recently:


 
A Paul Coffey t-shirt jersey.

Fine. O.K. Coffey was one of the most accomplished players in team history. Selling memorabilia of his makes sense.

But he never wore that logo while with the Penguins. Coffey was moved at the trade deadline in the 1991-92 season in a deal that netted the Penguins Kjell Samuelsson, Rick Tocchet and Ken Wregget. The "pigeon" logo didn't rear its narrow, ugly, little head into our consciousness until the tragic 1992-93 season.

It could be worse. At least they got the right franchise with this t-shirt. It is sadly too late for Nordiques great Mike Richter.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins



 
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night.

-Petr Sykora is not a fan of groin injuries.

-Bob Smizik says hockey is kind of popular in Pittsburgh.

-Should banners be reserved for the largest of honors?

-Player introductions from last night:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pcfuvuqP84]
 
-Chris Minard had two goals and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 win against Philadelphia.

-The Minard-Jeff Taffe-Janne Pesonen line looked good.

-Taffe isn't exactly crazy about being back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

-Curtis Darling made 31 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 1-0 shutout of rival Johnstown.

-Don Cherry thinks Eric Godard got a raw deal in Sweden (3:00 mark):

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohhZ8UR48v8]
 
Atlantic Division

-Blair Betts and Nikolai Zherdev each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers who improved their record to 4-0-0 with a 4-3 win in Philadelphia.

-Flyers fans must not be big on the Gravina Island Bridge. Either that, or they're just classless, scummy pigs. We're betting on the latter. They gave Sarah Palin an enthusiastic "welcome" last night:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd4wQd_gbj8]
 
-Flyers goaltender Martin Biron was booed by his home fans.

-Former Penguins forward Andy Hilbert had a goal and an assist for the Islanders in a 5-2 win against the Blues. Fire Ray Shero.

-Goaltender Rick DiPietro did not play for the second consecutive game. His surgically repaired knee is still giving him problems.

-The Devils are 2-0-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. That was when they won their last Stanley Cup title.

-Devils coach Brent Sutter shuffled his lines last night.

-New Jersey defenseman Colin White should've been given two assists last night.

-Zach Parise's sick goal from last night:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn6_VM801lo]

-Flyers defenseman Randy Jones could be out up to 16 weeks with a hip injury.

Northeast Division



-Alex Tanguay's debut as a Canadien went well. Tanguay (above, with a very serious-looking Robert Lang) had a goal and three assists as the Habs romped the Maple Leafs, 6-1.

-Bruins forward Chuck Kobasew has a fracture in his right leg.

-The Maple Leafs are like using science or something to make their ice at Air Canada Center.

-The Senators are offering season-ticket holders compensation for their "home" game in Sweden.

Southeast Division

-Alex Ovechkin scored two goals and led the Capitals to a 4-2 win against the Blackhawks.

-Check out the insane goal Ovechkin scored in the third period.

-David Booth had two goals, including one in overtime, that led the Panthers to a 3-2 win against the Thrashers.

-Two goals from Eric Staal, including an overtime winner, lifted the Hurricanes from a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 win in Tampa Bay.

-The Lightning had its lowest turnout since a 1998 game. That said, the team still drew over 18,000 with a Rays baseball playoff game going on at the same time.

-With his team off to a 0-3-0 start, Lightning owner and former Penguin Len Barrie is preaching patience.

-After he injured his back Friday, it was revealed on Saturday that Panthers defenseman Bryan McCabe (above, center) does not have any fractured vertebrae.

-Hurricanes forward and former Penguin Dan LaCouture has a lots of friends and family in his corner.

Central Division

-Johan Franzen scored two goals for the Red Wings who edged the Senators, 3-2. Marian Hossa did not record a point.

-Hossa's return to Ottawa was a pretty big deal.

-Two goals and an assist by Jason Arnott (right) helped the Predators edge the Stars, 3-2.

-The Red Wings put defenseman Kyle Quincey on waivers.

-Blue Jackets forward Mike Peca is facing a suspension for making contact with an official.

-Blues forward Lee Stempniak is dealing with a knee injury.

Northwest Division

-An overtime goal by Pavol Demitra gave the Canucks a 5-4 win at Calgary.

-Vancouver's Willie Mitchell and Calgary's Jarome Iginla had a pretty spirited fight last night:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmEDbTi7XOs]

-Eric Belanger's two goals helped the Wild beat the Bruins, 4-3.

-Minnesota got a lot of contributions from its new players.

-The Canucks will wear a decal on the back of their helmets in honor of late defenseman Luc Bourdon.
 
Pacific Division

-Olli Jokinen had a nice first game with the Coyotes as he had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win against the Blue Jackets.

-Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made a whopping 12 saves in a 3-1 win against the Kings.

-The Kings agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth $47.6 million with forward Anze Kopitar and his puffy mouth (right).

-Forwards Mike Grier and Joe Thornton will serve as the Sharks' alternate captains.

-The Coyotes are trying to improve the ice at Jobing.com Arena.

-New Stars forward Sean Avery was kicked out of his first game in a Dallas uniform.

Adams Division

-Here is the new Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song. It's called "Canadian Gold:"

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8eY_WhpN_A]

-Not bad, but it's going to take some time getting use to that. This is pretty well ingrained in our heads:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ta5MWh_bUI]

(Photos: Crosby-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Canadiens-Graig Abel/Getty Images; McCabe-Grant Halverson/Getty Images; Arnott-Bill Waugh/Associated Press; Kopitar-Harry How\Getty Images)