Empty Netter Assists - 01-31-10

Penguins

-Evgeni Malkin (right) is your Dapper Dan sportsman of the year.

-Dave Molinari offers his all-2000s Penguins team. Sorry Dan Focht fans.

-Ron Cook is excited about the idea of a Mario Lemieux/Ron Burkle-run Pirates team.

-Bob Smizik is keen on the idea too.

-"But what I can confirm for you, at that time, today, tomorrow, next week, the Pirates are not for sale." - Pirates president Frank Coonelly.

-Luca Caputi had two goals and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 6-4 loss to the Manitoba Moose. Dustin Jeffrey added a goal and two assists for the Penguins.

-"It's pretty much embarrassing." - Cauputi on losing seven of his team's past eight games.

-An overtime goal and two assists from Mitch Ganzak gave the Wheeling Nailers a 4-3 win against the South Carolina Stingrays. Alex Grant added two assists while Adam Berkhoel made 24 saves in the win.

-Happy 45th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Bobby Dollas. Dollas had two stints with the Penguins. First, he came to Pittsburgh along with Tony Hrkac in a 1998 offseason trade that sent Josef Beranek ot Edmonton. He appeared in 70 regular season games recording 10 points and played in all 13 of the team's playoff games that season. The following offseason, he signed with Long Beach of the IHL. After playing for three other NHL teams, Dollas came back to Pittsburgh at the 2001 trade dealine when the Sharks traded him and Johan Hedberg for Jeff Norton. Dollas would appear in five regular season games for the Penguins before retiring.

Atlantic Division

-Ray Emery made 30 saves for the Flyers in a 2-1 defeat of the Islanders. The Flyers have won 14 consecutive games against the Islanders. New York has lost four consecutive games.

-If you can imagine such a thing, Flyers forward Scott Hartnell got kind of close to a goaltender yesterday. This time it was New York's Dwayne Roloson:

-The Lightning terminated the contract of defenseman Lukas Krajicek. That allowed him to sign with the Flyers.

-The Flyers demoted forward Mika Pyorala to Adirondack of the AHL.

-The Islanders are considering holding training camp next season in China.

-Former Canadian Prime Minster Devils defenseman Paul Martin has resumed skating for the first time since breaking his forearm Oct. 24 at Mellon Arena.

Northeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Mike Fisher's (above) overtime goal gave the Senators a 3-2 win against the rival Senators. Former Penguin Alex Kovalev led Ottawa with a goala dn an assist while teammates Erik Karlsson and Filip Kuba each recorded two assists. Fire Craig Patrick. Tomas Plekanec led Montreal with two assists. The Senators, who have won a club-record nine consecutive games, are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 66 points, one less than the fourth-place Penguins.

-Senators forward Nick Foligno suffered a broken leg when he blocked a shot.

-Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri suffered a "lower-body" injury when he was hit by Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov:

-Volchenkov didn't exactly fair too well there either.

-Check out this hit by Montreal's Ryan O'Byrne on Ottawa's Milan Michalek:

-There was all kinds of hitting in this game. Montreal's Benoit Pouliot used Ottawa's Erik Karlsson to remove the glass:

-With 49 points, Sabres forward Tim Connelly is on pace to break his career high of 55 points.

Southeast Division

-Sergei Samsonov had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes in a 4-2 defeat of the Blackhawks. Andrew Alberts and former Penguin Tom Kostopoulos each recorded two assist for Carolina which has won four consecutive games. Fire Craig Patrick. Cam Ward made 39 saves in the win. Former Penguin Marian Hossa and former Hurricane Andrew Ladd each had a goal and an assist for Chicago. Fire Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford.

-Check out his save Ward made on Chicago's Patrick Kane:

-Only 6,896 people showed up for this game in Raleigh due to bad weather.

-And we thought Pittsburghers were bad with snow. The Hurricanes are actually offering ticket exchanges to fans who couldn't attend the game.

-Capitals defenseman Mike Green was suspened three games for an elbow to the head of Panthers forward Michal Frolik.

-The elbow in question:

-We're fine with supplementary discipline, but the length is surprising. Green has no prior history in regards to discipline.

-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, as you mind imagine, wasn't happy about the suspension which will cost Green $81,606.21.

-Check out the new lid of Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov:

-Panthers forward David Booth is expected to return to the lineup today against the Islanders. A concussion has sidelined him him since Oct. 24.

Central Division

-Martin Erat (above) and Joel Ward each had a goal and an assist for the Predators who edged the Thrashers, 4-3. Pekka Rinne made 23 saves for the Predators who snapped a five-game winning streak. Bryan Little led Atlanta with two goals.

-Kris Russell's overtime goal game the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win at St. Louis. Former Penguin Mathieu Roy made 25 saves in the victory. Fire Ray Shero. The Blue Jackets had not won in St. Louis in nearly three years.

-Columbus' Jared Boll and St. Louis' Brad Winchester had issues:

-Blues forward Alex Steen suffered a "lower-body" injury yesterday.

-The Predators demoted forward Andreas Thuresson to Milwaukee of the AHL.

-The Blues recalled forward D.J. King from Peoria of the AHL and demoted defenseman Tyson Strachan.

Northwest Division

-Alex Burrows had two goals and two assists for the Canucks in a comeback 5-3 win at Toronto. Linemates (above) Daniel Sedin (two goals, one assist) and Henrik Sedin (one goal, one assist) each contributed the victory. Andrew Raycroft came on in relief and made 13 saves to earn the win for Vancouver which is on a seven-game winning streak. Phil Kessel led Toronto with two goals.

-Check out Burrows' first goal:

-Check out the pass by Burrows to set up Daniel Sedin:

-Check out this sick re-direction goal by Daniel Sedin from his brother:

-Raycroft didn't exactly hide his joy in beating his former team:

-Vancouver's Darcy Hordichuk and Toronto's Colton Orr pounded the tar out of each other:

-The pregame ceremonies from this game were pretty cool:

-The Maple Leafs warmed up in camouflage prior to the game:

-In the "Something-Had-To-Give" game of the day, the Oilers gave. A lot. Jarome Iginla recorded two goals and two assists for the Flames who routed the rival Oilers, 6-1. Dustin Boyd added two goals and an assist while teammates Jay Bouwmeester and Olli Jokinen each recorded two assists. Miikka Kiprusoff made 27 saves in the win which snapped a nine-game losing streak. Calgary completed the first ever sweep in the Battle of Alberta. The OIlers' struggles continued as their losing streak extended to 13 games.

-Check out this save by Kiprusoff on Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano:

-As if things couldn't get worse for the Oilers, the lost defenseman Sheldon Souray, who was on the trading block, to a broken hand resulting from a wild fight with Calgary's Jarome Iginla:

-Kiprusoff and the Flames wore their stunning red throwback uniforms last night:

-A shoulder injury will sideline Avalanche forward Ryan Stoa indefinitely.

Pacific Division

-Vernon Fiddler and Taylor Pyatt each had two assists for the Coyotes who edged the Rangers, 3-2. Jason LaBarbera (above) made 24 saves in the win against his former team. Phoenix has won three consecutive games. New York has lost five in a row.

-This photo of the Rangers' bench pretty much explains how things are going for them right now:

-Shootout goals by Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Jarret Stoll gave the Kings a 3-2 win at Boston. Kopitar had a goal and an assist in regulation while Jonathan Quick made 31 saves in the victory, Los Angeles' fifth in a row. The Bruins have lost seven consecutive games.

-Kopitar's shootout goal was ridiculously smooth:

-Kopitar got tagged pretty good by Boston's Mark Stuart:

-Boston's Tim  Thomas had issues with this puck:

-Patrick Marleau had two goals and an assist for the Sharks who beat the Wild, 5-2. Jason Demers added two goals for San Jose while teammate Joe Pavelski recorded a goal and an assist. Evgeni Nabokov made 36 saves in the win which was San Jose's sixth in seven games. Minnesota had a three-game winning streak snapped.

-San Jose's Dany Heatley scored a goal using his face:

-The Wild gave up a franchise record four power-play goals.

-The Ducks signed goaltender Jonas Hiller to a four-year contract extension worth a total of $18 million.

-Former Penguins forward Dave Tippett has turned the Coyotes into a contender.

-Former Jets/Coyotes defenseman Teppo Numminen was inducted into the team's ring of honor last night.

-The Sharks and Blue Jackets are expected to open next season in Sweden.

Adams Division

-Don Cherry was in vintage form for Hockey Day in Canada:

-Former Canucks forward Artem Chubarov has joined Dynamo Moscow of the KHL.

-Cherry reading Shakspeare is like watching someone swallow gravel.

-Denny Urban had a goal and an assist for the Robert Morris men's team in a 5-2 win at No. 6 Bemidji State.

-Jess Jones scored the Mercyhurst women's team's only goal in a 2-1 loss to Niagara.

(Photos: Malkin-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Islanders/Flyers-Matt Slocum/Associated Press; Canadiens/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Varlamov's mask-DaveArt.com; Thrashers/Predators-Frederick Breedon/Associated Press; Blue Jackets/Blues-Jeff Roberson/Associated Press; Canucks/Maple Leafs-Abelimages/Getty Images; Oilers/Flames-Canadian Press; Rangers/Coyotes-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Kings/Bruins-Winslow Townson/Associated Press)