Empty Netter Assists - 10-26-09
Penguins
-Matt Cooke's (above) a hitter, not a scorer.
-The Hockey News profiles Jordan Staal:
-Dan Bylsma apparently has a twin brother:
-Penguins prospect Simon Despres, the club's first-round pick in this summer's draft, has been selected to play in the Subway Super Series, a six-game series which pits what are essentially all-star junior teams from Canada and Russia against each other.
-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had a few fights this weekend. Aaron Boogaard versus Hershey's Greg Amadio on Friday:
-Wade Brookbank versus Bridgeport's Joel Rechlicz on Saturday:
-Jesse Boulerice had a tough time with Bridgeport Sound Tigers goon Trevor Gilles on Saturday:
-Joey Haddad had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-3 home loss to the Elmira Jackals.
-The Nailers released forward Chris Cloud and defenseman Jimmy Sharrow.
-Happy 58th birthday to former Penguins forward Joe Noris. A third round pick in the 1971 draft, Noris appeared in 35 games for the Penguins scoring seven points (two goals, seven assists). He is currently the owner/operator of Skate San Diego, a roller skating rink in "America's Finest City." He can be found on Twitter. (Google makes finding stuff so easy.)
Atlantic Division
-Flyers backup goaltender Brian Boucher looked pretty rusty in his first start of the season.
-Philadelphia recalled defenseman Oskars Batulis from Adirondack of the AHL.
-The Devils are expected to be without defenseman Paul Martin (forearm) and forward Jay Pandolfo (shoulder) for extended periods of time. Both players were injured in Saturday's win at Mellon Arena.
-Islanders captain Doug Weight (right) is battling the flu.
Northeast Division
-The Bruins demoted former Penguins forward Guillaume Lefebvre to Providence of the AHL.
-The Sabres have yet to decide if they want to keep 19-year-old rookie defenseman Tyler Myers, a first-round pick in 2008, or return him to his junior team for the season.
Southeast Division
-Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk is dealing with a foot injury.
-Panthers forward David Booth is expected to miss at least one week due to a concussion suffered when he was hit in the head by Flyers forward Mike Richards.
Central Division
-A suspected concussion has ended the consecutive games played streak of Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook at 223 games.
-Chicago demoted forward Jake Dowell to Rockford of the AHL.
-Blues tough guy D.J. King suffered what is suspected to be a broken hand in a fight.
Northwest Division
-Roberto Luongo (above) made 27 saves for the Canucks in a 2-0 shutout of the rival Oilers. It was the 48 shutout of Luongo's career.
-It was also Luongo's 21st shutout as a Canuck. He passed Kirk McLean for first place on the franchise's career leaders list.
-The Canucks scored both of their goals off nifty re-directions last night. MIchael Grabner:
-Henrik Sedin:
-Canucks forward Ryan Kesler went all Bo Jackson on his stick last night:
-Defenseman Mathieu Schneider finally made his debut with the Canucks. He had missed the first 10 games of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
-Vancouver recalled forward Sergei Shirokov from Manitoba of the AHL.
-Avalanche forward Darcy Tucker was released from a hospital. He suffered a concussion last week after a hit from behind by Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu.
-Wild forward Martin Havlat returns to Chicago tonight. He was rather critical of the Blackhawks organization after he was allowed to walk as a free agent this past offseason.
Pacific Division
-Two goals by Manny Malhotra helped the Sharks win at Philadelphia, 4-1. Teammates Dan Boyle and Patrick Marleau each recorded two assists while Thomas Greiss made 37 saves in the win.
-Alexander Frolov scored two goals and an assist and helped the Kings rout the Blue Jackets, 6-2. Anze Kopitar (above, showing off his muscles apparently) added two goals for Los Angeles while teammate Jarret Stoll had a goal and an assist.
-Kings defenseman and former Penguin Rob Scuderi injured Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera on this check:
-Columbus forward Derek Dorsett left the bench to attack Scuderi and was kicked out of the game.
-Scuderi deserves some punishment for that hit. He went really low and ended up taking out Chimera's knee. He might not have intended to hit him that low, but that's dangerous.
-Scuderi's not a star player like Mike Richards so we suppose the NHL might actually give him a suspension.
-"I’ve played 300 games in this league, and I don’t have a reputation as a dirty player." - Scuderi.
-Some pretty stunning images of the collision:
-Columbus' Steve Mason kept his eye on the puck:
-Can Kings forward Ryan Smyth make the 2010 Olympic roster for Canada?
-Sharks forwards Devin Setoguchi and Ryan Vesce are dealing with leg injuries.
-The Ducks are expected to return 19-year-old defenseman Luca Sbisa, acquired in the Chris Pronger trade this past offseason, to his junior team.
-The Stars' goaltending, specifically, Marty Turco, has gotten much better this season.
Patrick Division
-Officially, there is nothing in the NHL rule book that specifically states a goaltender must wear a mask.
-Former Rangers forward Jan Hlavac and Avalanche defenseman Jaroslav Hlinka have joined Linkoping in Sweden.
(Photos: Cooke-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Weight-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Luongo-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press; Kopitar and Chimera second, third and fourth-Harry How/Getty Images; Chimera first and Mason-Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)