Empty Netter Assists - 10-20-10
Penguins
Welcome back (to practice at least) Arron Asham, Brooks Orpik and Jordan Staal (above).
-Staal speaks:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Orpik speaks, stares:
-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Brett Sterling is dealing with a leg injury.
-Wheeling's Patrick Killeen was named the ECHL goaltender of the week.
Atlantic Division
-Hip surgery will sideline Flyers defenseman Matt Walker 10 to 12 weeks.
-Islanders forwards Josh Bailey (hip) and Trent Hunter (foot) are dinged up.
-The Islanders demoted goaltender Nathan Lawson to Bridgeport of the AHL.
-Former Versus sideline reporter Christine Simpson will now be a part of Devils broadcasts on MSG Plus.
Northeast Division
-David Krejci and Milan Lucic each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins in a 3-1 defeat of the Capitals. Tim Thomas made 35 saves in the victory.
-Check out this goal Washington captain Alex Ovechkin "scored" with his hand:
-We don't want go all Mike Richards and suggest Ovechkin falls down easily, but...:
-Boston's Milan Lucic had issues with Washington's John Erskine:
-Sabres forward Jason Pominville (head/neck) resumed skating for the first time since being checked into the boards from behind by Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson Oct. 11.
Southeast Division
-Chad LaRose (above) had a goal and two assists for the Hurricanes in a 5-2 win at San Jose. Teammate Eric Staal added a goal and an assist while Cam Ward made 41 saves in the win. Patrick Marleau scored both of the Sharks' goals.
-Check out this save by Ward:
-Carolina's Jeff Skinner didn't appear to appreciate the controversial "purple nurple" defensive technique employed by San Jose's Dan Boyle:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Carolina's Anton Babchcuk unleashing hell:
-Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec returned to pratice for the first time since suffering a fainting spell in a game Oct. 8.
-The Thrashers demoted defenseman/Sidney Crosby punching bag Boris Valabik to Chicago of the AHL.
Central Division
-Don't look now, but Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa is leading the NHL in scoring. Fire Ray Shero.
-The Blue Jackets officially placed defenseman Mike Commodore (thumb) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Nick Holden from Springfield of the AHL.
-The more you read about Predators captain/world destroyer Shea Weber, the more you want to root for him.
Northwest Division
-Marek Zidlicky had a goal and two assists for the Wild in a 6-2 rout of the rival Canucks. Matt Cullen and Guillaume Latendresse each had a goal and an assist for Minnesota while teammates Martin Havlat and Antti Miettinen each recorded two assists. Niklas Backstrom (above) made 25 saves in the victory. Daniel Sedin led Vancouver with two goals.
{youtube width="480" height="295"}ytIrT1wHLG8{/youtube}
-Following a scuffle in the second period, Canucks forward Rick Rypien grabbed and shoved a Minnesota fan sitting near the Canucks' bench:
-Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said he expects the league to hold a hearing with Rypien today.
-Check out this ridiculous pass from Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin to set up his brother Daniel for a goal:
{youtube width="480" height="295"}mZaPERzYtAk{/youtube}
-Happy times for the Wild. No so much for Vancouver's Roberto Luongo:
-Two days after coach Todd Richards drilled his team with an intense bag skate, the Wild drilled the Canucks.
-Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo, who was chased from the game, now has a 3-9-2 career record in Xcel Energy Center.
-Canucks defenseman and would-be Penguin Dan Hamhuis is sidelined due to a wonky foot. Promote Ray Shero.
-Rene Bourque's overtime goal gave the Flames a 1-0 win at Nashville. Miikka Kiprusoff made 34 saves in the shutout. From the "Life Isn't Fair" files, Pekke Rinne made 34 saves as well in the loss.
-Calgary's Cory Sarich > Nashville's Ryan Suter:
-Suter did not return to the game after that hit.
-Concentrating times for Kiprusoff:
-Rinne was solid after missing three games due to a "lower-body" injury.
-The Flames claimed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson off waivers from the Ducks and demoted the legendary No. 66, defenseman T.J. Brodie to Abbotsford of the AHL.
-Former Penguins defenseman Ric Jackman has joined the Utah Grizzlies, the ECHL affiliate of the Flames.
Pacific Division
-What exactly is former Penguins forward Gary Roberts' new job with the Dallas Stars?
-With forward Jamie Benn (head) healthy, the Stars demoted forward Aaron Gagnon to Texas of the AHL.
-Coyotes captain Shane Doan (right) isn't happy about being suspended three games for his hit to the head of Anaheim's Dan Sexton.
-The Coyotes placed forward Martin Hanzal ("lower body") on injured reserve and recalled forward Andrew Ebbett from San Antonio of the AHL.
-The Ducks recalled defenseman Danny Syvret from Syracuse of the AHL.
-If someone has seen Kings forward Anze Kopitar, please let him know that the 2010-11 season has begun.
Patrick Division
-Former Rangers/Kings forward John Tripp has joined Kölner Haie of the DEL in Germany.
-Former Blackhawks/Bruins/Senators forward Martin St. Pierre has joined Karpat of the SM-liiga.
-Should the NHL go to an eight-minute overtime (PG+)?
(Photos: Staal-Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Bruins/Capitals-Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press and Greg Fiume/Getty Images; Hurricanes/Sharks-Tony Avelar/Associated Press and Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images; Canucks/Wild-Paul Battaglia/Associated Press; Flames/Predators-Frederick Breedon/Getty Images; Doan-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)