Empty Netter Assists - 12-27-10

Penguins

-Shelly Anderson's recap from last night's game. "At the end of the day, we didn't play well in the first, and that was the difference." - Sidney Crosby (above, with former teammate Jarkko Ruutu) on his team's effort in the first period.

-The Ottawa Citizen's recap. "I think we showed (Sunday night) that we have a really good team.” - Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson.

-The Associated Press' recap. Senators forward Jason Spezza left the game with what was officially diagnosed as an "upper-body" injury.

-NHL.com's recap. "I'll take the win any night and I won't care if he scores on me." - Senators goaltender Brian Elliott on Crosby extending his scoring streak to 24 games.

-Crosby now has the 15th-longest scoring streak in NHL history (PG+).

-Weather permitting, Jordan Staal isn't ruling out suiting up for the Winter Classic.

-Why does Evgeni Malkin stink at penalty shots and shootouts (PG+)?

-Winter Classic tickets are kind of pricey.

-Shootout goals by Nick Johnson, Keven Veilleux and Brett Sterling gave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 5-4 win against the Albany Devils. Bryan Lerg had two goals for the Penguins in regulation while teammate Zach Sill added two assists. Brad Thiessen made 25 saves in the victory.

-Highlights courtesty of The Pensblog's Eric Politowkski:

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-A hat trick and an assist by Ben Street led the Wheeling Nailers to a 5-4 defeat of the Cincinnati Cyclones. Nick Petersen added a goal and three assists for Wheeling while teammate Casey Pierro-Zabotel contributed a goal and an assist. Mike Brown made 28 saves in the victory.

-Happy 52nd birthday to former Penguins coach Kevin Constantine. Hired in the 1997 offseason, Constantine spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. In 1997-98, he directed the club to a 40-24-18 record and a Northeast Division title. In the postseason, the team lost in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to the Canadiens, 4-2. He followed that up in 1998-99 by leading the Penguins to a record of 38-30-14. The club reached the postseason as a No. 8 seed. After defeating the Devils in the conference quarterfinal round, 4-3 - one of the largest upsets in franchise history - the Penguins were elminated in the semifinals by the Maple Leafs, 4-2. After 25 games and an 8-10-3 record, Constantine was fired early in 1999-2000 and replaced by Herb Brooks. In 189 games as the Penguins coach, Constantine had a record of 86-67-35. His wins are the eighth-best total in franchise history.

-Happy 39th birthday to former Penguins forward Bryan Smolinski. Acquired in the 1995 offseason along with Glen Murray and a draft pick in a trade which sent Shawn McEachern and Kevin Stevens to the Bruins, Smolinski spent on seasons with the Penguins. In 1995-96, he played in 81 games and scored 64 points. The 1996 postseason saw him compile eight points in 19 games. After holding out to start 1996-97, Smolinski was traded early in the season to the Islanders in exchange for Darius Kasparaitis and Andreas Johansson.

Atlantic Division

-P.A. Parenteau had a goal and an assist for the Islanders in a 4-1 defeat of the Canadiens. Teammate Frans Nielsen recorded two assists while Dwayne Roloson made 38 saves in the victory.

-Roloson kept his eyes on this puck:

-Roloson and teammate Milan Jurcina having a moment:

-Happy times for New York's James Wisniewski and company:

-New York's Michael Grabner sprayed Montreal's Carey Price with some mean snow spray:

-Price didn't seem to care for this screen by New York's Josh Bailey:

-Islanders defenseman and former Penguin Mark Eaton got smacked pretty good here by Montreal's Max Pacioretty:

-Fisheye View of the Game: Montreal's Lars Eller:

-According to Newsday, the NHL declined a request by the Islanders to postpone the game on account of the blizzard which hit the East Coast.

-Nassau Coliseum, which normally has sparse crowds, was nearly barren:

-The Islanders activated goaltender Rick DiPietro (knee) off injured reserve and demoted goaltender Manny Lawson to Bridgeport of the AHL.

-Rangers forward Marian Gaborik returned to practice after missing a week due to a wonky groin.

-The Rangers recalled forward Mats Zuccarello from Hartford of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-Former Penguin Colby Armstrong scored two goals for the Maple Leafs in a 4-1 win at New Jersey. Fire Ray Shero. Kris Versteeg recorded two assists while Jonas Gustavsson made 29 saves in the victory. The Devils have lost five consecutive games.

-Bizarre Fight of the Night: New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk versus Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf:

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-Funny Face of the Night: New Jersey's Mattias Tedenby being defended by Toronto's Tomas Kaberle:

-"I don’t know how many fans actually come to their games anyway so it doesn’t matter." - Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson on the announced attendance of 5,329. On account of weather, approximately 2,500 fans actually showed up to the Prudential Center.

-Speaking of which:

-After the game, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire suggested his team is out of shape.

-Bruins forward Milan Lucic was fined $3,500 for throwing a punch in a scrum and making an obscene gesture during Thursday's game with the Thrashers.

-The Senators recalled goaltender Mike Brodeur from Binghamton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Captain Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist for the Capitals in a 3-2 win at Carolina. Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves in the victory. Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes.

-Ovechkin snapped an eight-game goalless drought.

-Capitals forward Mathieu Perreault suffered a broken nose on this hit by Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason:

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-Here's what Perreault looked like after the game by way of the Twitter feed of Capitals defenseman John Carlson:

-Captain Vincent Lecavalier had two goals, including one in overtime, to give the Lightning a 3-2 win at Atlanta. Steven Stamkos added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay while Dan Ellis made 26 saves in the victory.

-Bloody times for Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis:

-The Lightning has won nine consecutive games against the Thrashers.

-Tampa Bay demoted forward Johan Harju to Norfolk of the AHL.

Central Division

-A goal and an assist by Henrik Zetterberg led the Red Wings to a 4-1 defeat of the Wild. Teammate Niklas Kronwall recorded two assists while Jimmy Howard made all of 16 saves in the victory.

-Red Wings forward Danny Cleary is expected to be sidelined at least a month after breaking his ankle when he was hit by a slap shot by teammate Brad Stuart:

-Two goals from Patrick Sharp helped the Blackhawks beat the Blue Jackets, 4-1. Troy Brouwer and former Penguin Marian Hossa each recorded two assists for Chicago while Marty Turco made 26 saves in the victory. Fire Ray Shero.

-Columbus goaltender and former Penguin Mathieu Garon had issues with this puck:

-Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves for the Blues in a 2-0 shutout of the Predators. Dave Backes scored both of St. Louis' goals. Nashville has lost four consecutive games.

-Halak kept his eyes on this puck:

-The Blackhawks activated Hossa ("lower body") from injured reserve, placed forward Patrick Kane (leg) on injured reserve and recalled goaltender Hannu Toivonen from Rockford of the AHL.

-The Predators recalled forward Linus Klasen from Milwaukee of the AHL.

Northwest Division

-A goal by Kevin Bieksa with 24 seconds left led the Canucks to a 3-2 win against the rival Oilers. Cory Schneider made all of 19 save in the victory.

-Bieksa's goal:

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-Check out this goal by Vancouver's Jeff Tambellini:

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-Bieksa celebrated by playing a game of "Which Sedin is Jabbing Your Eyes:"

-If you guessed "Henrik," you are correct.

-Edmonton's Sam Gagner the drop here on Bieksa:

Pacific Division

-Captain Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist and led the Kings to a 4-1 win against the rival Ducks. Jonathan Bernier made all of 18 saves in the victory.

-Jason LaBarbera made 30 saves for the Coyotes in a 1-0 shutout of the Stars.

-Coyotes forward and former Penguiin Paul Bissonnette had a solid fight with Dallas' Krys Barch:

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-The Ducks recalled forward Matt Beleskey from Syracuse of the AHL.

-Sharks forward Torrey Mitchell is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.

IIHF World Championships

-An overtime goal by Wild prospect Nick Bjugstad gave the United States a 3-2 win against Finland.

-Highlights:

-How good is it to hear Gary Thorne's voice doing hockey?

-Kings prospect Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist for Canada which beat Russia, 6-3. Penguins prospect Simon Despres had a shot and was a plus-one for Canada.

-Islanders prospect Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist for Switzerland in a 4-3 win against Germany. Penguins prospet Tom Kuhnhackl was held without a point for Germany and recorded 12 minutes in penalties.

-Predators prospect Patrick Cehlin had two goals and an assist for Sweden which romped Norway, 7-1.

Adams Division

-Mondesi's House offers a remarkably thorough look at the year in Pittsburgh Sports.

(Photos: Penguins/Senators-Pawel Dwulit/Canadian Press; Canadiens/Islanders-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Maple Leafs/Devils-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images and Julio Cortez/Associated Press; Lightning/Thrashers-David Goldman/Associated Press; Blue Jackets/Blackhawks-Paul Beaty/Associated Press; Predators/Blues-Bill Boyce/Associated Press; Oilers/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images)