Empty Netter Assists - 03-13-10

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "I don't care if they beat us 14 in a row, the next one, we'd expect to win." - Sidney Crosby (above).

-The Newark Star Ledger's recap. The game took on a playoff atmosphere.

-The Bergen Record's recap. Devils fans began to chant "You can't beat us."

-The New York Daily News' recap. 5-0-0.

-The Associated Press' recap. The Devils tied the Canadiens' record with their 13th consecutive season with 40 or mor wins. The Habs set the record from 1971 through 1983.

-NHL.com's recap. Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk called it a four-point game.

-Mike Lange's goal calls.

-Highlights courtesy of EN contributor GhostWalker40:

-Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury speak:

-The Chris Kunitz-Jamie Langenbrunner scrum on the Penguins' bench deserves its own clip:

-Funny photo of the scrum:

-Fleury had issues with this puck:

-Crosby leading the rush up ice:

-Crosby fending off New Jersey's Mike Mottau:

-Bill Guerin battling for a puck in front of New Jersey's Brian Rolston:

-Happy times for  the Penguins:

-The great Martin Skoula taking out Crosby:

-Kris Letang checking New Jersey's Zach Parise:

-New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk being denied by Fleury:

-Fleury hanging on to a puck:

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Why does Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur look like he's about to chuck his stick down ice here?

-A good look at Brodeur's lid:

-Brodeur raching out for a puck:

-Kovalchuk being popular:

-New Jersey's Patrik Elias being popular:

-Kovalchuk had issues with his chin strap:

-Devils forward Travis Zajac admitted he made contact with Marc-Andre Fleurys' glove.

-Devils defenseman Andy Greene said he was trying to shoot wide on the shot with led to Patrik Elias' goal.

-Skoula needed three stitches to close a cut on his head.

-The Penguins are 0 for 18 on the power play against the Devils this season.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and New Jersey's Martin Brodeur are BFFs.

-Gene Collier doesn't like the Penguins' hopes for a Stanley Cup repeat if they have to face the Devils in the playoffs.

-Can the Penguins hold off the Devils for the Atlantic Division title (PG+)?

-"We’ve probably lost a guy for the year on a very cheap hit. I think it would be a little different if Sidney Crosby got hit like that.." - Bruins forward and former Penguins Mark Recchi (right, with Crosby, during the 2006-07 season) on the hit by Matt Cooke on teammate Marc Savard.

-Bruins/NESN play-by-play guy Jack Edwards lost his mind yesterday with a few appearances on 93.7 The Fan. First, he appeared on Jason Seibel and Joe Starkey show. Among his points:

• He claimed NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell became "Perry Mason for Matt Cooke."
• Suggested the Bruins take "nine teeth out of Sidney Crosby's face."
• Suggested the Bruins' season ticket sales would suffer if they don't goon it up in Thursday's Penguins-Bruins rematch.
• Suggested Campbell has a bias in favor of the Rangers, a team he formerly coached.
  
• Claimed Campbell had a "deep dislike of Marc Savard," - a player Campbell coached in New York - and that Campbell has a "continuing agenda."
  

-Then on Greg Giannotti's show, he did some damage control and went as far to claim Sidney Crosby as his favorite player.

-Brent Johnson was born to be a hockey player:

-It turns out Sidney Crosby's Golden Goal stick from the Olympics wasn't heading to the IIHF Hall-of-Fame in Russia. That hall-of-fame exists within the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The stick it turns out, was heding to the private collection of a man in Russia.

-Tim Wallace had two goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-3 defeat of the Providence Bruins. Brian Strait added a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while teammate Joe Vitale recorded two assists. Brad Thiessen made 26 saves in the victory.

-"We've been playing playoff hockey for about our last 15 games." - Wilkes-Barres/Scranton Penguins coach Todd Reirden.

-Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Maxim Galanov. Claimed by the Penguins from the Rangers through a waiver draft in 1998, Galanov appeared in 51 games for the 1998-99 Penguins and recorded seven points. The Thrashers claimed him in the 1999 expansion draft. He currently plays for Novokuznetsk Metallurg in the KHL.

-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins forward Barry Pederson (right). A former all-star with the Bruins, Pederson was acquired by the Peguins along with Rod Buskas and Tony Tanti in a trade that sent Dave Capuano, Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn to the Canucks midway through the 1989-90 season. Pederson spent parts of two season with the Penguins and in 84 games, he recorded 36 points. Though he didn't appear in a playoff game, Pederson did get his name on the Stanley Cup for the Penguins' 1991 championship. Because Peterson was wearing No. 10 that season, Penguins forward Ron Francis was forced to adopt No. 9 for the remainder of the season when he was acquired at the trade deadline from Hartford. Pederson might be best remembered for being part of one of the worst trades in NHL history. In the 1987 offseason, the Bruins dealt him to the Canucks in exchange for future Hockey Hall-of-Famer Cam Neely and a first-round pick used to draft future all-star Glen Wesley.

-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Blaine Stoughton. The club's first-round pick in 1973, Stoughton appeared in 34 games for the 1973-74 Penguins and recorded 11 points. The following offseason, Stoughton and a first-round pick were dealt to the Maple Leafs in a deal that netted one of the greatest players in franchise history, Rick Kehoe.

-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Petteri Lehto. A free agent signing in the 1984 offseason, Lehto appeared in six games the 1984-85 Penguins and was a minus-4. In a 7-4 home win against the Canucks, Jan. 9, 1985, Lehto and Arto Javanainen became the first Finnish players in franchise history. The following season, Lehto rejoined TPS Turku in his native Finland.

-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Landon Wilson. Acquired from the Coyotes before the 2004 trade deadline, Wilson appeared in 19 games for the 2003-04 Penguins and recorded six points. Prior to the 2004-05 lockout, he signed with Espoo in Finland. He currently plays with Texas of the AHL.

Atlantic Division

-Vaclav Prospal had two goals and an assist for the Rangers in a 5-2 win at Atlanta. Marian Gaborik added a goal and two assists for New York while teammate Ryan Callahan contributed a goal and an assist. Henrik Lundqvist (above) made 29 saves in the victory.

-The Rangers benched forward Sean Avery last night.

-Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said winning the Atlantic Division isn't a priority for his team.

-Islanders captain Doug Weight will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.

-Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo will not be suspended for making contact with an official.

Northeast Division

-"Most of the guys playing in this league are guys that I've been playing (against) on video games the last four years." - Maple Leafs forward Viktor Stalberg.

-Mike Yeo is apparently coaching the Canadiens' power play these days.

-The Canadiens demoted forward Ben Maxwell to Hamilton of the AHL.

-The Penguins need to hire this bear:

Southeast Division

-Matt Walker had a goal and an assist for the Lightning in a 3-2 defeat of the Capitals. Antero Niittymaki made 28 saves in the victory. Alex Ovechkin led Washington with two assists.

-Happy times for the Lightning:

-Happy times for the Capitals. Not so much the Lightning:

-Washington's Semyon Varlamov had issues with this puck:

-The Capitals are stuck on 99 points.

-Hurricanes forward Brandon Sutter is dealing with a leg injury.

-With forward Stephen Weiss dealing with a foot injury, the Panthers recalled former Penguins forward Jeff Taffe from Rochester of the AHL.

Central Division

-Pekka Rinne made 31 saves for the Predators in a 1-0 shutout win at Anaheim. It was Rinne's fourth shutout of the season. The Predators won in Anaheim for the first time in 2001. The Ducks have lost five consecutive games.

-Nashville demoted defenseman Alexander Sulzer to Milwaukee of the AHL.

-The Predators announced they will remain in town through at least 2012 having reached an agreement with Nashville's Metro Sports Authority.

-The Blackhawks signed defenseman Ryan Stanton to a three-year entry-level contract.

-Blue Jackets forward Kristian Huselius is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.

-The Millers - Buffalo's Ryan and Detroit's Drew - are brothers and they meet tonight at Joe Louis Arena.

-The return of Johan Franzen from an injury has boosted the Red Wings' offense.

-The Blues are pretty much in the same place in the standings as they were last season when they made their frantic late-season push for a playoff spot.

Northwest Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Josh Harding (above) made a whopping 43 saves for the WIld in a 3-2 defeat of the Sabres. Thomas Vanek scored both of Buffalo's goals. The Sabres are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 81 points, four fewer than the second-place Penguins.

-Sabres goaltender and former Penguin Patrick Lalime was booed by the home crowd the entire game.

-This turnover and the resulting goal by Minnesota's Guillaume Latendresse is one of the reasons why:

-Wild forward and old man Owen Nolan had a nice fight with Buffalo whippersnapper Steve Montador:

-Scary times for Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck who got a little to close to Montador's skate:

-With goaltender Niklas Backstrom dealing with a groin injury, the Wild recalled goaltender Wade Dubliewicz from Houston of the AHL.

-Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo carried the torch for the Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

-Former Penguins forward Chris Minard is trying to stick with the Oilers.

-The Avalanche demoted forward Ryan Stoa to Lake Erie of the AHL.

Pacific Division

-Jarrett Stoll's (above, beating Dallas' Marty Turco) shootout goal gave the Kings a 2-1 win at Dallas. Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves in the victory. The Stars have lost five out of their past six games.

-Bernier stretched out to deny Dallas' Loui Eriksson:

-The Kings officially activated forward Justin Williams (leg) from injured reserve. He had missed 28 games due to his injury.

-Sharks forward Jamie McGinn has been shuffled between the NHL and AHL 28 times this season.

-With a win Thursday against the Predators, the Sharks set an NHL record by becoming the first team in league history to win three consecutive games despite trailing at the start of the third period of each of the games.

Adams Division

-The hotel in Boca Raton where the NHL recently held its general managers meetings doesn't have Versus.

-White House press secretary Robert GIbbs made good on a bet with his Canadian counterpart, Dimitri Soudas, and sported a Team Canada jersey at a press briefing yesterday:

-Speaking of hockey and the White House, is the man living there ever going to go to a Capitals game?

-The Johnstown Chiefs traded Thomas Beauregard to the Elimra Jackals in exchange for the tremendously named Bear Trapp.

-Brooks Ostergard made 23 saves for the Robert Morris men's team in a 1-0 loss to Alabama-Huntsville the semifinal of the CHA tournament. They will face Bemidji State in the consolation game today at 3 p.m.

-Ryan Zapolski made 21 saves for the Mercyhurst men's team in a 5-1 loss to Canisius in the first game of a AHA best-of-three quarterfinal series. Game 2 is tonight at 7:05 p.m.

-Happy 78th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Bill Burega.

-Today would've been the 85th birthday of former Pittsburgh Hornets goaltender Gordie Bell.

(Photos: Penguins/Devils- Al Bello/Getty Images and Bill Kostroun/Associated Press; Recchi-Andy Marlin/Getty Images; Pederson-eBay; Rangers/Thrashers-John Bazemore/Associated Press; Lightning/Capitals-Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press; Wild/Sabres-David Duprey/Associated Press and Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Kings/Stars-Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)