Empty Netter Assists - 1-26-09
Penguins
-First thing first, Evgeni Malkin's nifty goal from last night complete with Brian Burke yammering away:
-This is sort of Penguins related. Here's last night's shootout:
-How sick is Kovalev's wrister?
-Fire Craig Patrick.
-Malkin described his goal as "easy."
-Sidney Crosby had a forced nice weekend in Montreal.
-Montreal goaltender Carey Price thinks Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is "a lousy defenseman."
-Can the Penguins, or any team, become a dynasty in today's NHL?
-The video quality isn't great, but check out Crosby's new commercial for Tim Hortons:
-We could so see Michel Therrien sending Andre Savard out to get Crosby back on the bus.
-We think Brian Holzinger did that once with that dek hockey rink along the side of Rt. 279 near Ingomar.
-Chris Minard finished in second places in the fastest skater competition at the AHL's all-star skills contest.
-Jordan Alford made 29 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-1 loss at Elmira.
Northeast Division
-Kovalev became the fifth Habs player to win the All-Star Lame Game MVP. Fire Craig Patrick.
-Montreal defenseman Mike Komisarek took the first penalty in an All-Star Lame Game since 2000. That was two U.S. Presidents and two Canadian Prime Ministers ago.
-Is Boston goaltender Tim Thomas the new Johnny Bower?
Southeast Division
-Washington' Alex Ovechkin got caught admiring some attractive fans in the crowd last night:
-The always solid Elliotte Friedman had a pretty good piece on Ovechkin:
-Lightning forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis were nervous playing in front of their hometown crowd.
Central Division
-In an interview with Ron MacLean, Gary Bettman dodged responsibility for suspending Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings (6:30 mark):
-The message we get from Bettman's response is rubbing elbows with the CEOs of the NHL's sponsors is of more importance to the league than actual legit games. If you want to fine Datsyuk or Lidstrom because they failed to live up to an obligation, cool. But don't influence the outcome of an actual game because Lidstrom wasn't there to have some executive from Budweiser gush all over him.
-Predators defenseman Shea Weber has come a long way.
-Given the state of the economy, did Red Wings forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa make a big mistake this past summer?
-The Blackhawks want to host an All-Star Lame Game.
Northwest Division
-Flames forward Jarome Iginla finally scored a goal in an All-Star Lame Game.
Pacific Division
-Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle got to meet some legends face-to-face.
Smythe Division
-Check out these sweet goaltending pads this high school kid in Boston invented.
-Will the NHL head to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia?
-Roy MacGregor of the Globe and Mail wonders if the NFL is tightening its belt, why isn't the NHL?