Empty Netter Assists - 11-26-10
Penguins
-Jordan Staal (above) practiced yesterday with both hands. He has been sidelined due to a hand injury (PG+).
-The Penguins are now 6-3 all-time on "dads trip" games.
-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins forward Dave Hannan (right). A 10th-round pick in 1981, Hannan parts of seven seasons with the Penguins. After appearing in one game and failing to record a point in 1981-82, Hannan's first full NHL season with the Penguins was 1982-83. He saw action in 74 contests and scored 33 points. In 1983-84, Hannan was limited to 24 games and five points. He was limited once again in 1984-85 by only playing in 30 contests and scoring 13 points. Hannan rebounded in 1985-86 by seeing action in 75 games and collecting 35 points. In 1986-87, Hannan appeared in 58 games and scored 25 points. After 21 games and seven points in 1987-88, Hannan was traded to the Oilers along with Craig Simpson, Moe Mantha and Chris Joseph in exchange for Paul Coffey, Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp. Hannan appeared in 355 regular season games with the Penguins, 30th-most in franchise history and scored 148 games, 52st-most. He currently works for Stryker Three Rivers, a Pittsburgh-area company which provides orthopaedics.
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-Brett Sterling had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 loss to the Binghamton Senators.
-Highlights courtesy of The Pensblog's Eric Politowski:
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-The Penguins had a nine-game road-winning streak snapped.
-Wheeling Nailers forward David Marshall has been loaned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL.
Atlantic Division
-Islanders forward Trent Hunter (right) is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.
-The Giontas - New Jersey's Stephen and Montreal's Brian - are brothers and they might face each other Thursday.
Northeast Division
-With forward Mike Brown dealing with what is described as a groin injury, the Maple Leafs recalled former Penguins forward Luca Caputi from their AHL affiliate, also in Toronto.
-The Sabres demoted goaltender Jhonas Enroth to Portland of the AHL.
-In addition to getting his left elbow dinged up Wednesday against the Penguins, Sabres forward Derek Roy was dealing with some vision problems.
Southeast Division
-Capitals forward Mike Knuble (right) is dealing with a broken jaw.
-The Capitals demoted goaltender Braden Holtby and defenseman Brian Fahey to Hershey of the AHL.
-The Hurricanes demoted forward Jon Matsumoto to Charlotte of the AHL.
Central Division
"I don't care." - Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell on being booed everytime he touches the puck in San Jose. Campbell left the Sharks in the 2008 offseason to join the Blackhawks as a free agent.
Northwest Division
-A goal by Taylor Hall with 28.1 seconds left in regulation gave the Oilers a 3-2 win against the Avalanche. Hall also recorded an assist while teammate Tom Gilbert netted two assists. Martin Gerber made 35 saves in the victory. Matt Duchene led Edmonton with a goal and an assist.
-Hall's goal:
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-Gerber kept his eyes on this puck:
-Gerber won his first NHL game in nearly 20 months.
-With goaltender Craig Anderson day to day due to a groin injury, the Avalanche recalled goaltender Jason Bacashihua from Lake Erie of the AHL.
-The Canucks have granted forward Rick Rypien an indefinite leave of absence to attend to personal matters. Rypien missed 70 games in 2008-09 due to injuries and personal reasons.
-Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky (right) is dealing with a leg injury.
Pacific Division
-The Coyotes have placed forward Petr Prucha on waivers.
-Ducks forward Teemu Selanne is dealing with a groin strain.
(Photos: Hannan-Penguins Hockey Cards; Hunter and Knuble-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Avalanche/Oilers-John Ulan-Canadian Press; Zidlicky-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)