Empty Netter Assists - 12-03-10
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from yesterday's game. "It still amazes me, how good he is." - Marc-Andre Fleury on Sidney Crosby (above, with Dan Blysma).
-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's recap. The Thrashers had a franchise-record six-game winning streak snapped.
-The Associated Press' recap. The Penguins are now in first place in the Atlantic Division.
-NHL.com's recap. "It's probably the best I have seen him play in his career -- points aside." - Brooks Orpik on Crosby.
-Crosby's hat trick:
-This save by Ondrej Pavelec on Tyler Kennedy deserves a second look:
-Fleury kept his eyes on this puck:
-Chris Thorburn versus Aaron Asham:
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-A good look at the fight:
-Maxime Talbot speaks:
-Fleury speaks:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Penguins CEO/president David Morehouse kind of shot some holes in the franchise's recent rankings in Forbes Magazine.
-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Andrew Hutchinson is dealing with an undisclosed injury.
-Alexander Smigelski scored two goals and led the Wheeling Nailers to a 5-2 defeat of the Trenton Devils. Ben Street added a goal and an assist for Wheeling while teammate Casey Pierro-Zabotel recorded two assists. Patrick Killeen made 39 saves in the victory.
-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Mike Ramsey (right). A member of the 1980 United State Olympic hockey team, Ramsey was acquired at the 1993 trade deadline in a deal which sent Bob Errey to the Sabres. He spent parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh. He finished 1992-93 by appearing in 12 games and scoring three points. In 12 postseason games that spring, Ramsey recorded six assists. The 1993-94 campaign saw him appear in 65 games and record four points. During that spring's playoffs, he saw action in one game and failed to record a point. During the 1994 offseason, Ramsey joined the Red Wings as a free agent. In 77 regular season games with the Penguins, Ramsey scored seven points. In 13 postseason games, he recorded one assist.
Atlantic Division
-Marian Gaborik had a hat trick and an assist for the Rangers in a 6-5 defeat of the rival Islanders. Teammate Sean Avery recorded three assists while former Penguin Erik Christensen netted a goal and an assist for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist earned the win by making nine save in relief of Martin Biron. Blake Comeau led the Islanders with a goal and an assist.
-Gaborik's hat trick:
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-Check out this goal by the Rangers' Ryan Callahan:
-Trevor Gillies of the Islanders did pretty well when he challenged the Rangers' Derek Boogaard:
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-The Islanders Matt Martin laid it into the Rangers' Artem Anisimov here:
-The Rangers' Brandon Prust kicked up some here here on this collision with former Pittsburgh Hornets defenseman Dylan Reese:
-The Rangers and their shadows:
-Happy times for the Rangers. Not so much with the Islanders or the Penguins apparently:
-Avery, Christensen and Gaborik clicked on their first night as a new line.
-The Flyers have to figure out what they want to do with three healthy goaltenders in Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton.
Northeast Division
-Lars Eller had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens in a 5-1 defeat of the Devils. Teammate Roman Hamrlik recorded two assists while Carey Price made 27 saves in the victory.
-It took Montreal captain Brian Gionta a mere eight seconds to score the game's first goal:
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-Price had issues with this puck:
-The Devils pulled former Penguins goaltender Johan Hedberg after he gave up two goals all of 98 seconds into the contest.
-"They were prepared to play and we weren't." - Devils coach John MacLean.
-Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has gone eight games without a goal.
-The Giontas - Montreal's Brian and New Jersey's Stephen - are brothers and they faced each other for the first time on an NHL rink.
-David Krejci had two goals and an assist for the Bruins in an 8-1 rout of the Lightning. Michael Ryder added a goal and two assists for Boston while teammates Milan Lucic and former Penguin Mark Recchi each netted a goal and an assist. Fire Ray Shero. Tim Thomas made 37 saves in the victory.
-Check out this pass by Krejci to set up Lucic:
-It wasn't all bad for Tampa Bay. Check out this goal by Victor Hedman:
-Thomas apparently had issues with the vision of Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis:
-Bruins forward Marc Savard made his season debut. He had been sidelined since last season's playoffs due to post-concussion syndrome.
-A proposed trade which would have sent Bruins forward Marco Sturm to the Kings in exchange for future considerations fell apart yesterday.
Southeast Division
-The Capitals signed defenseman Brett Flemming, a fifth-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.
-Lightning forward Steve Downie (right) is potentially dealing with a broken ankle.
-Panthers forwards Chris Higgins (foot) and Cory Stillman (back) are dinged up.
Central Division
-The Blues demoted Nikita Nikitin to Peoria of the AHL.
-Should the Blue Jackets be in the Eastern Conference (PG)?
Northwest Division
-Nikolai Khabibulin made 33 saves for the Oilers in a 5-0 shutout of the Maple Leafs. Jordan Eberle had a goal and two assists for Edmonton while teammate Taylor Hall scored two goals.
-"It’s embarrassing to wear that jersey and come in here and play like that in front of our home fans. They deserve better." - Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek. Wild defenseman
-The Canucks demoted forward Alexandre Bolduc to Manitoba of the AHL.
-The Avalanche activated goaltender Craig Anderson (groin) from injured reserve and demoted goaltender Jason Bacashihua to Lake Erie of the AHL.
-Wild general manager and former Penguins executive Chuck Fletcher put his players on notice.
Pacific Division
-Antti Niemi made 28 saves for the Sharks in a 4-0 shutout of the Senators. Logan Couture scored two goals for San Jose while teammate Ryane Clowe recorded two assists.
-Sharks forward Dany Heatley was "greeted" in his return to Ottawa:
-"Especially early, I thought it was kind of a playoff atmosphere in here." - Heatley.
-Andrew Raycroft made 37 saves for the Stars in a 2-1 defeat of the Capitals.
-A potential game-tying goal by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin with 7.6 seconds left in regulation was waved off when officials ruled Ovechkin was in the crease:
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-To say the least, Ovechkin's night wasn't all that great:
-It wasn't all bad for Washington. Check out this pass by Mike Green to set up Mike Knuble for a goal:
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-Jonathan Quick made 26 saves and led the Kings to a 3-2 win against the Panthers. The win snapped a four-game losing streak.-Florida's Stephen Weiss got airborn after this collision with Los Agneles' Trevor Lewis:
-Florida's Shawn Matthias kept his eyes on this puck while battling Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar:
-Happy times for Kopitar and teammate Wayne Simmonds:
-We don't wan to accuse Los Angeles' Justin Williams of invading the personal space of Florida's Tomas Vokoun, but...:
-Funny Face of the Night: Stoll taking a spill in front of Vokoun:
-The Kings are expected to return forward Brayden Schenn to his junior team (Brandon - WHL).
Adams Division
-Police in Montreal recovered some items stolen from the car of former Canadiens/Maple Leafs/Bruins/Devils coach Pat Burns. Burns' car was broken into following his funeral Monday.
-NHL referee Gord Dwyer will be sidelined several weeks due to facial injuries he suffered after taking a puck to the face.
(Photos: Thrashers/Penguins-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Ramsey-Penguins Hockey Cards; Rangers/Islanders-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Canadiens/Devils-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Senators-Canadiens-Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press Lightning/Bruins-Charles Krupa/Associated Press; Downie-Jeff Gross/Getty Images; Sharks/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Panthers/Kings-Chris Carlson/Associated Press and Harry How/Getty Images)