Empty Netter Assists - 12-15-10
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "It was my fault. I saw he hit Sid, and I was a little bit mad. But he didn't have the puck, and I tried to hit him. It was a stupid penalty. It was my fault." - Evgeni Malkin on his third period penalty which led to the Flyers' game-winning goal. Flyers forward Blair Betts hit Sidney Crosby and Malkin retaliated on Betts.
-The Philadelphia's Inquirer's recap. The Flyers are now 20-7-5 this season. They were 15-16-1 at the same point last season.
-The Philadelphia Daily News' recap. "I don't think we can put too much into it. We've got to continue to look at the bigger picture. We've got a long way to go yet." - Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger on the importance of the win.
-The Associated Press' recap. Crosby's (above, with Philadelphia's Jeff Carter) 19-game scoring streak ties a career-best.
-NHL.com's recap. "I missed one early, an empty net on a rebound and was lucky enough to get it back." - Flyers forward Scott Hartnell on his game-winning goal.-Mike Lange's goal calls.
-Marc-Andre Fleury kept his eyes on this puck:
-Crosby and Malkin having a moment:
-Hartnell > Matt Cooke:
-Happy times in Philadelphia:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Marc-Andre Fleury speaks:
-"It's the Philadelphia Flyers. You don't need to say anything more." - Matt Cooke.
-Hopefully the Penguins have DVRs. Because that's the only way they'll be able to watch the debut of 24/7 tonight.
-According to HBO producer Dave Harmon, "24/7" will have a ton of vulgarity.
-Crosby, Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin and former NHLer Jeremy Roenick will appear on Monday's episode of "The Price is Right." Presumably, Ovechkin and Roenick will be favorites for the Hole in One game given their postseason histories.
-Crosby and Kris Letang are still popular. They're the leading vote-getters in all-star balloting. Crosby overall and Letang for defensemen.
-Remember how Paul McCartney put that Penguins sticker on his signature 1964 Epiphone Texan guitar at the debut concert at Consol Energy Center in September? Well he still has it on there. He recently appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and preformed with the guitar and sticker.
-Dustin Jeffrey's recall has put the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' lines in flux.
-Here's a mock-up of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' holiday-themed jersey:
(Kudos to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! for the find.)
Atlantic Division
-The Devils placed forward Brian Rolston and his $5.06 million salary cap figure on waivers.
-"There is no better person in the room, no one with a more positive attitude. That’s what makes decisions like this so difficult. But I have to make some decisions. I can’t justify the payroll where we’re at with the results we’ve had and this is one of the decisions." - Devils overlord Lou Lamoriello on the Rolston move.
-The Devils recalled forward Tim Sestito from Albany of the AHL.
-The Islanders demoted former Pittsburgh Forge defenseman Dylan Reese and forward Rhett Rakhshani to Bridgeport of the AHL.
-The Islanders placed captain Doug Weight (back) on injured reserve.
Northeast Division
-Phil Kessel and Kris Versteeg each had a goal and and assist for the Maple Leafs in a 4-1 win at Edmonton. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 23 saves in the victory.
-Check out this pass by Toronto's Clarke MacArthur to set up Mikhail Grabovski for a goal:
{youtube width="480" height="295"}r2u0wLyF0io{/youtube}
-Check out this pass by Versteeg to set up Kessel:
{youtube width="480" height="295"}8E7sECxWa9A{/youtube}
-Fight of the Night: Toronto's Colton Orr and Edmonton's Zach Stortini:
{youtube width="480" height="295"}-k0eYmvdWCA{/youtube}
-A good look at the fight:
-Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf scored his first goal of the season against his hometown team.
-The Bruins' trade of forward Marco Sturm to the Kings in exchange for future consideration was officially completed.
-"I’ve been in three fights and I’ve been injured twice." - Canadiens defenseman Jaroslav Spacek on why he rarely fights.
Southeast Division
-With defenseman Jay Harrison dealing with an "upper-body" ailment, he Hurricanes recalled defenseman Bryan Rodney from Charlotte of the AHL.
-With forward Chris Higgins (staph infection) and defenseman Bryan Allen (foot) ready to return to the lineup, the Panthers demoted forward Kenndal McArdle to Rochester of the AHL.
-Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier (right) resumed practicing for the first time since breaking his hand Nov. 11.
-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau shot down rumors his team was pursuing another goaltender.
Central Division
-The Blackhawks demoted forwards forwards Jeremy Morin and Ryan Potulny to Rockford of the AHL.
-Corey Crawford (right) has surpassed Marty Turco as the Blackhawks' top goaltender.
-Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.
Northwest Division
-Does the Wild have a goaltending controversey with Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore?
-The Canucks demoted forward Guillaume Desbiens to Manitoba of the AHL.
-The Avalanche recalled defenseman Jonas Holos from Lake Erie of the AHL and demoted defenseman Kevin Montgomery and David Van Der Gulik to Lake Erie.
Pacific Division
-So much for Ducks coach and former Penguins captain Randy Carlyle (right) being on the hot seat. The Ducks gave Carlyle and senior vice president of hockey operations David McNab contract extensions through the 2011-12 season.
Adams Division
-Former Blues/Thrashers forward Lubos Bartecko has joined MODO of the Elitserien in Sweden.
(Photos: Penguins/Flyers-Associated Press; Maple Leafs/Oilers-John Ulan/Canadian Press; Lecavalier-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Carlyle-Post-Gazette archives)