Empty Netter Assists - 12-18-10

Penguins

-By way of the Penguins' Web site, Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson have some shiny new masks for the Winter Classic. Fleury:

-And Johnson:

-The masks of Capitals goaltenders Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth were also revealed:

-Jordan Staal is still on the mend.

-All that down time during the Penguins' winning streak left Brent Johnson a little rusty.

-It took all of 10 minutes for tickets to the Penguins-Capitals alumni game to sell out.

-A public skating scheduled for the rink outside Heinz Field was released.

-An edited, non-embeddable version of the first episode of "24/7" is available from the Penguins' Web site.

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Pascal Dupuis speaks:

-Brooks Orpik speaks:

-The Penguins are good people:

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-If you missed it, here's the upcoming (bland) appearances of Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin on Monday's "The Price Is Right:"

-Two goals by Eric Tangradi led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 5-2 defeat of the Abbotsford Heat. Joe Vitale added a goal and two assists for the Penguins while teammate Dustin Jeffrey netted a goal and an assist. Brad Thiessen made 30 saves in the victory.

-Highlights courtesy of The Pensblog's Eric Politowski:

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-Jeffrey's recent demotion to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from Pittsburgh was documatend by HBO.

-Patrick Killeen made 24 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-1 loss to Cincinnati Cyclones.

-Happy 65th birthday to former Penguins captain and all-star forward Jean Pronovost (right). Acquired during the 1968 offseason in a deal along with John Arbour which sent cash to the Bruins, Pronovost spent 10 seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1968-69, Pronovost appeared in 76 games and scored 41 points. He followed that up in 1969-70 by playing in 72 games and once against scored 41 points. Helping the team reach the postseason for the first time in franchise history, Pronovost scored seven points in 10 contests. In 1970-71, Pronovost appeared in 78 games scored a team-leading 21 goals and recorded 45 points. During 1971-72, Pronovost once again led the team with 30 goals while compiling 53 points. In four postseason games that spring, Pronovost scored two points in four games. The 1972-73 season saw Pronovost get teamed with Syl Apps, Jr. and Lowell MacDonald to form a line which would eventually become known as "The Century Line." Pronovost appeared in 66 games that season and scored 43 points. In 1973-74, Provonost took a big step as he saw action in 70 contests while scoring 40 goals and 72 points. The 1974-75 campaign saw Pronovost play in 78 games, lead the team with 43 goals, score 75 points and be selected to his first all-star game. In the 1975 postseason, he played in 10 games and netted seven points. Pronovost's greatest season was 1975-76 when he set career highs in games (80), goals (52), assists (52) and points (104) while being selected to a second consecutive all-star game. That season also saw him become the first 50-goal scorer in franchise history. During that season's playoffs, he saw action in three games and scored on goal. In 1976-77, Pronovost appeared in 79 games and led the team with 33 goals and 64 points and once again appeared in an all-star game. That spring's postseason saw him play in three games and score three points. His final season in Pittsburgh was 1977-78. Serving as the team's captain, he played in 79 games and once again led the team with 40 goals and 65 points and appeared in his fourth all-star game. In the 1978 offseason, he was traded to the Atlanta Flames in exchange for Gregg Sheppard. One of the most prolific players in franchise history, Pronovost ranks third in games played (603), goals (316), fifth in points (603), third in shorthanded goals (14), fourth in game-winning goals (42). He also led the team in single-season goal-scoring five times. Only Mario Lemieux (10) accomplished that feat more often. In 29 postseason games with the Penguins, Pronovost scored 18 points. In 1992, he was a member of the franchise's hall of fame charter class.

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-Happy 39th birthday to former Penguins forward Joe Dziedzic. A third-round pick in 1990, Dziedzic spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1995-96, Dziedzic appeared in 69 games and scored 10 points. During that spring's playoffs, Dziedzic saw action in 16 games and scored recorded three points. In 1996-97, he appeared in 59 games and scored 18 points. During the 1997 playoffs, he recorded one assist in five games. After spending all of 1997-98 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Cleveland, Dziedzic joined the Coyotes in the 1998 offseason as a free agent. In 128 regular season games with the Penguins, Dziedzic scored 28 points. In 21 postseason games, he scored three points. He currently runs a hockey school in Minnesota.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger (right) will be sidelined four to six weeks due to a broken bone in his right foot.

-The Islanders placed former Penguins forward Jon Sim on waivers.

-The Rangers recalled forward Dale Weise from Connecticut of the AHL.

-Even after he left the Thrashers as a free agent this past summer, Devils goaltender Johan Hedberg kept his family in Atlanta.

Northeast Division

-Maple Leafs goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere has aggravated a groin injury.

-The Maple Leafs recalled goaltender James Reimer from their AHL affiliate, also in Toronto, and demoted defenseman Keith Aulie.

-Sabres defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has resumed skating for the first time since suffering a concussion Dec. 3.

Southeast Division

-Two goals by Marty Reasoner helped the Panthers rout the Sabres, 6-2. Michael Frolik and Stephen Weiss each added a goal and an assist for Florida while teammates Evgeny Dadonov, Chris Higgins and Shawn Matthias each recorded two assists. Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves in the win.

-Funny Face of the Night: Happy times for Reasoner:

-"They did their thing and embarrassed us." - Sabres defenseman Steve Montador.

-With forward Jiri Tlusty ("upper body") banged up, the Hurricanes recalled forward Zach Boychuk from Charlotte of the AHL.

-The Capitals signed defenseman John Erksine to a two-year contract extension worth a total of $3 million. Erskine, who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, will have a salary cap hit of $1.5 million once the new deal kicks in.

-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau has this crazy idea that his team should play some actual $&#! defense.

Central Division

-Two goals by Martin Erat helped the Predators claim a 3-1 win at New Jersey. Captain Shea Weber and teammate Ryan Suter each recorded two assists. Anders Lindback made all of 15 saves in the victory.

-We don't want to accuse the Devils have having attendance problems, but...:

-Cool Photo of the Night: New Jersey's Travis Zajac getting hit by Nashville's Ryan Suter:

-New Jersey's Martin Brodeur had issues with this puck:

-Tomas Kopecky scored two goals for the Blackhawks in a 4-1 defeat of the Red Wings. Brent Seabrook recorded two assists for Chicago while Corey Crawford made 29 saves in the victory.

-Prior to the game, former Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios was honored:

-Even Crawford's mask couldn't nullify the affects of Kopecky's "smell-my-hand" attack:

-Happy times in Chicago:

-The Blackhawks signed former Blues/Canucks forward to a one-year deal worth $500,000.

-The Blues demoted forward Adam Cracknell to Peoria of the AHL.

-Paul Teutel, Sr. of  "American Chopper" is a Blackhawks fans:

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Northwest Division

-Two goals by Matt Duchene, including one in overtime, gave the Avalanche a wild 6-5 win against the Senators. Kevin Porter added a goal and an assist for Colorado while teammates Philippe Dupuis, John-Michael Liles and Kevin Shattenkirk each recorded two assists. Craig Anderson made 24 saves in the victory. Chris Kelly had two assists for Ottawa.

-Duchene's game-winner:

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-Check out this slick little pass by Senators forward Ryan Shannon to set up teammate Milan Michalek:

-With 24 assists and zero assists, Oilers defenseman and former Penguin Ryan Whitney is chasing down a quirky record. He has a chance to tie Toronto's Jimmy Thomson's mark of 29 assists in 1947-48. That is the record for most points without a goal to start a season.

-"We're the smartest fourth line in hockey. " - Canucks forward Tanner Glass on his line which includes Aaron Volpatti and Alec Bolduc. Glass attended Dartmouth while Volpatti attended Brown.

Pacific Division

-The Coyotes recalled goaltender Matt Climie from San Antonio of the AHL.

Patrick Division

-Former Major League Baseball Players association head Donald Fehr is expected to be confirmed as the new executive director of the NHLPA today.

(Photos: Pronovost-Penguins Hockey Cards; Sabres/Panthers-Joel Auerbach/Getty Images and Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press; Pronger and Predators/Devils-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Bill Kostroun/Associated Press; Red Wings/Blackhawks-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)