Empty Netter Assists - 01-20-11
Penguins
-Just throwing this out there for yinz to chew on. Did Evgeni Malkin hurt his knee/leg/etc. on this play in Saturday's game at Boston:
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-How much of an impact has Dan Bylsma's system had on Evgeni Malkin?
-John Curry made 23 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-1 defeat of the Syracuse Crunch. Ryan Craig recorded two assists for the Penguins.
-Highlights courtesty of The Pensblog's Eric Politowski:
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-On the night defenseman Andrew Hutchinson returned to the lineup after missing seven games due to injury, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton power play scored three goals for the first time since... anyone? The last time Hutchinson played on Dec. 7.
-Bill Guerin was behind the bench for the Penguins.
-California University of Pennsylvania will hold an online acution beginning Jan. 26 featuring Penguins merchandise which will benefit the Pittsburgh Penguins Scholarship at California University.
-Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Dick Tarnstrom (right). A free agent signing in the 2002 offseason, Tarnstrom spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. In 2002-03, he appeared in 61 games and scored 41 points. He made some history during 2003-04 by becoming the only defenseman in franchise history to lead the club after he scored 52 points in 80 games. Following the 2004-05 lockout, Tarnstrom appeared in 33 games and scored 10 points for the Penguins in 2005-06 before being traded to the Oilers in exchange for Corey Cross and Jani Rita. He is currently the captain of AIK of the Elitserien in his native Sweden. In 174 games with the Penguins, Tarnstrom scored 103 points, 76th-most in franchise history and the most among any Swedish-born player in Penguins history.
-Happy 32nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Josef Melichar (right). A third-round pick in 1997, Melichar spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 2000-01, he appeared in 18 games and recorded two assists. He followed that up in 2001-02 by seeing action in 60 games and recording three assists. Injuries limited him to eight games and no points in 2002-03. He rebounded in 2003-04 by playing in all 82 games and scoring eight points. Following the 2004-05 lockout, Melichar played in 72 games during 2005-06 and set a career-high with 15 points. In 2006-07, he saw action in 70 games and scored 12 points. He appeared in all five of the Penguins' postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. During the 2007 offseason, he joined the Lightning as a free agent. He currently plays for Linköping of the Eliteserien in Sweden. Melichar appeared in 310 regular season games for the Penguins, 46th-most in franchise history, and scored 40 points.
Atlantic Division
-Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for the Rangers in a 7-0 shutout of the Maple Leafs. Marian Gaborik had four goals and an assist for New York while teammate Artem Anisimov recorded four assists.
-Gaborik's hat trick (plus one):
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-Happy times for Gaborik:
-Toronto's Luke Schenn and New York's Dale Weise had issues:
-Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf and New York's Kris Newbury had issues:
-Newbury was just on a tear last night. He also apparently threw a side hip suplex on Toronto's Colton Orr:
-Lundqvist kept his eyes on this puck:
-Thirsty times for Lundqvist:
-It was a rough night for Toronto's Jonas Gustavsson:
-As part of NBC's contract with the NHL, Bob Costas apparently gets to berate Gary Bettman and make him get nachos:
-We think.
-Gaborik broke an eight-game goalless streak.
-With forwards Brandon Dubinsky (broken tibula) and Ruslan Fedotneko (AC sprain/shoulder) dinged up, the Rangers recalled forwards Brodie Dupont and Chad Kolarik from Connecticut of the AHL.
-Islanders forward Kyle Okposo, who has been sidelined since the preseason due to a shoulder injury, is expected to make his season debut tonight.
-Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger (right) is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing 13 games due to a broken foot.
-With Calgary captain Jarome Iginla attending to a family matter, Flyers forward Daniel Briere will replace him in the All-Star Game.
Northeast Division
-With forwards Mike Cammalleri (separated shoulder), Jeff Halpern (undisclosed) and Max Pacioretty (rib) dinged up, the Canadiens recalled forward Andreas Engqvist from Hamilton of the AHL.
-Sabres forward Drew Stafford is dealing with a groin injury.
-Maple Leafs goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere will face his former team, the Ducks, for the first time since being traded to Toronto last season.
Southeast Division
-With goaltenders Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov each each dealing with "lower-body" injuries, the Capitals recalled goaltender Braden Holtby (right) from Hershey of the AHL.
-The Thrashers demoted forward Nigel Dawes and Tim Stapleton from Chicago of the AHL and demoted forward Spencer Machacek to Chicago.
-The Hurricanes demoted forward Zach Boychuk to Charlotte of the AHL.
-Today's tear-jerking story about a young fan with a life-altering disease and the hockey team he follows is brought to you by the Charlotte Checkers.
Central Division
-An overtime goal by Plum-native R.J. Umberger (No, really, he's from from here!) gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win at Florida. Fedor Tyutin netted a goal and an assist for Columbus while teammate Grant Clitsome recorded two assists. Steve Mason made 29 saves in the victory. Dmitry Kulikov had two assists for the Panthers.
-It wasn't all bad for the Panthers. Cory Stillman had a puck bank off his face for a goal:
-Fight of the Night: Columbus' Jared Boll and Florida's Darcy Hordichuk:
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(How about the linesman catching Boll's helmet in mid-air?)
-A good look at the fight:
-Funny Face of the Night: Boll warming up:
-A good look at Mason's lid:
-Happy times for the Blue Jackets:
-With goaltender Jimmy Howard healed from his knee injury, the Red Wings demoted goaltender Thomas McCollum to Grand Rapids of the AHL.
-The Blues placed defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo (eye) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman Ian Cole from Peoria of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-Niklas Backstrom made 37 saves for the Wild in a 6-0 shutout of the Flames. Martin Havlat had two goals and an assist for Minnesota while teammate Kyle Brodziak recorded three assists.
-Check out the effort by Minnesota's Chuck Kobasew on this goal:
-Backstrom returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a hip injury Dec. 31.
-The Wild avoided a suspension and fine when forward Brad Staubitz had an instigating minor from Tuesday's game in Edmonton rescinded. If the league had stuck with the penalty, Staubitz could have been suspended one game and head coach Todd Richards could have been fined $10,000.
-Minnesota recalled forward Cody Almond from Houston of the AHL.
-The Avalanche recalled forward Ryan Stoa from Lake Erie of the AHL and demoted demoted forward TJ Galiardi to Lake Erie.
-Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey is expected to return to the lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion Oct. 30.
-Edmonton defenseman and former Penguin Ryan Whitney (right) underwent surgery to repair a tendon in in his right ankle. He is expected to miss the rest of the season.
-Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff is expected to return to the lineup for the first time since suffering a knee injury Dec. 7.
-Forget a dads' or moms' trip. The Canucks are doing a brothers/sisters trip.
-Thinking Out Loud: We think they're just doing to save money since the Sedins would already be on the trip regardless.
Pacific Division
-The Stars recalled forwards Aaron Gagnon and Francis Wathier from Texas of the AHL.
-Forward Kyle Wellwood is expected to make his debut with the Sharks tonight.
Patrick Division
-ESPN's Pierre LeBrun gets it right regarding head shots. Ban them all. Period.
(Photos: Tarnstrom-Annie O'Neill/Post-Gazette; Melichar-Jasmine Gehris/Post-Gazette; Maple Leafs/Rangers and Holtby-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Pronger-Mike Stobe/Getty Images; Panthers/Blue Jackets-Joel Auerbach/Getty Images and Lynne Sladky/Associated Press; Whitney-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)