Empty Netter Assists - 01-21-10
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "We just didn't bring it." - Mark Letestu.
-The Newark Star-Ledger's recap. “We were missing a couple guys, too.” - Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
-The Associated Press' recap. The Devils have points in a season-hgh five cosnecutive games.
-NHL.com's recap. Did you know Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin didn't play?
-Highlights (so to speak).
-Maxime Talbot versus Tim Sestito:
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-A good look at the fight:
-Brent Johnson lost track of this puck:
-Arron Asham and Sestito battling for a puck:
-New Jersey's Martin Brodeur getting lost in a spray of ice:
-Brodeur kept his eyes on this puck:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Don't expect to see Crosby before the all-star break.
-Should the Penguins re-examine teaming Crosby with Evgeni Malkin (PG+)?
-NBC officially announced it would be picking up the Feb. 6 game between the Penguins and Capitals. Another terrible 12:30 p.m. start.
-The glass from the boards at the Winter Classic is being "cut down" into commemorative plaques:
-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Moe Mantha, Jr. Acquired in the 1984 offseason in a deal which sent Randy Carlyle to the Winnipeg Jets, Mantha spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. In 1984-85, Mantha appeared in 71 games and recorded 51 points. He followed that up in 1985-86 by setting career highs in games (78) and point (67). During 1986-87, Mantha appared in 62 games and netted 40 points. After 21 games and 10 points in 1987-88, Mantha was traded along with Craig Simpson, Dave Hannan and Chris Joseph in exchange for Paul Coffey, Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp. In 232 regular season games with the Penguins, Mantha scored 168 points, 45th-most in franchise history.
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-Happy 30th birthday to former Penguins forward Michal Sivek. Acquired along with Kris Beech and Ross Lupaschuk from the Capitals in exchange for Jaromir Jagr and Frantisek Kucera in the 2001 offseason, Sivek's NHL's career amounted to 38 games and six points with the Penguins in 2002-03. During the 2004 offseason, he joined HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga.
Atlantic Division
-Two goals and two assists by captain Mike Richards led the Flyers to a 6-2 rout of the Senators. Daniel Briere and Andrej Meszaros added a goal and assist for Philadelphia while teammate Chris Pronger recorded two assists.
-The Flyers and Senators combined for 126 minutes in penalties. Eighty of those minutes were compiled in one second of action.
-The fights:
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-A good look at Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell and Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu having issues:
-Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Ottawa's Jesse Winchester also had issues:
-Bobrovsky kept his eyes on this puck:
-Briere being popular:
-Ottawa's Brian Elliott had to look around this screen by Philadelphia's Darroll Powe:
-Wet times for Pronger:
Northeast Division
A goal and an assist by Thomas Vanek led the Sabres to a 4-2 win against the Bruins. Teammate Tyler Ennis recorded two assists while Ryan Miller made 38 saves in the victory.
-Buffalo's Paul Gaustad and Boston's Andrew Ference got tied up here:
- Ference returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering an undisclosed injury Jan. 13.
-Two goals by Mikhail Grabovski led the Maple Leafs to a 5-2 win against the Ducks. Clarke MacArthur added a goal and two assists for Toronto while teammate Tyler Bozak netted a goal and an assist. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 26 saves in the victory against his former team.
-Check out this thuderous hit by Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf on Anaheim's Matt Beleskey:
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-Funny Faces of the Night: Toronto's Colton Orr and Anaheim's George Parros:
-“I was a little nervous." - Giguere on facing his former team for the first time since being traded last season.
-On the flip side of the trade, Ducks forward Jaso Blake played in Toronto for the first time since the deal.
-The Canadiens officially place forward Mike Cammalleri (shoulder) on injured reserve and recalled forward Ryan White from Hamilton of the AHL.
-The Sabres recalled defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani from Portland of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist for the Capitals in a 2-1 win against the Islanders. Captain Alex Ovechkin recorded two assists while Braden Holtby made 24 saves in the victory.
-Check out this pass by Ovechkin to set up Jason Chimera for a goal:
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-New York's Bruno Gervais put a little too much torque on this shot:
-Chad Larose and Jeff Skinner each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes in a 4-1 defeat of the Rangers. Tuomo Ruutu recorded two assists while Cam Ward made 39 saves in the victory.
-Check out this "save" by New York's Dan Girardi on Carolina's Jussi Jokinen:
-Shootout goals by former Penguins Adam Hall and Dominic Moore gave the Lightning a 3-2 win against the Thrashers. Fire Ray Shero. Steven Stamkos scored two goals in regulation for Tampa Bay while Dwayne Roloson made 27 saves in the victory. With 65 points, Stamkos is one point behind Crosby in the NHL's scoring race.
-The Lightning has won 10 consecutive games against the Thrashers.
-Tampa Bay demoted goaltender Mike Smith to Norfolk of the AHL.
-The Capitals recalled defenseman Brian Fahey from Hershey of the AHL.
Central Division
-Darren Helm's overtime goal gave the Red Wings a 4-3 win at St. Louis. Jiri Hudler recorded three assists for Detroit while teammate Valtteri Filppula netted two assists. Jimmy Howard made 26 saves in the victory. Patrik Berglund had a goal and an assist for the Blues.
-Helm's goal:
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-It wasn't all bad for the Blues. Check out this stunning save by Jaroslav Halak:
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-Happy times for Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg and Patrick Eaves:
-Howard kept his eyes on this puck:
-Helm and St. Louis' Ian Cole battling for position:
-Cody Franson and David Legwand each had a goal and an assist for the Predators in a 5-1 win at Colorado. Patric Hornqvist recorded two assists for Nashville while Pekke Rinne made 32 saves in the victory.
-Colorado's Ryan Jones and Nashville captain Shea Weber had issues:
-Weber got a little payback on Colorado's Rya Stoa
-Colorado's Craig Anderson had issues with this puck:
-The Red Wings signed former Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract worth approximately $570,000. Since Nabokov began the season with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, he must clear waivers before joining the Red Wings.
-The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Nick Leddy from Rockford of the AHL.
-The Blues demoted forward Chris Porter to Peoria of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-Scary news in Colorado as it was revealed Avalanche forward Tomas Fleischmann will miss the rest of the season due to blood clots in each of his lungs.
Pacific Division
-Jamie Benn and Adam Burish each had a goal and an assist for the Stars in a 4-2 win at Edmonton. Kari Lehtonen made 30 saves in the victory which was the Stars' eighth consecutive on the road, a franchise record.
-Benn's goal was smooth:
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Joe Pavelski's shootout goal gave the Sharks a 2-1 win at Vancouver. Antti Niemi made 36 saves in the victory.
-It wasn't all bad for the Sharks. Check out this goal by captain Henrik Sedin:
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-Niemi didn't keep his eyes on this puck:
-Vancouver's Keith Ballard laid a hip into San Jose's Logan Couture here:
-Second Funny Face of the Night: Ballard and teammate Roberto Luongo colliding:
-Ilya Brzygalov mad 36 saves for the Ducks in a 2-0 shutout of the Kings. The Kings have lost three consecutive games.
-Kings general manager Dean Lombardi ripped NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy after Murphy and the "War Room" in Toronto failed to overturn a goal by Phoenix's Martin Hanzal. Video appeared to show Hanzal striking the puck with a high stick. Lombardi accused Murphy of having a conflict of interest having been turned down for the general manager position in Los Angeles.
-The goal in question:
-The Kings placed forward Marco Sturm (knee) on injured reserve and recalled forward Andrei Loktionov from Manchester of the AHL.
-The Sharks placed goaltender Antero Niittymaki (groin) on injured reserve and signed goaltender Jordan White to a one-game amateur tryout.
Smythe Division
-When it comes to MVP players and concussions, there probably isn't a better expert than former Flyers/Rangers/Maple Leafs/Stars forward Eric Lindros.
(Photo: Penguins/Devils-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images and Julio Cortez/Associated Press; Senators/Flyers-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Sabres/Bruins-Charles Krupa; Ducks/Maple Leafs-Abelimages/Getty Images; Capitals/Islanders-Lou Capozzola/Getty Images; Red Wings/Blues-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images; Predators/Avalanche-Barry Gutierrez/Associated Press and Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; Sharks/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images)