Empty Netter Assists - 01-24-11
Penguins
-Is the Penguins' third line really a third line?
-Brett Sterling scored two goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 9-5 loss to the Charlotte Checkers.
-Highlights courtesy of The Wilkes-Blog:
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-Joey Haddad and David Marshall each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-3 win against the Trenton Devils. Teammate Andrew Oprik recorded two assists while Peter Delmas made 29 saves in the victory.
-Happy 48th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Norm Schmidt. A fourth-round pick in 1981, Schmidt spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1983-84, Schmidt appeared in 34 games and scored 18 points. After spending all of 1984-85 with Baltimore of the AHL, he returned to Pittsburgh in 1985-86 by setting career highs in games (66) and points (29). In 1986-87, he was limited to 20 games and six points. After five games and three poitns in 1987-88, he was forced into retirement due to a back injury. In 125 games with the Penguins, Schmidt scored 56 points.
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-Happy 32nd birthday to former Penguins forward Tom Kostopoulos. A seventh-round pick in 1999, Kostopoulos spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 2001-02, Kostopoulos appeared in 11 games and scored three points. In 2002-03, he was limited to eight games and one assist. Kostopoulos finally broke through as an NHL regular in 2003-04 by playing in 60 games and scoring 22 points. After the 2004-05 lockout, he joined the Kings as a free agent. He is currently a member of the Flames. In 79 games with the Penguins, Kostopoulos scored 26 points.
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-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins forwards Chris and Peter Ferraro. The only set of twins to play for the Penguins, they each joined the organization when they were claimed off waivers from the Rangers prior to the 1997-98 season. Chris appeared in 46 games for the team that season and recorded seven points. Peter only played in 29 games for the Penguins that season also recording seven points before the Rangers re-claimed him off waviers in January, 1998. Chris left the Penguins when he signed with the OIlers in the 1998 offseason.
-Happy 66th birthday to former Penguins forward Happy 65th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Bobby Taylor. Acquired late in the 1975-76 season along with Ed Van Impe in a deal which sent Gary Inness and future considerations to the Flyers, Taylor's Penguins amounted to two games, a 0-1-0 record and 5.38 goals against average that season. He was released in the 1976 offseason.
Atlantic Division
-Two goals and an assist by Jeff Carter led the Flyers to a 4-1 win at Chicago. Claude Giroux recorded four assists for Philadelphia while teammate Nikolay Zherdev added a goal and an assist. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in the victory.
-Check out Giroux's pass to set up Carter:
-"It was nice to feel welcomed." - Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger on being booed everytime he touched the puck in Chicago.
-And all of a sudden, the Devils are hot. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists for the Devils in a 5-2 win against the Panthers. Jason Arnott scored two goals for New Jersey while teammate Brian Rolston added a goal and an assist. Martin Brodeur made 24 saves in the victory which was the Devils' fourth consecutive. Cory Stillman recorded two assists for Florida.
-Brodeur punched away this puck:
-Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk is dealing with a groin injury.
-The Devils placed defenseman Matt Corrente (shoulder) on injured reserve and recalled forward Alexander Vasyunov from Albany of the AHL.
-Islanders general manager Garth Snow called would be goaltender Evgeni Nabokov yesterday. Nabokov hung up on him.
Northeast Division
-Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Myers and Jason Pominville each recorded a goal and an assist for the Sabres in a 5-2 win against the Islanders. Ryan Miller made 31 saves in the victory. Former Penguins prospect Matt Moulson scored both of New York's goals. Fire Ray Shero.
-Miller having a moment:
-Mean Face of the Night: Buffalo's Steve Montador:
-New York's Steve Montador had issues with this puck:
-The Maple Leafs recalled goaltender James Reimer from Toronto of the AHL.
-The Canadiens demoted forward Andreas Engqvist to Hamilton of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Simon Gagne scored two goals and led the Lightning to a 7-1 rout of the Thrashers. Teddy Purcell recorded three assists for Tampa Bay while teammates Pavel Kubina and Martin St. Louis each netted a goal and an assist. Dwayne Roloson made 21 saves for the victory. The Lightning has defeated the Thrashers 11 consecutive times.
-Scoring Race Watch: Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos scored a goal and moved ahead of Sidney Crosby for first place with 67 points.
-Stamkos' goal basically bounced off him and deflected into the net:
-Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd ("upper body") and defenseman Tobias Enstrom (hand) each missed the game due to injuries. Enstrom had a franchise record for 296 consecutive games played snapped.
-With goaltender Tomas Vokoun dealing with an "upper-body" injury, the Panthers recalled goaltender Jacob Markstrom from Rochester of the AHL.
Central Division
-Cody Franson's shootout goal gave the Predators a 3-2 win at Edmonton. Alexander Sulzer had a goal and an assist for Nashville in regulation while Franson recorded two assists. Pekke Rinne made 22 saves in the victory.
-Check out this "save" by Rinne's loose stick on Edmonton captain Shawn Horcoff:
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-Check out this pass by Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn to set up Sulzer for his first NHL goal:
-Check out this re-direction goal by Nashville's Joel Ward:
-The Blues recalled forward Stefan Della Rovere and defenseman Nikita Nikitin from Peoria of the AHL and demoted defenseman Ian Cole and forward Ryan Reaves to Peoria.
-Blues defenseman Barrett Jackman is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.
-At yesterday's NFC Championship game, the Blackhawks' Jim Cornelison handled the honors:
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-Blackhawks goaltender Marty Turco. Not a fan of NBC's "Pierre" McGuire:
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Northwest Division
-The Canucks recalled defenseman Lee Sweatt from Manitoba of the AHL and demoted forward Sergei Shirokov to Manitoba.
-Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa is dealing with an eye injury.
-The Oilers demoted defenseman Taylor Chorney to Springfield of the AHL.
Pacific Division
-The Stars demoted forward Aaron Gagnon to Texas of the AHL.
(Photos: Penguins-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Panthers/Devils-Julio Cortez/Associated Press; Sabres/Islanders-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)