Empty Netter Assists - 02-08-11
Penguins
-Keep your Bill Guerin (above) jersey in mothballs (PG+).
-Brad Thiessen made 21 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-0 shutout of the Albany Devils. Ben Street had two goals for the Penguins while teammates Nick Petersen and Geoff Walker reach recorded two assists.
-Highlights courtesy of The Wilkes-Blog:
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-The Penguins snapped a three-game losing streak.
-Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins forward Andre Roy. A free agent signing following the 2004-05 lockout, Roy, worked as the Penguins' primary enforcer for parts of two seasons. In 2005-06, he appeared in 42 games recording three points and 116 penalty minutes. Roy would appear in five games and fail to record a point in 2006-07 before being put on waivers and claimed by his former team, the Lightning. In 47 games with the Penguins, he scored three points and 128 penalty minutes.
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-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Kelly Pratt. A free agent signing in the 1974 offseason, Pratt's NHL career amounted to 22 games with the 1974-75 Penguins. He recorded six points.In the 1975 offseason, he was sold to Hershey of the AHL.
Atlantic Division
-With goaltender Martin Brodeur's wonky knee a question mark, the Devils recalled goaltender Mike McKenna from Albany of the AHL.
Northeast Division
-Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs in a 5-4 defeat of the Thrashers. Tomas Kaberle recorded two assists for Toronto while Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 34 saves in the victory. Zach Bogosian, Bryan Little and Rich Peverly each netted two assists for Atlanta.
-Check out this nifty re-direction goal by MacArthur:
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-Check out this brutal turnover by Atlanta's Dustin Byfuglien which led to a goal for Kulemin:
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-The Maple Leafs honored honoured the 35th anniversary of hall of famer Darryl Sittler's 10-point game:
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-Giguere kept his eyes on this puck:
-The Bruins formally announced forward Marc Savard will miss the rest of the season due to a concussion.
-Boston recalled forward Jordan Caron from Providence of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Capitals defenseman Mike Green is dealing with concussion symptoms after taking a Brooks Oprik slap shot to the head Sunday.
-With forward Cory Stillman dealing with an "upper-body" injury, the Panthers recalled forward Michal Repik from Rochester of the AHL.
-Lightning forward Nate Thompson is dealing with what sounds like a head ailment.
Central Division
-Pavel Datsyuk returned to the lineup after missing 19 games due to a broken wrist and recorded a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 3-2 win against the Rangers. Jiri Hudler added a goal and an assist for Detroit while Jimmy Howard made 45 saves in the victory. The Rangers have lost five consecutive games.
-Detroit's Ruslan Salei and New York's Mats Zuccarello kicked up some ice here:
-Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula left the game due to a leg injury.
-With Jaroslav Halak ready to return after missing two games due to an "upper-body" injury, the Blues demoted goaltender Ben Bishop to Peoria of the AHL.
-"If we are a playoff team then we have to prove it. Right now, obviously, we're not a playoff team." - Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell.
Northwest Division
-Former Penguin Mikael Samuelsson had two goals and an assist for the Canucks in a 4-2 defeat of the Senators. Fire Craig Patrick. Mason Raymond recorded three assists for Vancouver while teammate Ryan Kesler added a goal and an assist. Roberto Luongo made 31 saves in the victory. Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist for Ottawa.
-Check out this goal by Vancouver's Alex Burrows:
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-Check out this hit by Ottawa's Chris Neil on Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin and Neil's subsequent fight with Vancouver's Aaron Rome:
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-Cool Photo of the Night: Luongo keeping an eye on things:
-Ottawa's coach Cory Clouston is popular:
-Canucks defenseman Keith Ballard left the game due to a leg injury.
-Miikka Kiprusoff made 25 saves for the Flames in a 3-1 win against the Blackhawks. Olli Jokinen had two assists for Calgary which has won seven of eight games.
-Kiprusoff taking the ice:
-Devan Dubnyk made 37 saves for the Oilers in a 4-0 shutout of the Predators. It was his first career shutout. Andrew Cogliano and Jordan Eberle each had a goal and an assist for Edmonton.
-Dubnyk somehow avoided giving up a goal here:
-Forward Peter Forsberg's return to the Avalanche is being delayed due to immigration issues.
Pacific Division
-Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves for the Coyotes in a 3-0 shutout of the Avalanche. Radim Vrbata scored two goals for Phoenix while Ray Whitney recorded two assists.
-Thirsty times for Colorado's Chris Stewart:
-Angry, toothless times for Colorado's Cody McLeod:
-We don't want to suggest Phoenix's Ray Whitney is too grabby, but Colorado's Daniel Winnik didn't seem too crazy about this defensive technique:
-The Coyotes have recorded back to back shutouts for the first time since 2003-04.
-The Ducks signed former Senators/Flyers goaltender Ray Emery to a one-year, two-way contract.
-Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow after being sidelined since Dec. 28 due to facial injuries.
-It doesn't sound like Sharks general manager Doug Wilson is in a rush to make any moves.
Adams Division
-Norwegian Olympic sensation Tore Vikingstad has joined the Oilers... the Stavanger Oilers of the Get Ligaen in Norway.
(Photos: Thrashers/Maple Leafs-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Red Wings/Rangers-Carlos Osorio/Associated Press; Senators/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press; Blackhawks/Flames-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Oilers/Predators-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press; Avalanche/Coyotes-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)