Empty Netter Assists - 02-12-11
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's circus game. "A guy who would challenge the goalie, that's kind of a cheap move." - Kris Letang on Islanders forward Michael Haley challenging Brent Johnson to a fight.
-The (New York) Daily News' recap. "A lot of liberties have been taken over the course of the season, and it can only be built up so much before it comes out. I'm proud of everyone for sticking up for each other." - Islanders forward Zenon Konopka.
-The Associated Press' recap. "The league takes care of all that stuff, and I’m sure they will.” - Brooks Orpik.
-NHL.com's recap. "The first half of the game was a hockey game, and the second was not." - Dan Bylsma.
-Highlights. So to speak.
-Craig Adams versus. New York's Micheal Haley:
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-Eric Godard versus New York's Trevor Gillies:
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-The second period brawl:
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-The third period brawl:
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-More garbage in the third period:
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-Joe Vitale versus New York's Andrew MacDonald:
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-Some images from an embarrassing night for the sport:
-There were some rather nice images out of the warm ups. Mike Rupp:
-Ben Lovejoy:
-Zbynek Michalek:
-Maxime Talbot:
-Adams:
-Nick Johnson put a little too much on this shot:
-Brent Johnson speaks:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Don't expect to see Eric Godard for 10 games or so.
-Dustin Jeffrey is the latest Penguins forward on injured reserve.
-Four Words: New Mike Lange T-shirts.
-Brad Thiessen made 22 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-0 shutout of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
-Andrew Orpik scored both of the Wheeling Nailers' goals in a 4-2 loss to the Reading Royals.
-Happy (and somewhat ironic given last night's activities) 56th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Russ Anderson (right). A second-round pick in 1975, Anderson spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1976-77, Anderson appeared in 66 games, scored 13 points and recorded 81 penalty minutes. He played in three postseason games that spring and recorded one assist. He followed that up in 1977-78 by appearing in 74 games, scoring 18 points and collecting 150 penalty minutes. In 1978-79, Anderson saw action in 72 games, scored 16 points and compiled 93 penalty minutes. He played in two games that postseason and failed to record a point. During 1979-80, Anderson played in 76 games and set a career high with 27 points and netted 150 penalty minutes. The 1980 postseason saw him appear in five games and record two assists. Anderson was limited to 34 games and 17 assists and 112 penalty minutes in 1980-81. After 31 games and one assist in 1981-82, Anderson was traded to the Hartford Whalers along with a draft pick in exchange for Rick MacLeish. In 353 regular season games with the Penguins, Anderson scored 92 points (89th-most in franchise history) and recorded 684 penalty minutes (10th-most). Anderson also holds the franchise's single-game record for penalties (nine) and penalty minutes (51).
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-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Brad Werenka. A free agent signing in the 1997 offseason, Werenka spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. In 1997-98, he played in 71 games and scored 18 points. In six postseason games that season, he played in six games and scored one goal. Werenka set career-highs in 1998-99 with games (81) and points (24) and led the team with 93 penalty minutes. During that postseason, he saw action in 13 games and scored points. After 61 games and 11 points in 1999-2000, Werenka was dealt at the trade deadline to the Flames in exchange for Rene Corbet and Tyler Moss. In 213 regular season games with the Penguins, Werenka scored 53 points. In 19 postseason games, he had three points.
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-Happy 31st birthday to former Penguins forward Rico Fata. Acquired prior to the 2003 trade deadline along with Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner and Mikael Samuelsson in a trade that sent Mike Wilson, Alex Kovalev, Janne Laukkanen and Dan LaCouture to the Rangers, Fata spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. He finished 2002-03 by playing in 27 games for the Penguins and scoring 13 points. His only full season in Pittsburgh was 2003-04. He played in 73 games, scored 34 points and compiled a staggering minus -46. Following the 2004-05 lockout, Fata played in 20 games for the 2005-06 Penguins and failed to record a point. Midway through that season, he was claimed off waivers by the Thrashers. In 120 games for the Penguins, he scored 47 points. He currently plays for Biel of the NLA in Switerzland.
Atlantic Division
-A goal and an assist by Ilya Kovalchuk led the Devils to a 2-1 win against the Sharks. Johan Hedberg made 31 saves in the victory which was New Jersey's 12th in 15 games. San Jose had a five-game winning streak snapped.
-Happy times for Kovalchuk:
-Happy times in New Jersey:
-"It's nice to do this but I'm not totally pleased with the way we're playing." - Devils coach Jacques Lemaire.
-The Devils recalled defenseman Jay Leach from Albany of the AHL.
Northeast Division
-Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson was placed on injured reserve after undergoing a third heart ablation procedure.
-Toronto forward and former Penguin Colby Armstrong is dealing with blurred vision.
Southeast Division
-Two goals and an assist by Evander Kane led the Thrashers to a 3-2 win against the Rangers. Anthony Stewart added a goal and an assist for Atlanta while Ondrej Pavelec made 27 saves in the victory. Marian Gaborik recorded two assists for New York which has lost six consecutive games.
-Intense times for Kane:
-Atlanta's Dustin Byfuglien kept his balance here:
-A good look at the lid of New York's Henrik Lundqvist:
-Happy times for Pavelec:
-Thrashers defenseman Tobias Enstrom returned to the lineup after missing six games due to a broken finger.
-The Hurricanes recalled forward Brett Sutter from Charlotte of the AHL.
Central Division
-Two goals by Todd Bertuzzi led the Red Wings to a 6-1 rout of the Bruins. Jiri Hudler and Henrik Zetterberg each added a goal and two assists for Detroit while teammates Danny Cleary and Tomas Holmstrom each netted a goal and an assist. Jimmy Howard made 25 saves in the victory.
-Check out this fluky goal by Bertuzzi:
-Check out this hit Boston's Blake Wheelers put on... teammate Zach Hamill?
-Howard lunged out for this puck:
-A goal and an assist by captain Rich Nash led the Blue Jackets to a 3-1 win against the Avalanche. Former Penguin Mathieu Garon made 31 saves in the victory.
Northwest Division
-Shootout goals by Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns and John Madden gave the Wild a 5-4 win at St. Louis. Cal Clutterbuck scored two regulation goals for Minnesota while teammates Andrew Brunette and Martin Havlat each netted a goal and an assist in regulation. Jose Theodore made 31 saves in the victory. David Backes scored two goals for the Blues in regulation.
-Theodore stopping St. Louis' Andy McDonald:
-Avalanche star Peter Forsberg returned to the ice last night after three years away from the NHL. In 17:38 of ice time, he had one shot and was a minus.
-Forsberg was welcomed back by Colorado fans:
-And Columbus fans:
-The Canucks recalled defenseman Sami Salo from his conditioning assignment from Manitoba of the AHL and demoted forward Cody Hodgson to Manitoba.
-Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis will be sidelined indefinitely due to a concussion.
Pacific Division
-Shootout goals by Brenden Morrow, Brad Richards and Mike Ribeiro gave the Stars a 4-3 win against the Blackhawks. Stephane Robidas had a goal and an assist in regulation for Dallas while Kari Lehtonen made 23 saves in the victory. Patrick Kane netted a goal and two assists in regulation for Chicago.
-Check out this little bit of robberty by Lehtonen on Chicago's Brent Seabrook:
-Funny Faces of the Night: Dallas' Mike Ribeiro and Chicago's Brian Campbell:
-Dallas' Jeff Woywitka > Chicago's Ryan Johnson:
-An overtime goal by Cam Fowler gave the Ducks a 5-4 win at Calgary. Teemu Selanne added a goal and three assists for Anaheim while teammate Saku Koivu netted two goals and an assist. Curtis McElhinney made 21 saves in the victory. Curtis Glencross, Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen each had a goal and assist for Calgary.
-Fowler's goal:
-The Ducks activated goaltender Jonas Hiller from injured reserve and demoted goaltender Timo Pielmeier to Elmira of the ECHL.
-The Sharks demoted forward John McCarthy to Worcester of the AHL.
Patrick Division
-Ironically enough, on the same day of last night's brawl, former Sabres/Devils enforcer Andrew Peters officially announced his retirement. Peters might be best-known for challenging former Senators goaltender Ray Emery to a fight in the 2006-07 season:
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(Photos: Penguins/Islanders-Mark Lennihan/Associated Press and Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Anderson-Penguins Hockey Cards; Sharks/Devils-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Rangers/Thrashers-John Bazemore/Associated Press and Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images; Red Wings/Bruins-Elsa/Getty Images; Avalanche/Blue Jackets-John Grieshop/Getty Images; Wild/Blues-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images; Blackhawks/Stars-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)