Empty Netter Assists - 02-16-11
Penguins
-Joe Vitale (above) took the road less traveled to the NHL.
-Dan Bylsma has Mario Lemieux's back.
-Should Dustin Jeffrey be on the Penguins' first line regardless of injuries (PG+)?
-Bylsma speaks:
-Brooks Orpik speaks:
-Craig Adams speaks:
-Maxime Talbot speaks:
-Happy 41st birthday to former Penguins forward Ladislav Karabin. A ninth-round pick in 1990, Karabin's entire NHL career amounted to nine games and no points in 1993-94. After spending all of 1994-95 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Cleveland, Karabin joined the Sabres as a free agent in the 1995 offseason.
-Happy 34th birthday to former Penguins forward Aleksey Morozov (right). A first-round pick in 1995, Morozov, the only player to wear No. 95 in franchise history, spent his entire seven-year NHL career in Pittsburgh. As a rookie in 1997-98, Morozov played in 76 game and scored 26 points. He appeared in six postseason games that spring and recorded one assists. He followed that up in 1998-99 by appearing in 67 game and collecting 19 points. During that spring's postseason, Morozov played in 10 games and scored two points. In 1999-2000, Morozov saw action in 68 games and netted 31 points. He was limited to five postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. During 2000-01, he played in 66 games and score 19 points. In 18 postseason games that season, he scored six points. Morozov was limited to 27 games and 25 points in 2001-02. His finest NHL season was his last. In 2002-03, Morozov played in 75 games and scored a career-best 50 points. During the 2003 offseason, he joine Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League. He is currently the captain of Ak Bars Kazan. In 451 games with the Penguins, Morozov scored 219 points, 33rd-most in franchise history. In 39 postseason games, he scored nine points.
{youtube width="480" height="390"}5v388s5u8aA{/youtube}
-Happy 69th birthday to former Penguins forward George Swarbrick. Acquired midway through the 1968-69 season along with Bryan Watson and Tracy Pratt in a trade that sent Earl Ingarfield, Gene Ubriaco and Dick Mattiussi to the Oakland Seals, Swarbrick spent parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh. He finished 1968-69 by playing in 19 games and scoring seven points for the Penguins. In 1969-70, he saw action in 12 game and recorded one assist. During the 1970 offseason, he was traded to the Flyers in exchange for Terry Ball. In 31 games with the Penguins, he recorded seven points.
Atlantic Division
-Shootout goals by Mike Richards and Kimmo Timonen gave the Flyers a 4-3 win at Tampa Bay. James van Riemsdyk added a goal and an assist in regulation for Philadelphia while Brian Boucher made 24 saves in the victory.
-van Riemsdyk ended up with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
-New Flyers forward Kris Versteeg made his debut with the team on a line with Richards and Andreas Nodl.
-And all of a sudden the Islanders are hot. Shootout goals by Robbie Schremp and Frans Nielsen gave the Islanders a 4-3 win at Ottawa. Michael Grabner had a goal and an assist in regulation for New York. Nathan Lawson made 28 saves in the victory. Bobby Butler netted a goal and an assist for the Senators.
-Check out this crazy goal by Grabner:
-Check out this pass by New York's Ty Wishart to set up teammate Blake Comeau for a goal:
-Lawson apparently abandoned the Islanders' team policy established by teammate Trevor Gillies of taunting an injured opponent and checked on the well fare of Ottawa's Chris Neil:
-Happy times for the Senators. Not so much for New York's Blake Comeau:
-A good look at Lawson's lid:
-The Devils officially placed goaltender Martin Brodeur (right knee) on injured reserve.
Northeast Division
-Shootout goals by Thomas Vanek, Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe and Jochen Hecht gave the Sabres a 3-2 win at Montreal. Jhonas Enroth made 32 saves in the victory.
-Check out this pass by Vanek to set up teammate Drew Stafford for a goal:
-Check out this pass by Montreal's David Desharnais to set up teammate Benoit Pouliot for a goal:
{youtube width="480" height="300"}j7mQHAMt39k{/youtube}
-The Sabres recalled Enroth from Portland of the AHL.
-Two goals by Mikhail Grabovski, including one with 1:01 left in regulation, led the Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win at Boston. Phil Kessel scored Toronto's other two goals while teammates Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf each recorded two assists. James Reimer made 32 saves in the victory. Gregory Campbell had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs.
-Grabovski's game-winner:
{youtube width="480" height="300"}5XCh2EmEFDk{/youtube}
-Check out this goal by Kessel:
{youtube width="480" height="300"}82F7qMKT91w{/youtube}
“It’s one of those situations where if you have any sense of pride, you’re embarrassed about tonight." - Bruins coach Claude Julien.
-The Bruins acquired forward Chris Kelly from the Senators in exchange for a second-round pick this summer.
-The Senators recalled forward Erik Condra from Binghamton of the AHL.
-The Sabres are expected to hire former Penguins vice president Ted Black to the team's front office once the sale of the franchise to Terry Pegula is completed.
-The Canadiens recalled defenseman Brendon Nash from Hamilton of the AHL.
-The Maple Leafs acquired forward Aaron Voros from the Ducks in exchange for a seventh round pick this summer.
-It sounds like the annual sweepstakes for Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle (right) have begun once again.
Southeast Division
-The Thrashers signed defenseman Dustin Byfuglien to a five-year contract extension worth $26 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $5.2 million.
-Atlanta recalled defenseman Paul Postma from Chicago of the AHL.
-The Hurricanes recalled defenseman Brett Carson from Charlotte of the AHL.
-With defenseman Matt Smaby dealing with an illness, the Lightning recalled defenseman Mike Vernace from Norfolk of the AHL.
-The Capitals recalled defenseman Patrick McNeill from Hershey of the AHL.
Central Division
-The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Nick Leddy from Rockford of the AHL.
-The Blue Jackets demoted defenseman John Moore to Springfield of the AHL.
-Blue Jackets forward Derek Dorsett (right) is dealing with a concussion.
-The Red Wings demoted Jan Mursak to Grand Rapids of the AHL.
-Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart was given medical clearance to play tonight for the first time since suffering a broken jaw Jan. 7.
-The Blues will honor four former players who wore No. 7 - Red Berenson, Garry Unger, Joe Mullen and Keith Tkachuk - prior to a game March 7.
Northwest Division
-Ryan Kesler and Manny Malhotra each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver in a 4-1 win at Minnesota. Cory Schneider made 28 saves in the victory.
-It wasn't all bad for Minnesota. Check out this bank shot Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck scored on:
-A goal and two assists by captain Shawn Horcoff led the Oilers to a 4-1 win against the Stars. Ales Hemsky and Taylor Chorney each added a goal and an assist for Edmonton while Nikolai Khabibulin made 24 saves in the victory. Khabibulin snapped a personal 14-game losing streak.
-The Canucks recalled defenseman Yann Sauve from Manitoba of the AHL.
Pacific Division
-An overtime goal and an assist by Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a 2-1 win at Nashville. Teammate Kent Huskins recorded two assists while Antti Niemi made 30 saves in the victory.
-Marleau's goal:
-The Stars activated former Penguins forward Toby Petersen (leg) from injured reserve and recalled him from a conditioning assignment from Texas of the AHL. Dallas also recalled defenseman Trevor Ludwig and demoted forward Francis Wathier to Texas.
(Photos: Vitale-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Morozov-Photobucket; Islanders/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Kaberle and Dorsett-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)