Empty Netter Assists - 02-19-11
Penguins
-Nick Johnson (above) left practice yesterday due to an "upper-body" injury. He is not expected to play Sunday in Chicago.
-It was revealed that forward Arron Asham is dealing with concussion symptoms (PG+).
-Brett Sterling isn't taking anything for granted.
-Kris Letang and Deryk Engelland had an intresting practice yesterday:
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-Dan Byslma speaks:
-Matt Cooke speaks:
-Brad Thiessen made 35 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-0 shutout of the Norfolk Admirals. Ben Street scored two goals for the Penguins.
-Thiessen is 5-1-0 with a 0.50 GAA and .978 save percentage in his last six games.
-Patrick Killeen made 36 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Reading Royals. Thiessen was credited with a shutout.
-Happy 28th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney (right). A first-round pick in 200, Whitney spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 2005-06, Whitney played in 68 games and scored 32 points. He followed that up in 2006-07 by setting career-highs in games (81), goals (14), assists (45) and points (59). In that spring's postseason, he appeared in five games and recorded two points. During 2007-08, Whitney played in 76 games and scored 40 points. He saw action in 20 postseason games that spring and scored eight points while helping the team advance to the Stanley Cup Final. After 28 games and 13 points in 2008-09, Whitney was traded to the Ducks in exchange for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi. In 253 regular season games with the Penguins, he scored 150 points, 51st-most in franchise history. In 25 career postseason games, he scored eight points. He is currently a member of the Oilers.
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-Happy 30th birthday to former Penguins forward Jeff Taffe. A free agent signing during the 2007 offseason, Taffe spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. In 2007-08, he appeared in 45 games and scored 12 points. He followed that up in 2008-09 by appearing in eight games and recording two assists. In the 2009 offseason, he joined the Panthers as a free agent. In 53 games with the Penguins, Taffe scored 14 points. He is currently a member of the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate.
Atlantic Division
-And the Devils keep rolling. Former Penguin Johan Hedberg made 16 saves for the Devils in a 1-0 shutout of the rival Rangers. Fire Craig Patrick. New Jersey is 14-1-2 in its last 17 games.
-New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk accounted for the game's only goal:
-Hedberg and teammate Adam Mair having a moment:
-Funny Face of the Night: The mug of Marian Gaborik pretty much tells how the night went for the Rangers:
-With a nine-game scoring streak, Kovalchuk might be the hottest player in the NHL.
-The Devils activated goaltender Martin Brodeur (knee) from injured reserve and demoted goaltender Mike McKenna and forward Tim Sestito to Albany of the AHL.
-The Rangers demoted forward Kris Newbury to Connecticut of the AHL.
-How did the Islanders get lucky enough to pick up rookie star Michael Grabner?
-Flyers captain Mike Richards missed last night's game in Carolina due to an illness.
Northeast Division
-Two goals from Brad Marchand led the Bruins to a 4-2 win at Ottawa. Nathan Horton added a goal and an assist for Boston while teammates Andrew Ference and David Krejci each recorded two assists. Tuukka Rask made 32 saves in the victory.
-The Bruins acquired defenseman Tomas Kaberle (right) from the Maple Leafs in exchage for forward prospect Joe Colborne, a first-round pick this summer and a second-round pick in 2012. Colborn was a first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in 2008.
-Thinking Out Loud: This is a trade which works well for both teams. The Bruins get a player who can spark their offense off the blue line immediately. The Maple Leafs load up for the future.
-To make salary cap space for Kaberle, the Bruins traded forward Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart to the Thrashers in exchange for forward Rich Peverly and defenseman Boris Valabik. Valabik was assigned to Providence of the AHL.
-Thinking Out Loud: This doesn't just seem like a salary dump for the Bruins. They add a nice crafty player in Peverly who can win faceoffs and is strong in all three zones. The Thrashers accumulate even more depth by adding a potential top six power forward and a solid top six-defenseman.
-The Senators acquired goaltender Craig Anderson (right) from the Senators in exchange for goaltender Brian Elliott.
-Thinking Out Loud: We're not sure what either team accomplished here. One inconsistent goaltender for another inconsistent goaltender. Give the Avalanche a slight advantage as Elliott is a restricted free agent after the season while Anderson will be unrestricted.
-Ottawa recalled forward Francis Lessard from Binghamton of the AHL.
-Pennsylvania billionaire Terry Pegula officially assumed control of the Sabres.
Southeast Division
-Cam Ward made 21 saves for the Hurricanes in a 3-2 win against the Flyers. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Flyers.
-Check out this save by Ward on Philadelphia's Matt Carle:
-Happy times in Carolina:
-Prior to the game, the Hurricanes retired the No. 17 of former captain Rod Brind'Amour:
-The Lightning acquired defenseman Eric Brewer from the Blues in exchange for the rights of defensive prospect Brock Beukeboom and a third-round pick this summer. Tampa Bay also demoted defenseman Mike Vernace to Norfolk of the AHL. Brewer was the Blues' captain.
“I’ll start with the fact that we’ve won three of the last 15 games. We needed to make a change. … We want to make the playoffs." - Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley on swinging the trade with the Bruins.
-The Thrashers demoted defenseman Paul Postma to Chicago of the AHL.
-The Hurricanes acquired defenseman Derek Joslin from San Jose for future considerations.
-"I'm not happy with the team right now." - Capitals general manager George McPhee.
Central Division
-Two goals from Todd Bertuzzi led the Red Wings to a 4-3 win at Florida. Pavel Datsyuk added a goal and an assist for Detroit while teammate Henrik Zetterberg recorded two assists. Joey MacDonald made 29 saves in the victory. Stephen Weiss netted a goal and an assist for the Panthers.
-Check out this effort by Detroit's Danny Cleary:
-Check out this steal and goal by Datsyuk:
-Zetterberg was nearly hit by an octopus during play.
-Speaking of which:
-Former Penguin Ty Conklin made 25 saves for the Blues in a 3-0 shutout of the Sabres. Fire Ray Shero. T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist for St. Louis.
-Matt Calvert had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets in a 4-3 defeat of the Blackhawks. R.J. Umberger recorded two assists for Columbus while Steve Mason made 37 saves in the win. Patrick Sharp netted two goals and an assist for Chicago.
-Check out this block and goal by Calvert:
-Here's a stunning trade. The Blues dealt Erik Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft, and forward Jay McClement to the Avalanche in exchange for forward Chris Stewart and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Conditional draft picks from each team were included in the deal.
-Thinking Out Loud: Wow. What a trade. Johnson is going to be a pillar on defense eventually. He has the potential to be a Chris Pronger. The Blues got two good players for him, but neither will ever justify this trade for St. Louis. Johnson will be an an anchor for Colorado for a decade. Stewart is a nice top-six forward and Shattenkirk can be a top-four defenseman. McClement is a decent third-line grinding center. Give the Avalanche win in this one.
-With goaltender Anders Lindback dealing with an illness, the Predators recalled goaltender Mark Dekanich from Milwaukee of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-Kyle Brodziak had a goal and two assists for the Wild in a 5-1 defeat of the Ducks. Pierre-Marc Bouchard added two assists for Minnesota while Nicklas Backstrom made 29 saves in the victory.
-Check out this fluky bounce Brodziak scored on:
-Wild captain Miikko Koivu left the game after blocking a shot with his left hand.
Pacific Division
-The Sharks acquired defenseman Ian White from the Hurricanes in exchange for a second-round pick in 2012.
-Thinking Out Loud: The Sharks needed another defenseman on the blue line. They have not replaced former captain Rob Blake who retired in the offseason. There has been plenty of solid replacements on the market such as Tomas Kaberle or Bryan McCabe in Florida. This is a cheaper option. Ian White (right) is a decent top four or five defenseman but he's not going to be one of your top two the way Blake was. This is not the move the Sharks needed.
-San Jose recalled forward Benn Ferriero and defenseman Matt Irwin from Worcester of the AHL.
-The Coyotes placed defenseman Ed Jovanovski (orbital bone) on injured reserve and activated defenseman David Schlemko ("upper body") from injured reserve and demoted him to San Antonio of the AHL for a conditioning assignment.
Adams Division
-Ryan Zapolski made 39 saves for the Mercyhurst men's team in a 5-3 loss to Air Force.
(Photos: Johnson-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; Whitney-Dave Sandford/Getty Images; Rangers/Devils and Anderson-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Bruins/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images; Flyers/Hurricanes-Gerry Broome/Associated Press; Red Wings/Panthers-Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press; Blues/Sabres-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; White-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)