Empty Netter Assists - 02-25-11
Penguins
-“Alex is a veteran player who needs to be important. He has been an important player. If you don’t give him that importance, it’s easier to not play at your level." - Senators general manager Bryan Murray on trading forward Alex Kovalev (above) to the Penguins.
-Time change. The Penguins' March 13th home game against the Oilers will now start at 3 p.m. It was originally scheduled to 1 p.m.
-You weren't the only one who got to Monday's game late on account of that snow. So did Brian Strait (right). He got Consol Energy Center about a half hour before the puck dropped.
-Happy 61st birthday to former Penguins goaltender Cam Newton. An eighth-round pick in 1970, Newton spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1970-71, he appeared in five games and had a 1-3-1 record along with a 3.42 GAA. After spending all of 1971-72 with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Hershey, Newton returned in 1972-73 by playing in 11 games and going 3-4-0 with a 3.94 GAA. During the 1973 offseason, he joined the Chicago Cougars of the WHA as a free agent. In 16 games with the Penguins, Newton had a 4-7-1 record with a 3.76 goals against average.
Atlantic Division
-Andrej Meszaros' overtime goal gave the Flyers a 4-3 win against the Islanders. Jeff Carter had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia while teammate Claude Giroux recorded two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves in the victory. Matt Martin scored two goals for New York and managed not to sucker punch anyone.
-Check out this pass by Giroux to set up teammate James van Riemsdyk for a goal:
-A good look at the goal:
-Martin scored a goal with 27.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime:
-New York's Al Montoya had issues with this puck:
-Down times for New York's Jack Hillen:
-The Islanders have not won in Philadelphia since April 7, 2007.
-Flyers forward Nikolay Zherdev cleared waivers.
Northeast Division
-Two goals and two assists by Phil Kessel led the Maple Leafs to a 5-4 win against the rival Canadiens. Tyler Bozak added two goals and an assist for Toronto while teammate Brett Lebda netted a goal and an assist. James Reimer made 31 saves in the victory. Toronto is 8-2-2 since the all-star break. Mike Cammalleri and Jeff Halpern each recorded a goal and an assist for Montreal.
-Check out this rocket Montreal's James Wisniewski scored on:
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-Toronto's Mike Komisarek had issues with Montreal's Tomas Plekanec:
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-Montreal's James Wisniewski is sporting a mean hockey face:
-Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski > Montreal's Jeff Halpern:
-Cammalleri got a little revenge on Grabovski:
-Montreal's Alex Auld had issue with this puck:
-Montreal's Carey Price stretched out for this puck:
-Grabovski invaded the personal space of Montreal's Scott Gomez:
-Kessel has six goals in his last five games.
-The Canadiens acquired defenseman Brent Sopel and forward Nigel Dawes from the Thrashers in exchange for forward Ben Maxwell and a fourth-round draft pick this summer.
-Thinking Out Loud: The Canadiens have some injuries on the blue line and Sopel provides some depth. He also brings some experience having won the Stanley Cup with Chicago last season. Dawes and Maxwell are each AHL players.
-The Senators claimed forward Marek Svatos off waivers from the Predators.
-Ottawa demoted defenseman Andre Benoit and forward Jim O'Brien to Binghamton of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-The Hurricanes re-acquired former forward Cory Stillman (right) from the Panthers in exchange for forward Ryan Carter and a fifth-round draft pick this summer. Stiillman was a member of Carolina's Stanley Cup championship team in 2006.
-Thinking Out Loud: The Hurricanes have had some success in bringing back former players and helping them rebound their careers (Erik Cole, Joe Corvo). If healthy, Stillman has shown he can produce in the postseason. But at age 37, that's a big if. Carter, 27, is a third-line center. Nothing more, nothing less. The Panthers are clearly re-building. This is a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction.
-The Panthers placed forward Steve Bernier on waivers.
Central Division
-Corey Crawford made 31 saves for the Blackhawks in a 3-0 shutout of the Predators. Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist for Chicago.
-Happy times for Chicago's Tomas Kopecky and captain Jonathan Toews:
-Crawford kept his eyes on this puck:
-So did Nashville's Pekka Rinne:
-The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Nick Leddy from Rockford (AHL).
-Predators forward Marcel Goc will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.
-Good People Story of the Day: Blues forwards David Backes, Alex Steen and defenseman Barrett Jackman save stray dogs.
-Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart is ready to eat solid food for the first time since suffering a broken jaw Jan. 7.
-Detroit forward Mike Modano is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow against the Sabres. He has been sidelined since Nov. 26 due to a lacerated wrist.
-Blues defenseman Nikita Nikitin left last night's game against the Canucks due to a "lower-body" injury.
Northwest Division
-Cory Schneider made 28 saves for the Canucks in a 3-2 win against the Blues.
-Fight of the Night: Vancouver's Tanner Glass vs. St. Louis' B.J. Crombeen:
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Pacific Division
-Kari Lehtonen made 38 saves for the Stars in a 4-1 defeat of the Red Wings. Former Penguin Alex Goligoski had an assist for Dallas. It was his first point since being traded Monday. Fire Ray Shero.
-Dallas' Loui Eriksson went all Peter Forsberg on this goal:
-If you're wondering what former Penguins Alex Goligoski looks like in a road jersey, here you go:
-Detroit's Johan Franzen threw a head lock on Dallas' Adam Burish:
-Funny Face of the Night: Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom reaching back on a backcheck on Dallas' Mike Ribeiro:
-The Stars franchise won its 700th game since moving to Dallas.
-Two goals by Wayne Simmonds led the Kings to a 4-2 win against the Wild. Anze Kopitar added a goal and an assist for Los Angeles while captain Dustin Brown recorded two assists. Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves in the victory. Brent Burns netted a goal and an assist for Minnesota.
-Simmonds, in a stunning purple throwback jersey, being popular:
-Los Angeles' Drew Doughty being popular:
-Los Angeles' Ryan Smyth > Minnesota's John Madden:
-Happy times for Doughty and teammate Anze Kopitar:
-Bernier came through on this save:
-Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom had issues with this puck:
-Madden mashed Doughty pretty good here:
(Photos: Kovalev-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Strait-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Islanders/Flyers-Matt Slocum/Associated Press; Maple Leafs/Canadiens-Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press and Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Stillman-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Predators/Blackhawks-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press; Stars/Red Wings-Paul Sancya/Associated Press; Wild/Kings-Jeff Gross/Getty Images and Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)