Empty Netter Assists - 03-10-11

Penguins

-Dan Bylsma (above) gets to keep his Giant Eagle Advantage Card for three more years.

-Former Penguins forward Petr Sykora became a free agent after his contract with Dynamo Minsk was not extended.

-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins all-star forward and captain Mike Bullard (right). A first round pick in 1980 (No. 9 overall), Bullard spent parts of seven seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1980-81, Bullard appeared in 15 games and netted three points. In four postseason games that spring, he contributed six points. Bullard's first full season in the NHL was 1981-82. He saw action in 75 games and scored 63 points including a team-leading 36 goals. During the 1982 postseason, he played in five games and scored two points. In 1982-83, Bullard was limited to 55 games and 44 points. He rebounded in 1983-84 by playing in 76 games and setting career highs in goals (51) and points (92). He was also selected to the only all-star game in his career. In 1984-85, Bullard appeared in 68 games and scored 63 points. During 1985-86, Bullard saw action in 77 games and contributed 83 points. After 14 games and 12 points in 1986-87, Bullard was traded to the Flames in exchange for Dan Quinn. In 382 regular season games with the Penguins, Bullard scored 185 goals (seventh-most in franchise history) and 360 points (15th-most). In nine postseason games, he had eight points.

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-Happy 53rd birthday to former Penguins forward Doug Lecuyer. Claimed off waivers from the Jets prior to the 1982-83 season, Lecuyer appeared in 12 games for the Penguins that season and recorded five points. After spending the bulk of the season with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Baltimore, Lecuyer retired.

-Happy 27th birthday to former Penguins forward Tim Brent. Acquired in a 2007 offseason trade which sent prospect Stephen Dixon to the Ducks, Brent's Penguins career amounted to one game in the 2007-08 season. The following offseason, he was dealt to the Blackhawks for Danny Richmond. He currently plays with the Maple Leafs.

-Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins defeneman Stefan Bergkvist (right). A first round pick in 1993, Bergkvist spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1995-96, he appeared in two games and failed to record a point. He followed that up in 1996-97, by playing in five games and failing to score a point one again. After spending the entire 1997-98 season in the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Cleveland, Begkvist returned to his native Sweden and signed with Leksands IF of the Elitserien.

-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Martin Brochu. A free agent signing in the 2003 offseason, Brochu's Penguins' career amounted to 33 minutes of mop-up duty in 2003-04. Overall, he had a 0-0-0 record with a 1.82 goals against average and .947 save percentage. Following the season, Brochu joined the Verdun Dragon of the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey, a semi-pro league in Quebec.

Atlantic Division

-"I have respect for all the guys I play against. I don’t try to hurt anybody. I just play hard. That’s pretty much it." - Islanders forward Trevor Gillies.

-"We go to Atlanta. That team will be desperate for points. They still believe they can do it, too, so it will be a huge game. For us it will be do or die, that's for sure, because we can't afford to lose two in a row." - Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk on tonight's game with the Thrashers.

Northeast Division

-The NHL did not suspend or fine Bruins captain Zdeno Chara for a hit which injured Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty Tuesday night:

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-Pacioretty suffered a concussion and a broken vertebrae as a result of the hit. NHL vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy issued a statement:

"I conducted a hearing with Boston Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara with respect to the major penalty for interference and game misconduct that he was assessed at 19:44 of the second period for a hit on Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens.

After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly -- with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface. In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career."

-Pacioretty talked to TSN's Bob McKenzie from his hospital room and didn't hold back:

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"I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of (the hit) to suspend him. I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt.

It's been an emotional day. I saw the video for the first time this morning. You see the hit, I've got a fractured vertebrae, I'm in hospital and I thought the league would do something, a little something."

I'm not talking a big number, I don't know, one game, two games, three games...whatever, but something to show that it's not right."

"I heard (Chara) said he didn't mean to do it. I felt he did mean to do it. I would feel better if he said he made a mistake and that he was sorry for doing that, I could forgive that, but I guess he's talking about how I jumped up or something."

"I believe he was trying to guide my head into the turnbuckle. We all know where the turnbuckle is. It wasn't a head shot like a lot of head shots we see but I do feel he targeted my head into the turnbuckle."

EN Says:

          

-By taking this non-action, the NHL pretty much gave the Canadiens a green line to turn their re-match with the Bruins March 24 into a repeat of the Penguins-Islanders game Feb. 11. We doubt the Canadiens will take those actions. They need points. Not revenge. But once again, the NHL failed to take a preventative measure. Chara severely injured an opponent by committing an illegal act. He should be punished.

-And why does the NHL weigh prior history so much when dealing out punishment? Did Pacioretty suffer a lesser or greater injury based on Chara's relatively clean history?

-And Pacioretty is 100 percent correct. There is very little fear of consequences among NHL players when it comes to injuring an opponent.

-The hit is reminiscent of the one Brooks Orpik delivered on Hurricanes forward Erik Cole several years ago:

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-Orpik is hardly a dirty player and by all accounts, he didn't intentionally drive Cole's head into the boards. But he still deserved a punishment. And he did get an three-game suspension. Why should Chara be any different?

-“Our first concern (as an organization) is that he gets his health back as a human being. You hope he’ll recover and continue his career, but it’s too soon to know his (potential) limitations. He’s still under observation.” - Canadiens coach Jacques Martin on Pacioretty.

-“The sound it made. That’s the first thing Gio [captain Brian Gionta] and I said to each other: ‘did you hear that?’ It just wasn’t right.” - Canadiens forward Scott Gomez (right) on the hit.

-According to the Toronto Sun, Air Canada has threatened to pull out as an advertiser for the NHL in the wake of its non-suspension for Chara.

-Montreal police were flooded with phone calls demanding criminal complaints be filed against Chara.

-With forwards Mike Grier ("lower body"), Jochen Hecht ("upper body") and Thomas Vanek (flu) recovered, the Sabres demoted forwards Mark Parrish, Mark Mancari and Luke Adam to Portland of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Braden Holtby made 22 saves for the Capitals in a 5-0 shutout of the Oilers. Captain Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist for Washington while teammate Eric Fehr contributed two goals. The Capitals are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 86 points, just as many as the fourth-place Penguins.

-Check out the pass by Washington's Jason Arnott to set up Ovechkin for his first goal:

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-Check out the passing on this play between Ovechkin and teammate Marcus Johansson to set up Ovechkin for his secon goal:

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-Check out the pass from Washington's Marco Sturm to set up Alexander Semin for a goal:

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-Fehr returned to the lineup after missing 22 games due to a dislocated right shoulder.

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Martin St. Louis' shootout goal gave the Lightning a 4-3 win against Blackhawks. St. Louis and teammate Steven Stamkos each had a goal and an assist in regulation while Dwayne Roloson made 28 saves in the victory. Captain Jonathan Toews netted a goal and two assists for Chicago. The Lightning is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 84 points, two fewer than the Penguins.

- Check out St. Louis' shootout goal:

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-Did his forward motion stop there?

-"I was trying to do something a little more fun and not be afraid of not scoring. Just go after it." - St. Louis on the goal.

-Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina is scheduled to have a disciplinary hearing over the phone in regards to hitting Blackhawks forward Pavel Kubina in the head during the first period. Bolland left the game.

-The Thrashers aren't dead yet. An overtime goal by Tim Stapleton gave Atlanta a 3-2 win at Carolina. Ondrej Pavelec made 35 saves in the victory. The Thrashers are in 11 place in the Eastern Conference with 67 points, five fewer than eighth-place Buffalo.

Central Division

-Two goals by Chris Stewart, including one in overtime, gave the Blues a 4-3 win against the rival Blue Jackets. Teammate Ian Cole added a goal and an assist while Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves in the victory. Columbus has lost six consecutive games.

-Check out Stewart's overtime goal:

-Stewart has nine goals in 11 games with the Blues.

-Blues forward Alexander Steen left the game with an apparent right foot injury.

-The Blues recalled forward Dave Scatchard from Peoria of the AHL on an emergency basis.

Northwest Division

-Shootout goals by Alex Tanguay and Curtis Glencross gave the Flames a 4-3 win at Dallas. Miikka Kiprusoff made 31 saves in the victory. Jeff Woywitka recorded two assists for the Stars.

-Goal of the Night: Dallas' Mike Ribeiro in the shootout:

-Check out these saves by Dallas' Kari Lehtonen on Calgary's Matt Stajan:

-Glencross > Lehtonen:

-Dallas' Tomas Vincour sporting a mean hockey smile:

-Kiprusoff hung on to this puck:

-The Wild recalled defenseman Marco Scandella from Houston of the AHL.

-The Canucks demoted forward Victor Oreskovich to Manitoba the AHL.

Pacific Division

-A goal and three assists by Bobby Ryan gave the Ducks a 5-2 win against the Rangers. Teammates Corey Perry and Lubomir Visnovsky each netted two goals and an assist while Dan Ellis made 30 saves in the victory.

-Save of the Night: Ellis on New York's Brandon Dubinsky which led to a goal for Ryan:

-Anaheim's Luca Sbisa > New York's Brian Boyle:

-Anaheim's Dan Sexton and New York's Bryan McCabe each kept their eyes ont his puck:

-Ellis kept his eyes on this puck:

-Funny Face of the Night: Anaheim's Kyle Chipchura:

-Ellis is now 4-1-1 since joining the Ducks.

-Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings in a 2-1 win at Detroit. The Red Wings have lost four consecutive games.

-Low five times for Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams:

-Detroit's Johan Franzen (left) and Todd Bertuzzi didn't exactly seem too pleased with Los Angeles' Drew Doughty here:

-Quick stretched out for this puck:

-Stars forward Brad Richards returned to the lineup after missing 10 games due to a concussion.

-The Coyotes recalled defenseman Chris Summers from San Antonio of the AHL on an emergency basis.

Smythe Division

-Former Nordiques/Islanders/Sharks/Predators/Flames forward Niklas Andersson retired from professional hockey.

(Photos: Bylsma-Jamie Squire/Getty Images; Bullard and Bergkvist-Penguins Hockey Cards; Gomez-Andre Ringuette/Getty Images; Flames/Stars-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Rangers/Ducks-Lori Shepler/Associated Press; Kings/Red Wings-Claus Andersen/Getty Images and Duane Burleson/Associated Press)