Empty Netter Assists - 03-13-11
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from yesterday's game. "It wasn't the Pittsburgh Penguins we're used to." - James Neal.
-The Montreal Gazette's recap. Carey Price (above, stopping Neal) became the first Canadiens goaltender to reach eight shutouts in a season since some guy name Ken Dryden.
-The Associated Press' recap. Travis Moen scored the 11,000 regular season goal in Canadiens history.
-NHL.com's recap. "We'd given them some golden opportunities and they didn't work too hard for them." - Dan Bylsma on the Canadiens.
-Maxime Talbot versus Montreal's Paul Mara:
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-"He was horrible today." - Ray Shero on Jordan Staal's game against the Canadiens.
-Speaking of horrible, how about Staal's luck? He got conked on the head accidently by Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn:
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-Montreal's Lars Eller probably didn't appreciate the placement of Alex Kovalev stick here:
-Happy times for Montreal captain Brian Gionta. Not so much for Matt Niskanen or Marc-Andre Fleury:
-Montreal's P.K. Subban clobbered Deryk Engelland while Ben Lovejoy made a funny face:
-What in the world was Montreal's Ryan White doing here?
-Happy times for one Montreal fan. Not so much for plenty of Penguins fans:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-The Penguins thank you for their 200th consecutive sellout:
-"You have to try to make it as a safe as possible, without taking the hit out of our game. It's a big part of our sport." - Shero on players safety.
-Troy Crosby had to shoot down yet another rumor about his son.
-Do yourself a favor and read this quality interview with Penguins assistant general manager Jason Botterill done by Mike Colligan of The Hockey Writers.
-Andrew Hutchinson had a goal and two assists in regulation for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Abbotsford Heat. Ryan Craig added a goal and an assist for the Penguins.
-The AHL Penguins picked up their first "loser" point of the season.
-Paul Crowder scored both of the Wheeling Nailers' goals in a 4-2 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings.
-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins forward Barry Pederson. Acquired along with Rod Buskas and Tony Tanti in a trade which sent Dave Capuano, Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn to the Canucks midway through the 1989-90 season, Pederson spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. He finished that season by playing in 38 games for the Penguins and scoring 22 points. In 1990-91, he appeared in 46 games and contributed 14 points. Despite not appearing in a playoff game that spring, Pederson did get his name on the Stanley Cup for the franchise's 1991 championship. In the 1991 offseason, Pederson joined the Hartford Whalers as a free agent. In 84 games with the Penguins, Pederson scored 36 points.
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-Happy 37th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Maxim Galanov. Claimed by the Penguins from the Rangers through a waiver draft in 1998, Galanov, the first player in franchise history to wear No. 47, appeared in 51 games for the 1998-99 Penguins and recorded seven points. He appeared in one playoff game that spring and failed to record a point. The Thrashers claimed him in the 1999 expansion draft. He is currently the captain of HK Rubin in the VHL, a second-tier league in Russia.
-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Blaine Stoughton. The club's first-round pick in 1973, Stoughton appeared in 34 games for the 1973-74 Penguins and recorded 11 points. The following offseason, Stoughton and a draft pick were dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Rick Kehoe.
-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Petteri Lehto. A free agent signing in the 1984 offseason, Lehto appeared in six games the 1984-85 Penguins and was a minus-4. In a 7-4 home win against the Canucks, Jan. 9, 1985, Lehto and fellow Finn Arto Javanainen became the first European players in franchise history. The following season, Lehto rejoined TPS Turku in his native Finland.
-Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins forward Landon Wilson. Acquired from the Coyotes before the 2004 trade deadline, Wilson appeared in 19 games for the 2003-04 Penguins and recorded six points. Prior to the 2004-05 lockout, he signed with Espoo in Finland.
Atlantic Division
-Shootout goals by Wojtek Wolski and Brandon Dubinsky gave the Rangers a 3-2 win at San Jose. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in the victory. Dan Boyle had two assists for the Sharks.
-Hit of the Night: New York's Marc Staal on San Jose's Kyle Wellwood:
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-Check out this "save" by San Jose's Justin Braun:
-Lundqvist lost his lid here:
-San Jose's Ben Eager and New York's Brandon Prust had issues:
-The Devils don't quit. Anssi Salmela's overtime goal gave the Devils a 3-2 win against the rival Islanders. David Clarkson and Jacob Josefson each contributed a goal and an assist for New Jersey while teammate Mattias Tedenby recorded two assists. Martin Brodeur made all of 13 saves in the victory.
-Salmela's goal:
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-It wasn't all bad for the Islanders, check out this shorthanded goal by New York's Blake Comeau:
-New Jersey's Adam Mair preformed a public service and decapitated New York's Micheal Haley:
-We think.
-Clarkson being popular:
-New York's Kyle Okposo was knocking the Devils loopy left and right. Tedenby:
-And Henrik Tallinder:
-"I felt like I almost passed out.” - Salmela on getting his first goal of the season.
-At 32-32-4, the Devils reached the .500 mark for the first time this season.
-"Never. The hill was too high to think about it." - Devils coach Jacques Lemaire on if he thought his team could reach .500 when he took over Dec. 23.
-“I got his puck. I’m not giving it to him. eBay.” - Clarkson joking about collecting the puck Josefson scored his first career NHL goal with.
-"It was a one-sided game. I don't comment too much on the officiating, but you've got to let the players decide the game, especially with a game of this magnitude." - Islanders coach Jack Capuano.
-Devils forward Zach Parise is no Jack Lord:
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-"You can't take the hitting out of the game. That's what makes it interesting." - Rangers general manager and former Penguins forward Glen Sather.
Northeast Division
-Mikhail Grabovski and Phil Kessel each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs in a 4-3 comeback win against the rival Sabres. James Reimer made 39 saves in the victory.
-Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf slammed Buffalo's Mark Parrish here:
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-Buffalo's Tyler Myers > Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski:
-Funny Face of the Night: Toronto forward and former Penguin Colby Armstrong getting hit from behind by Buffalo's Shaone Morrisonn:
-Reimer had to look around this screen by Buffalo's Jochen Hecht:
-Maple Leafs forward and former Penguin Tim Brent left the game after taking a stick to the eye.
-The Bruins demoted defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a native of Mt. Lebanon, to Providence of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: An overtime goal and an assist by Ron Hainsey led the Thrashers to a stunning 5-4 comeback win at Philadelphia. Captain Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane each added a goal and an assist for Atlanta while teammate Anthony Stewart recorded two assists. Chris Mason made 11 saves in the victory. Ville Leino had a hat trick for the Flyers. The Flyers are in first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with 91 points, five more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second places respectively.
-Hainsey's goal:
-Leino's hat trick:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Mason and Philadelphia's Sergei Bobrovsky doing some pregame stretching:
-Hainsey put a little too much torque on this stick:
-Bright times for Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec:
-Bobrovsky kept his eyes on this puck:
-The Flyers lost a game despit having a three-goal lead at the start of the third period for the first time since Nov. 21, 1987.
-"A good night turned into an embarrassment at the end." - Leino.
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: An overtime goal and an assist by Jason Garrison led the Panthers to a 4-3 win against the rival Lightning. Teammate Mike Santorelli recorded two assists while Scott Clemmensen made 35 saves in the victory. Simon Gagne had a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay. The Lightning is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 85 points, one less than the Penguins.
-Garrison's goal:
-We're a few days late with this but the Capitals placed defenseman Mike Green on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 25.
Central Division
-Two goals by Derek MacKenzie led the Blue Jackets to a 3-2 win at Carolina. Steve Mason made 29 saves in the victory which snapped a seven-game losing streak.
-Save of the Night: Mason on Carolina's Chad LaRose:
-Niklas Kronwall had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 5-3 win at St. Louis. Teammates Justin Abdelkader and Pavel Datsyuk each netted a goal and an assist while Jimmy Howard made 26 saves in the victory. Matt D'Agostini recorded a goal and an assist for the Blues.
-Check out the moves by Datsyuk on his game-winning goal:
-Howard had to look around this screen by D'Agostini:
-Intense Face of the Night: St. Louis' T.J. Oshie:
-St. Louis' Jaroslav Halak reached out to poke check this puck:
-Martin Erat and Joel Ward each had a goal and an assist for the Predators in a 4-2 defeat of the Avalanche. Pekke Rinne made 36 saves in the win. The Avalanche has lost 18 out of its past 19 games.
-Goal of the Night: Check out this steal and score by Ward:
-Fight (and Celebration) of the Night: Nashville's Jordin Tootoo and Colorado's Ryan Wilson:
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-Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland was officially diagnosed with a concussion after he was elbowed in the head by Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina Wednesday.
-Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell is dealing with a leg injury.
Northwest Division
-Daniel Sedin had two goals and an assist for the Canucks in a 4-3 win at Calgary. Ryan Kesler added a goal and an assist for Vancouver while teammate Christian Ehrhoff recorded three assists. Roberto Luongo made 20 saves in the victory.
-Check out this pass by Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin to set up Daniel Sedin for a goal:
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-Check out this re-direction goal by Vancouver's Alex Burrows:
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-It wasn't all bad for the Flames. Check out his steal and goal by Calgary's Mikael Backlund:
-Someone threw a fish on the ice in Calgary:
-Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester tied former Avalanche defenseman Karlis Skrastins' record for defensmen of 495 consecutive regular season games played.
-Avalanche forward Paul Stastny is dealing with a back injury.
-Wild forward Guillaume Latendresse has aggravated an abdominal injury.
Pacific Division
-Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle returned to the lineup after missing six games due to an "upper-body" injury.
-Ducks forward Jason Blake is dealing with a right hand injury.
Adams Division
-Scary Non-Hockey Note of the Day: The earthquake in Japan knocked the Eath off its axis by four inches.
(Photos: Canadiens/Penguins-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images and Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Rangers/Sharks-Paul Sakuma/Associated Press; Islanders/Devils-Bill Kostroun/Associated Press and Mike Stobe/Getty Images; Sabres/Maple Leafs-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Thrashers/Flyers-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Red Wings/Blues-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)