Empty Netter Assists - 03-15-11

Penguins

-Former Penguins and Pittsburgh Hornets forward Nick Harbaruk (right) passed away Thursday following a battle with cancer. He was 67. 

-Claimed from the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL during the 1969 offseason in an intra-league draft, Harbaruk spent four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1969-70, Harbaruk appeared in 74 games and scored 22 points and helped the Penguins reach the playoff for the first time in franchise history. In 10 postseason games that spring, he scored three goals including the first game-winning postseason goal in franchise history during a 2-1 defeat of the Oakland Seals in Game 1 of a quarterfinal series. In 1970-71, he appeared in all 78 games and scored 25 points. Harbaruk once again played in all 78 games of the 1971-72 campaign and contributed 29 points. He saw action in four postseason games that spring and contributed one goal. Harbaruk again played in all 78 games in 1972-73 and scored 25 points. In the 1973 offseason, he was traded to the Blues in exchange for goaltender Bob Johnson. During Harbaruk's four seasons in Pittsburgh he appeared in 276 consecutive games which was the franchise record at the time. One of six natives of Poland to play in the NHL, Harbaruk appeared in 308 regular season games with the Penguins and scored 101 points, 80th-most in franchise history.

-Welcome back Sidney Crosby. To skating at least.

-Remember how Mario Lemieux wasn't involved with helping the NHL or offering any ideas? Hmm... not quite.

-"We want to see how we can make it better. Maybe that's redefining some rules on what's a legal hit and what's not a legal hit." - Ray Shero on the NHL's general manager meetings.

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Arron Asham speaks:

-(Note: We ran this one day early by accident.) Happy 52nd birthday to former Penguins forward Tom Cassidy. A free agent signing prior to the 1977-78 season, Cassidy's entire NHL career consisted of 26 games for the Penguins that campain in which he scored seven points. He spent the rest of his professional career in the minors before retiring in 1979.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger (right) is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks following hand surgery.

-Devils forward Travis Zajac is expected to tie former defenseman Ken Danyeko's franchise mark for consecutive games (388) tonight.

-The Penguins aren't the only ones who don't like the Islanders. The Devils don't seem crazy about them either.

Northeast Division

-Maple Leafs forward and former Penguin Colby Armstrong will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken foot last night against Tampa Bay.

-Bruins defensemen Andrew Ference (leg) and Steven Kampfer (concussion) each returned to the lineup since being sidelined with their respective injuries.

Southeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Two goals by Mattias Ritola led the Lightning to a 6-2 rout of the Maple Leafs. Nate Thompson added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay while teammate Teddy Purcell recorded three assists. Dwayne Roloson made 30 saves in the victory. The Lightning is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 87 points, one less than the Penguins who are in fourth place.

-Hurricanes defenseman Jamie McBain (right) will be sidelined three to four weeks due to a shoulder injury.

-With defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is dealing with a "lower-body" injury, the Thrashers recalled former Penguins defenseman Noah Welch from Chicago of the AHL.

-The Panthers recalled forwards Mike Duco and Patrick Rissmiller from Rochester of the AHL.

Central Division

-Former Penguin Marian Hossa scored two goals for the Blackhawks in a 6-3 defeat of the Sharks. Fire Ray Shero. Patrick Sharp recorded four assists for Chicago while teammates Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each netted a goal and an assist. Corey Crawford made 33 saves in the victory. Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist for San Jose.

-Heads up time for Kane:

-Intense Face of the Night: Toews:

-Chicago's John Scott > San Jose's Ben Eager:

-Happy times in Chicago:

-The Red Wings activated goaltender Chris Osgood (sports hernia) from injured reserve and demoted goaltender Joey MacDonald to Grand Rapids of the AHL.

-Blue Jackets forward Chris Clark will be sidelined three to four weeks due to a "lower-body" injury.

Northwest Division

-Two goals by Ryan Kesler led the Canucks to a 4-2 defeat of the Wild. Teammates Christian Ehrhoff, Manny Malhotra and Mikael Samuelsson each recorded two assists while Roberto Luongo made 33 saves in the victory. The Canucks are the first team to break the 100-point barrier this season (101).

-Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck did a 180 into the Canucks' bench:

-Save of the Night: Luongo on Minnesota's Brent Burns:

-Check out this laser of a goal by Vancouver's Daniel Sedin:

{youtube width="480" height="300"}bh5p0wQ1oo4{/youtube}

-Prior to the game, the Canucks honored honoured former defenseman Harold Snepts:

{youtube width="480" height="300"}k2dzY-o8YmE{/youtube}

-Vancouver's Keith Ballard > Minnesota's Warren Peters:

-Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom kept his eyes on this puck:

-Canucks defenseman Sami Salo left the game with an apparent arm injury.

-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper took in the game with former Canucks captain Trevor Linden.

-Wild captain Mikko Koivu returned to the lineup after missing 11 games due to a broken finger.

-The Avalanche signed forward Joey Hishon, a first-round pick last year, to a three-year entry-level contract.

-Flames forward David Moss (right) is dealing with what sounds like a leg injury.

-The Wild demoted defenseman Marco Scandella to Houston of the AHL.

-The Oilers recalled forward Teemu Hartikainen from Oklahoma City of the AHL and demoted forward Alexandre Giroux to Oklahoma City.

Pacific Division

-Kings forward Anze Kopitar is expected to break Marcel Dionne's franchise record (324 games) tonight for most consecutive games played.

Adams Division

-Allow us to introduce the greatest thing on the Internet, the NHL Wheel of Justice.

-Jennifer Botterill, sister of Penguins assistant general manager Jason Botterill, is retiring from Canada's national women's team.

(Photos: Harbaruk-Penguins Hockey Cards; Pronger-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; McBain-Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images; Sharks/Blackhawks-Charles Cherney/Associated Press and Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Wild/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images; Moss-Mike Ridewood/Getty Images)