Empty Netter Assists - 03-22-11
Penguins
-"I realize and understand, more so now than ever, that I need to change." - Matt Cooke (above).
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "Guys have to step up and be the hero sometime." - Pascal Dupuis.
-The Detroit Free Press' recap. "Definitely, you've got to feel good about the last 20." - Red Wings forward Mike Modano on the third period.
-The Detroit News' recap. Modano scored his 560th career goal and hall of famer Guy Lafleur for 23rd all-time among NHL career scorers.
-The Grand Rapids Press' recap. "Our guys really battled and hung in there, and we found a way to get a good point." - Detroit coach Mike Babcock.
-The Associated Press' recap. “Both teams had to play without substantial guys. Still a pretty good game.” - Dan Bylsma on both teams dealing with injuries.
-NHL.com's recap. "Getting a win underneath my grandfather's jersey is one great thing." - Bren Johnson on winning in Joe Louis Arena. His grandfather was Red Wings great Sid Abel.
-Mike Lange's goal calls.
-Happy times for the Penguins:
-Detroit's Joey MacDonald had issues with this puck:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Brent Johnson speaks:
-Sidney Crosby appeared to ratched up his skating regimen:
-"You'd rather have him on your team than playing against you, that's for sure.” - Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo on his former teammate Cooke.
-“I played with him, and I know what kind of player he is. Sometimes, he’s an effective player with what he brings to the team. He’s not necessarily a fighter, but an (agitator), one of the guys that gets guys off their games. Sometimes he was really effective for us. On the other hand, sometimes he’s just doing some – I would consider, dumb things. And it’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate for the league, for the players, for his teammates, opposite team. I feel like, it’s too bad he can’t, I guess, control it.” - Rangers forward and former Penguin Ruslan Fedotenko on Cooke.
-Another former teammate of Cooke, Oilers defenseman and former Penguin Ryan Whitney, ripped the man via Twitter.
-Happy 63rd birthday to former Penguins goaltender Dunc Wilson (right). Acquired before the start of the 1976-77 season in a trade which sent a draft pick to the Rangers, Wilson spent two seasons with the Penguins. As the team's primary starter in 1976-77, Wilson appeared in 45 games, went 18-19-8 with a 2.95 goals against average and five shutouts, fourth-most in franchise history. In 1977-78, Wilson was limited to 21 games a 5-11-3 record and a 4.83 goals against average. Early in the 1978-79 season, he was traded to the Canucks for cash. In 66 career games with the Penguins, Wilson had a record of 23-30-11 a 3.53 goals against average and five shutouts.
-Happy 46th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Todd Charlesworth. A second-round pick in 1983, Charlesworth spent parts of five seasons with the Penguins As a rookie in 1983-84, Charlesworth appeared in 10 games and failed to record a point. In 1984-85, Charlesworth set career highs in games (67) and points (nine). He was limited to two games and no points in 1985-86. He only saw action on one game and failed to record a point again in 1986-87. During 1987-88, Charlesworth appeared in six games and scored two goals. After spending all of 1988-80 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Muskegon, Charlesworth joined the Oilers as a free agent in the 1989 offseason.
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-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Tuomas Gronman. Acquired early in the 1997-98 season in a trade that sent Greg Johnson to the Blackhawks, he appeared in 22 games for the Penguins that campaign and recorded three points. He saw action in one postseason game that spring and failed to record a point. After missing most of 1998-99, he returned to his native Finland to play for Jokerit Helsinki of the SM-Liiga.
-Happy 34rd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski (right). Acquired from the Panthers in exchange for a draft pick at the 2007 trade deadline, Kwiatkowski appeared in exactly one game for the 2006-07 Penguins and was a minus-1. The following offseason, he signed with the Thrashers. He is currently a member of Bern of the NLA in Switzerland.
-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Sven Butenschon. A third-round pick in 1994, Butenschon, one of two Penguins born in German (Randy Gilhen was the other.), spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1997-98, Butenschon appeared in eight games and failed to record a point. He followed that up in 1998-99 by playing in 17 games and once again did not score a point. In 1999-2000, he was limited to three games and no points. After five games and one assist in 2000-01, he was traded to the Oilers in exchange for Dan LaCouture. In 33 games with the Penguins, he recorded one assist. He currently plays for Adler Mannheim of the DEL in Germany.
Atlantic Division
-Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh sat out practice yesterday as a precautionary measure a day after being elbowed in the head by Cooke.
-The Flyers and Capitals have a pretty big game tonight in Philadelphia.
Northeast Division
-Senators defenseman and former Penguin Sergei Gonchar (right) was diagnosed with a concussion following Sunday's game against the Lightning.
-The Senators signed goaltender Craig Anderson to a four-year contract extension worth a total of $12.75 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3.187 million.
-EN Says: What a weird signing. The Senators are clearly a re-building team. Anderson is 29 and has never found a regular home. He's not a bad goaltender. He carried the Avalanche to a playoff appearance last season. But he just doesn't seem to be the right fit in Ottawa.
-The Canadiens recalled forward Andreas Engqvist from Hamilton of the AHL and demoted forward Aaron Palushaj to Hamilton.
-The Sabres will hold a public memorial service Thursday for former all-star forward Rick Martin (right) who passed away last month.
-The Maple Leafs signed undrafted forward Tyler Brenner to a two-year entry-level contract.
Southeast Division
-Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is expected to be sidelined the next seven to 10 days due to an undisclosed injury.
Central Division
-It doesn't sound like Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp will be returning to the lineup any time soon on account of his wonky knee.
Northwest Division
-The Canucks recalled forward Alex Bolduc from Manitoba of the AHL.
-Canucks forward Manny Malhotra will miss the rest of the season due to an eye injury.
-“I’m not talking two games, I’m talking 20, 25 games, half a year. Then guys are going to start thinking about it. The only way we’re going to clear those things is if the league starts handing down big punishment. Because if they do, guys are really going to think about it — with their wallet, with their career. If you miss half a season because you’re suspended, it’s hard to get back after that.” - Flames forward Alex Tanguay (right) calling for the NHL to have stricter penalties for dangerous hits.
-The Avalanche signed forward Stefan Elliott, a third-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.
Pacific Division
-Shootout goals by Jarret Stoll and Anze Kopitar gave the Kings an intense 2-1 win against the Flames. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves in the victory.
-Stoll being popular:
-Happy times for Stoll and teammate Wayne Simmonds:
-Kings forward Justin Williams left the game due to a "lower-body" injury.
-The Stars recalled defenseman Brad Lukowich from Texas of the AHL.
-The Kings are expected to make their current black and white third jersey (as modeled by former Penguin Rob Scuderi to the right) their regular home jersey next season. A white version of that jersey is expected to become the road jersey. The current black and purple jersey is expected to become the their third jersey.
-The Ducks signed undrafted forward Rick Schofield to a one-year entry-level contract.
Smythe Division
-Yale, North Dakota, Boston College and Miami, Ohio were announced as the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
-The Big Ten is expected to recommend adding hockey as an official sport.
(Photos: Cooke-Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Penguins/Red Wings-Duane Burleson/Associated Press; Wilson-Penguins Hockey Cards; Kwiatkowski-Mike Stobe/Getty Images; Gonchar-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Martin-eBay; Tanguay-Andre Ringuette/Getty Images; Flames/Kings-Victor Decolongon/Getty Images; Scuderi-Danny Moloshok)