Empty Netter Assists - 03-27-11
Penguins
-Go ahead and hang on to that Matt Cooke (above) jersey.
-"Matt apologized to everyone (his teammates) and assured us that he was going to change his style of play." - Kris Letang (translated from French) on Cooke.
-EN cohort Dejan Kovacevic makes the case to keep Ben Lovejoy in the lineup (PG+).
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Mark Letestu speaks:
-Bryan Lerg and Ben Street each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 3-2 loss to the rival Adirondack Phantoms. Andrew Hutchinson recorded two assists for the Penguins while John Curry made 14 saves in the loss.
-There were 17 power plays combined in this game and all five goals were scored with a man advantage.
-Peter Delmas made 18 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-0 shutout of the Florida Everblades. Kyle Bushee had a goal and an assist for the Nailers while teammates Zach Hansen and Doug Rogers each recorded two assists.
Atlantic Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: A hat trick by James van Riesmdyk led the Flyers to a 4-1 defeat of the Islanders. Claude Giroux recorded two assists for Philadelphia while Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves in the victory. The Flyers are in first place of the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with 100 points, four more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second places respectively.
-van Riemsdyk's hat trick:
-Check out this tremendous save by Bobrovsky on New York's Kyle Okposo:
-Here's a match made in heaven. New York's Micheal Haley and Philadelphia's Daniel Carcillo:
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-Bobrovsky kept track of this puck:
-The Islanders lost for the 20th time in 21 games to the Flyers and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves and led the Rangers to a 1-0 shutout of the Bruins. It was Lundqvist's league-leading 11th shutout of the season. The Bruins are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 92 points, four fewer than the Penguins.
-Lundqvist staring down Boston's Rich Peverly and the puck:
-Lundqvist became the first Rangers goaltender to reach 11 shutouts since since John Ross Roach set the team record with 13 in 1928-29.
-"I've served my time and I know what I have to do moving forward. I've got to stay positive and keep working hard. I talked to [coach] Jack Capuano and we're on the same page. I know what I have to do -- keep it clean and still bring that physical element -- but ultimately play within the rules." - Islanders forward Trevor Gillies on the end of his latest suspension. Gillies was a healthy scratch last night.
-"I think it’s our guys. They can’t think that the season is over. They have to play. It’s their job. They’re getting paid. They’ve got to play. I’m saying they were not ready to play. In any sport you have to give your best all the time.” - Devils coach Jacques Lemaire (right) on his team's latest lost in Buffalo last night.
-Nordiques fans will be invading Newark. Ick. Approximately 2,100 Quebec fans are expected to attend a Bruins-Devils game April 10.
Northeast Division
-Ryan Miller made 30 saves for the Sabres in a 2-0 shutout of the Devils. It was Miller's fifth shutout of the season. The win moved eighth-place Buffalo (85) five points ahead of ninth-place Carolina (80).
-According to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, Bruins forward Marc Savard, who was injured on a hit to the head by Penguins forward Matt Cooke last season, has been suffering from "memory problems."
-Sabres defenseman and former Penguin Jordan Leopold (right) is expected to be sidelined "weeks" due to a hand injury according to general manager Darcy Regier.
-The Canadiens have were shutout by Washington last night for the third consecutive game. The have not had that happen since 1949.
-The Senators demoted goaltender Mike Brodeur to Binghamton of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Braden Holtby made all of 18 saves for the Capitals in a 2-0 shutout of the Canadiens. Alexander Semin and Marco Sturm each netted a goal and an assist for Washington while teammate Nicklas Backstrom recorded two assists. The Capitals are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 98 points, two more than the Penguins.
-Check out his pass by Backstrom to set up Semin for a goal:
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-The Captials recalled Holtby from Hershey of the AHL on account of starter Michal Neuvirth coming down with an illness.
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Simon Gagne scored two goals for the Lightning in a 4-2 win at Carolina. Martin St. Louis added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay while captain Vincent Lecavalier recorded two assists. Mike Smith made 33 saves in the victory. Corey Stillman netted two assists for the Hurricanes. The Lightning is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 91 points, five fewer than the Penguins.
-Check out this pass by Lecavalier to set up St. Louis for a goal:
-"Now we're going to need help. We're going to have to come pretty close to running the table here and we're going to have to get some help." - Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice on his team's playoff hopes.
Central Division
-Jiri Hudler and Henrik Zetterberg each recorded a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 4-2 defeat of the rival Maple Leafs. Teammate Niklas Kronwall recorded two assists while Joey MacDonald recorded the win by making all of seven saves.
-MacDonald replaced starter Jimmy Howard after he injured a shoulder in a collision with Toronto's Joffrey Lupul:
-Red Wings general manager Ken Holland labeled Howard as "day to day."
-Howard kept an eye on this puck:
-Detroit's Justin Abdelkader and Toronto's Darryl Boyce had issues:
-And the Predators are hot all of a sudden. Two goals each by Mike Fisher and David Legwand led Nashville to a 4-2 defeat of the Stars. Teammate Patric Hornqvist recorded two assists while Pekke Rinne made 28 saves in the victory, the Predators' sixth consecutive. Mike Ribeiro netted two assists for Dallas.
-Fluky Goal of the Night: Check out this lucky bounce Dallas captain Brenden Morrow got for a score:
-David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and an assist for the Blues in a 6-3 win at Minnesota. Former Penguin Ty Conklin made 13 saves in the victory. Fire Ray Shero. Antti Miettinen scored two goals for the Wild which has lost eight consecutive games.
-The Red Wings demoted forward Jan Mursak to Grand Rapids of the AHL.
-Hockey Night In Canada's Elliotte Friedman had a solid piece on Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk:
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Northwest Division
-Alex Tanguay's shootout goal gave the Flames a thrilling 5-4 comeback win against the rival Oilers. Captain Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist in regulation for Calgary while teammate Mark Giordano recorded three assists. Miikka Kiprusoff made all of 17 saves in the victory.
-Save of the Night (Year?): Check out this bit of robbery by Edmonton's Devan Dubnyk on Calgary's Olli Jokinen:
-Check out this "save" by Calgary's Robyn Regehr:
-Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk reached the 20-goal mark for the 11th consecutive season.
-After last night's loss to the Blues, the Wild held a private meeting for half an hour.
-The Wild demoted defenseman Nate Prosser to Houston of the AHL.
-Amazingly, Vancouver's Sedin twins stink at shootouts and penalty shots.
Pacific Division
-Two goals from Corey Perry led the Ducks to a 2-1 win at Chicago. Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan each recorded two assists for Anaheim while Ray Emery made 27 saves in the victory.
-Emery gloved this puck:
-Perry now leads the NHL with 44 goals.
-Logan Couture had two goals and an assist for the Sharks in a 4-1 win at Phoenix. Teammate Ryane Clowe added a goal and two assists while Antti Niemi made 26 saves in the victory.
-Couture, a favorite for the Calder Trophy, hit the 30-goal mark.
-Cool Photo of the Night: Couture pretty much beating everyone in red for this goal:
-Happy times for Couture and teammate Niclas Wallin:
-This was a road game for the Sharks:
-A good look at the lid of Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov:
-Niemi cooling down:
-Trevor Lewis and Ryan Smyth each had a goal and an assist for the Kings in a 4-1 defeat of the Avalanche. Captain Dustin Brown recorded two assists while Jonathan Quick made 20 saves in the victory.
-Goal of the Night: Check out this effort on a wraparound by Smyth:
-The Kings are expected to be without forward Anze Kopitar for six weeks after he suffered a pretty ugly broken ankle:
-Painful times for Kopitar:
-Funny Photo of the Day: Los Angeles' Wayne Simmonds got up close and personal with Colorado's Cameron Gaunce:
-Los Angeles' Drew Doughty also got up close and personal with Quick:
-Quick kept his eyes on this puck:
NCAA Men's Tournament
-A goal and an assist by Lee Moffie led Michigan to a 2-1 victory against Colorado College.
-Mike Connolly had a goal and three assists for Minnesota-Duluth in a 5-3 win against Yale.
-Jason Zucker's goal in the second overtime gave Denver a 3-2 win against Western Michigan.
-Aaron Dell made 21 saves for North Dakota in a 6-0 shutout of Rensselaer.
-Anders Lee's overtime goal gave Notre Dame a 4-3 win against Merrimack.
-Two goals by Kevin Goumas led New Hampshire to a 3-1 defeat of Miami, Ohio.
Adams Division
-Do yourself a favor and read this wonderful piece in the New York Times by Jeff Z. Klein on the culture of resisting change in hockey.
(Photos: Cooke-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Flyers/Islanders-Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press; Rangers/Bruins-Michael Dwyer/Associated Press; Lemaire-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Leopold-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Maple Leafs/Red Wings-Rick Osentoski/Associated Press; Ducks/Blackhawks-Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press; Sharks/Coyotes-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Avalanche/Kings-Danny Moloshok/Associated Press)