Empty Netter Assists - 04-05-11
Penguins
-Home-ice advantage isn't exactly the be-all and end-all for the Penguins.
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Brooks Orpik speaks:
-Ben Lovejoy speaks:
-Brad Thiessen was the Baz Bastien Award as the AHL's top goaltender.
Atlantic Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Vaclav Prospal scored two goals for the Rangers in a thrilling 5-3 comeback win against the Bruins. Michael Sauer and Derek Stepan each added a goal and an assist for New York while teammate Wojtek Wolski recorded two assists. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves in the victory. The Bruins are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 99 points, one less than the fourth-place Penguins.
-The Rangers were actually down 3-0 past the midway part of this game:
-Intense times for Lundqvist:
-Happy times for Stepan:
-Tim Thomas leading the Bruins onto the ice at the World's Most Famous Arena:
-The Rangers recalled forward Kris Newbury from Connecticut of the AHL.
-Flyers forwards Blair Betts and Daniel Briere are expected to miss tonight's game against the Senators due to "lower-body" ailments.
Northeast Division
-Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson (right) will miss the rest of the season due to a back injury.
Southeast Division
-The Lightning, the Penguins probable first-round opponent, is struggling on the power play as well having only converted on five out of its past 34 chances.
-With defenseman Tobias Enstrom dealing with an "upper-body" injury, the Thrashers recalled defenserman Andrey Zubarev from Chicago of the AHL.
-The Hurricanes signed efenseman Rasmus Rissanen, a sixth-round pick in 2009, to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Central Division
-Plum native R.J. Umberger (No really!) will set a Blue Jackets franchise record by appearing in his 244th consecutive regular season game tonight. He currently shares the record with former forward Jason Chimera.
Northwest Division
-Wild forward Martin Havlat (right) is expected to miss the finals games of the rest of the regular season due to an "upper-body" injury.
-The Wild demoted forward Carson McMillan to Houston of the AHL.
-The Canucks demoted forward Victor Oreskovich to Manitoba of the AHL.
Pacific Division
-Kyle Wellwood had a goal and two assists for the Sharks in a 6-1 rout of the rival Kings. Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski, captain Joe Thornton and Marc-Edouard Vlasic each netted a goal and an assist for San Jose while teammate Patrick Marleau recorded two assists. Antti Niemi made 31 saves in the victory which secured the Pacific Division for the Sharks.
-Quick had issues with this puck:
-Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow after having been sidelined since Feb. 17 due to a head injury.
Adams Division
-Former Mercyhurst goaltender Ryan Zapolski has joined the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.
(Photo: Consol Energy Center and Bruins/Rangers-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Alfredsson-Photobucket; Havlat-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Kings/Sharks-Ben Margot/Associated Press)