Empty Netter Assists - 05-18-11

Penguins

-Jamie Lynn-Sigler must be a pretty bad actress if the only post-"Sopranos" work she can get is playing herself on "Entourage" and the offseason episodes of "24/7."

-Actually, Paul Martin, Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal met up with Sigler while attending the Cannes Film Fesitval.

-Ray Shero isn't dealing with his team's free agents quite yet.

-"I've never met Jaromir Jagr in my life." - Shero on the former Penguins captain (right).

-The Penguins are nominees for Sports Business Journal's professional team of the year award.

-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins forward John Chabot. Acquired early in the 1984-85 season in deal which sent Ron Flockhart to the Canadiens, Chabot spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. In 67 games with the Penguins that season, Chabot recorded 53 points. His first full season with the Penguins in 1985-86 saw him appear in 77 games and collect 45 points. In 1986-87, Chabot played in 72 games and netted 36 points. The following offseason, he signed with the Red Wings. In 216 games with the Penguins, he recorded 134 points, 58th most in franchise history.

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-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins forward Dave Michayluk. A free agent signing in the 1989 offseason, Michayluk spent the vast majority of his professional career in the minor leagues. His Penguins career amounted to seven postseason games and two points for the Penguins during their 1992 Stanley Cup run. Injuries to stars such as Mario Lemieux and Joe Mullen forced the Penguins to recall Michayluk, Jock Callander and Mike Needham from their IHL affiliate in Muskegon. That trio formed the "Muskegon Line." Michayluk would never play in the NHL again but ended up becoming one of the greatest minor league hockey players of all-time.

-Happy 47th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Marty McSorley. Originally signed as a free agent in the 1982 offseason, McSorley had two stints with the Penguins. He made the roster as a rookie in team's dreadful 1983-84 season appearing in 72 games and recorded nine points and 224 penalty minutes. The following season, McSorley (right) was limited to 15 games with the Penguins and 15 penalty minutes. In the 1985 offseason, McSorley was traded to the Oilers along with Tim Hrynewich and Craig Muni in exchange for Gilles Meloche. McSorley would win two Stanley Cup titles in Edmonton and would be involved in arguably the biggest trade in sports history as he and some decent center were sent to the Kings in 1988. After establishing himself as one of the best enforcers in NHL history, McSorley returned to the Penguin in the 1993 offseason by way of a trade which sent Shawn McEachern to the Kings. McSorley spent just over half the season with the Penguins appearing in 47 games. He recorded 21 points and 139 penalty minutes and engaged in a memorable fight with Detroit's Bob Probert (below) before being traded back to the Kings along with Jim Paek in exchange for Tomas Sandstrom and McEachern. In 134 games with the Penguins, McSorley recorded 30 points and 378 penalty minutes, 38th most in franchise history. Overall, McSorley recorded 3,381 penalty minutes in the NHL, fourth-most all-time.

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-Happy 65th birthday to former Penguins forward Rod Zaine. Acquired in the 1970 offseason from the AHL's Baltimore Clippers in exchange for cash, Zaine's Penguins career amounted to 37 games and 13 points withe 1970-71 Penguins. In the 1971 offseason, he was claimed by the Sabres in the intra-league draft.

Playoff Stuff

Bruins - Lightning

-Tyler Seguin had two goals and two assists for the Bruins in a wild 6-5 win against the Lightning in Game 2. Michael Ryder added two goals and an assist for Boston while teammate Nathan Horton contributed a goal and two assists. Tim Thomas made 36 saves for Boston which tied the series, 1-1. Captain Vincent Lecavalier collected a goal and three assists for Tampa Bay which had an eight-game winning streak snapped.

-Seguin cut right through the Tampa Bay defense for his first goal:

-Save of the Night: Thomas denying Lightning forward and former Penguin Ryan Malone on a breakaway:

-Bloody times for Thomas:

-Boston captain Zdeno Chara and Tampa Bay's Steve Downie had issues:

-Tampa Bay's Dwayne Roloson kept his eyes on this puck:

-Cool Photo of the Night: Horton celebrating a goal:

-Thomas wasn't celebrating this goal:

-Happy times in Boston for Ryder and Seguin:

-Tampa Bay coach apparently threatened to pull someone's heart out of their chest ala "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" if his his team didn't start playing better defense:

-We think.

-Happy times for former Penguins forward Dominic More and teammate Victor Hedman:

-Happy times for Thomas:

-Seguin being good people:

-Bruins and former Penguins forward Mark Recchi > Tampa Bay's Mattias Ohlund:

-Pumped times for Ryder:

-Seguin became the first teenager to have a multi-goal game in the Stanley Cup playoffs since Jordan Staal in 2008.

-After making his playoff debut in Game 1, Seguin now has six points in two games.

-It doesn't sound like Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina (concussion) is going to back any time soon.

-"I don't care about Boston. Tampa Bay is my home. The Lightning are like my child. I gave birth to it. It took everything I had physically and probably mentally." - Lightning executive and former Bruins all-star Phil Esposito.

Canucks - Sharks

-Prior to the opening faceoff of Game 1, Sharks captain Joe Thornton (right) challenged Canucks forward Ryan Kesler to a fight. Said Kesler, “He was asking me to fight; I laughed at him.”

Non-Playoff Stuff

Atlantic Division

-In lieu of flowers, the family of late Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard is requesting donations be made to a charity called Defending The Blue Line which supports military families.

-Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo was suspended two games for next season following an off-ice incident with officials during Game 4 of Philadelphia's Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Bruins.

Northeast Division

-The Canadiens signed defenseman Alexei Yemelin, a third-round pick in 2004, to a one-year, two-way contract. Yelemin, 25, spent last season with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.

Southeast Division

-Former Penguins captain Ron Francis (right) officially resigned as associated coach to concentrate on his position as director of player personnel.

Central Division

-"If our team was no good, Nick wouldn't even consider coming back. But having the kind of year he did, and the kind of playoff he did, and the kind of our playoff our team had, it's given me confidence he'll be back." - Red Wings coach Mike Babcock on the future of captain Nicklas Lidstrom who is considering retirement.

Smythe Division

-Former Predators/Avalanche/Panthers/Stars defenseman Karlis Skrastins has joined Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL.

-Former Panthers forward Kamil Kreps and former Flyers/Coyotes forward Josh Gratton have joined Barys Astana of the KHL.

-If the NHL returned to Winnipeg, it wouldn't be stupid enough to not bring back the Jets' nickname, would it?

(Photos: Cannes Film Festival-Michael Buckner/Getty Images; Jagr-Post-Gazette archives; McSorley and Francis-Penguins Hockey Cards; Lightning/Bruins-Elise Amendola/Associated Press, Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Jim Rogash/Getty Images; Thornton-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)