Empty Netter Assists - 10-08-11
Penguins
-The Penguins don't care how pretty their goals are.
-"Obviously, I won't be scoring two goals every game." - Matt Cooke (above).
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Steve Sullivan speaks:
-Sidney Crosby speaks:
-Two assists by Greg Hotham helped the Wheeling Nailers in a 4-1 season-opening win against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Patrick Killeen made 21 saves in the victory.
-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will open their season tonight against the Hershey Bears.
-The Penguins and Bears will face off 12 times this season.
-Former Penguins forward Janne Pesonen joined HIFK of the SM-liiga in Finland.
-Happy 75th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets and Penguins forward Art Stratton. Claimed from the Blackhawks in the 1967 expansion draft, Stratton's Penguins career amounted to 58 games and 37 points in 1967-68. Midway through the season, he was traded across the state to the Flyers in exchange for Wayne Hicks.
Atlantic Division
-Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello was fined $2,500 for a hit from behind on Kings forward Kyle Clifford yesterday:
-The Rangers demoted defenseman Stu Bickel to Connecticut of the AHL.
-The Devils will wear patches honoring former players Karel Rachunek and Alexander Vasyunov. Both were among those killed in a plane crash last month involving the KHL's Yaroslavl Lokomotiv franchise.
Northeast Division
-Thomas Vanek had two goals and an assist for the Sabres in a 4-1 defeat of the Ducks in Helsinki. Captain Jason Pominville contributed a goal and an assist for Buffalo while teammate Luke Adam recorded two assists. Ryan Miller made 29 saves in the win.
-Forward David Steckel is already making his mark with the Maple Leafs in the faceoff circle.
-The Canadiens signed former Islanders defenseman Joe Callahan to a one-year two-way contract.
-Canadiens goaltender Carey Price unveiled a mask he'll wear in October to raise awareness for breast cancer research:
Southeast Division
-A goal and an assist by Martin St. Louis led the Lightning to a 5-1 rout of the Hurricanes. Steven Stamkos recorded two assists for Tampa Bay while Dwayne Roloson made 32 saves in the victory.
-Goal of the Night: Check out Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier batting in a puck out of midair:
-Carolina's Brandon Sutter didn't appear to appreciate the placement of Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson:
-Funny Face of the Night: What in the world is going on here with Carolina's Jay Harrison:
-Tampa Bay's Adam Hall > Carolina's Jeff Skinner:
-Roloson kept his eyes on this puck:
-Bright times for Carolina's Cam Ward:
-You'd have the same reaction too if your team's big free agent signing in the offseason was Alexei Ponikarovsky:
-Tampa Bay's Brett Clark tried to save Adam Hall's eyes from having to see another blue jersey:
-“Sometimes in Atlanta we’d play in front of 6,000 people. It’s kind of different.” - Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec on his franchise's transition from Atlanta.
-The Jets claimed forward Brett MacLean off waivers from the Coyotes.
-As of roughly 11 a.m. yesterday, the Capitals still had not sold out their home opener.
Central Division
-Cory Emmerton had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 5-3 defeat of the Senators. Drew Miller recorded two assists for Detroit while Jimmy Howard stopped 29 shots in the victory. Milan Michalek scored two goals for Ottawa.
-Detroit's Todd Bertuzzi ripped a beauty of a wrister off a breakaway for a goal:
-Defensive Play of the Night: Check out this steal by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk which led to a goal by Jiri Hudler:
-Prior to the game, the Red Wings paid tribute to former defenseman/assistant coach Brad McCrimmon who lost his life in the plane crash involving Lokomotiv Yaroslavl:
-Detroit's Johan Franzen taking the ice:
-Happy times for the Red Wings. Not so much for Ottawa's Craig Anderson:
-Thirsty times for Howard:
-Intense times for Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom:
-A goal and an assist by Ryan Suter led the Predators to a 3-2 win against the rival Blue Jackets. Pekka Rinne made 32 saves in the victory. Rick Nash and Vaclav Prospal each had a goal and an assist for Columbus.
-Pass of the Night: Check out this set up from Nashville's Sergei Kostitsyn to Suter:
-Bizarre Play of the Night: Columbus' Derek Dorsett caught and threw a puck while on a penalty kill:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Columbus' Steve Mason taking the ice:
-Happy times for Prospal:
Northwest Division
-Colorado will retire the No. 21 of former forward Peter Forsberg prior to tonight's season opener against the Red Wings.
-The Avalanche will not start the season with a captain. Forwards Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny and defenseman Erik Johnson will serve as alternate captains.
-The Wild demoted forward Eric Nystrom to Houston of the AHL.
-Oilers defenseman Taylor Fedun was released from a Minnesota hospital one week after suffering a broken right femur.
Pacific Division
-An overtime goal by Jack Johnson gave the Kings a 3-2 win against the Rangers in Stockholm. Anze Kopitar and Mike Richard each contributed a goal and an assist for Los Angeles while Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in the victory.
-Johnson's goal:
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-New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist kept his eyes on play up ice:
-Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves for the Stars in a 2-1 defeat of the Blachkawks. Former Penguin Alex Goligoski scored Dallas' first goal. Fire Ray Shero.
-Dallas' Jamie Benn used Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson to remove some glass:
-The Stars wore No. 37 stickers on their helmets to honor former defenseman Karlis Skratins who was killed in last month's plane crash involving the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl franchise.
-Ducks defenseman and former Penguin Nate Guenin, a native of Hopewell, scored his first career NHL goal. Fire Ray Shero.
-The Ducks will wear a patch in honor of former defenseman Ruslan Salei. He was killed in last month's plane crash with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
-The Coyotes are embracing their uncertain future through their marketing campaign:
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-With starter Antti Niemi (cyst) and backup Antero Nittymaki (groin) dinged up, the Sharks are starting third stringer Thomas Greiss in net for the season opener.
Adams Division
-Brooks Ostergard made 17 saves for the Robert Morris men's team in a season-opening 3-1 loss to Colgate.
-Max Strang made 29 saves for the Mercyhurst men's team which lost to Nebraska-Omaha, 5-1.
-Kristen DiCiocco made 14 saves for the Robert Morris women's team in a season-opening 8-0 shutout of Lindenwood.
-Hillary Pattenden made 24 saves for the Mercyhurst women's team which lost in overtime to Minnesota State, 3-2.
(Photos: Cooke-Jamie Squire/Getty Images; Lightning/Hurricanes-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Senators/Red Wings-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images; Predators/Blue Jackets-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Rangers/Kings-Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images)