Empty Netter Assists - 10-28-11
Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. The Penguins win a game after trailing for two periods for the first time in 19 months.
-Newsday's recap. Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov left the game due to a "lower-body" injury.
-The Associated Press' recap. The Penguins' have won 12 consecutive home games against the Islanders.
-NHL.com's recap. "It was a lucky move." - Malkin on his shootout goal.
-Highlights:
-Happy times for Malkin and James Neal:
-Brooks Orpik having a moment:
-Nabokov had issues with this puck:
-Serpico Rick DiPietro replacing Nabokov:
-A good look at Malkin in the purple warm-ups the team wore:
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Malkin speaks:
-In addition to next year's NHL draft, the Penguins want to host a future all-star game.
-Youth hockey has flourished in Pittsburgh.
-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is scheduled to return to the lineup this weekend for the first time since suffering a knee injury in September's prospect tournament.
-Former Penguins forward prospect Jordan Morrison has joined Klagenfurter AC of the EBHL in Austria.
-Happy 56th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Paul Baxter (right). A third-round pick in 1975, Baxter spent three seasons in Pittsburgh. One of the best antagonists in franchise history, Baxter made his debut with the Penguins in 1980-81. He appeared in 51 games, scored 19 points and managed to lead the team with 204 penalty minutes. The 1981 postseason saw him appear in five games and record on assist. He followed that up in 1981-82 by establishing career-highs in games (76), points (43) and led the NHL with 409 penalty minutes, a mark which remains a franchise record. During that season, five separate players were suspended for a total of 20 games due to incidents involving Baxter. In that spring's playoffs, he saw action in five games and failed to record a point. In 1982-83, Baxter played in 75 games, scored 32 points and compiled 328 penalty minutes, once again, tops on the team. In the 1983 offseason, Baxter joined the Calgary Flames as a free agent. In 202 regular season games, Baxter scored 94 points (87th-most in franchise history) and recorded 851 penalty minutes (fifth-most). In 10 postseason games, Baxter recorded one assist.
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-Happy 32nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman the great Martin Skoula. A free agent signing just prior to the 2009-10 season, Skoula's Penguins career amounted to 33 games and eight points that campaign. At the 2010 trade deadline, Skoula and Luca Caputi were traded to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Alexei Ponikarovsky. Skoula currently plays for Avangard Omsk of the KHL.
-Happy 48th birthday to former Penguins forward Perry Ganchar. Acquired midway through the 1987-88 season from the Canadiens in exchange for future considerations, Ganchar spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. He finished that campaign by appearing in 30 games for the Penguins and scoring seven points. In 1988-89, Ganchar saw action in three games and failed to record a point. He was released in the 1990 offseason. In 33 games for the Penguins, Ganchar recorded seven points.
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Atlantic Division
-The Rangers played their first game in a renovated Madison Square Garden.
-Rangers fans actually chanted the name of forward Sean Avery during the game. Prior to the season, he was demoted to Connecticut of the AHL.
-Flyers forward Brayden Schenn will be sidelined four to six weeks due to a broken foot.
-Former Sharks/Panthers/Canucks/Sabres forward Steve Bernier has signed with the Albany Devils, the AHL affiliate of the NHL Devils.
Northeast Division
-Jonas Gustavsson made 28 saves for the Maple Leafs who defeated the Rangers, 4-2. The win kept Toronto in first place of the Northeast Division with 13 points.
-Header of the Night: Henrik Lundqvist used his lid to deflect this shot out of play:
-Fight of the Night: Toronto's Mike Brown versus New York's Kris Newbury:
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-Check out this snipe by Brown:
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-Defensive Play of the Night: New York's Michael Sauer blocking a shot by Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski:
-Lundqvist gloved this puck:
-The World's Most Famous Arena:
-Carey Price made 29 saves for the Canadiens in a 2-1 win against the rival Bruins. Boston, the defending Stanley Cup champion, is in last place of the Eastern Conference with six points.
-Fluky Goal of the Night: Boston's Patrice Bergeron got credit for this score after Montreal's Tomas Plekanec won a faceoff into his own net:
-Price kept his eyes on this puck:
-Montreal's P.K. Subban and Boston's Brad Marchand had issues:
-Intense Face of the Night: Montreal's Mike Cammalleri:
-Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid returned to the lineup after missing four games due to a neck injury.
-Nick Foligno's goal with 2.5 seconds left in regulation gave the Senators a 4-3 win against the Panthers. Captain Daniel Alfredsson had a goal and an assist for Ottawa while Craig Anderson made 22 saves in the victory. Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss each netted a goal and an assist for Florida.
-Foligno's goal:
-Check out this rocket of a goal by Florida's Jay Garrison:
-Check out the passing on this goal by Florida's Tomas Fleischmann:
-Captain Jason Pominville had two goals and an assist for the Sabres in a 4-2 defeat of the Blue Jackets. Brad Boyes added a goal and an assist for Columbus while teammate Thomas Vanek recorded three assists. Jhonas Enroth made 41 saves in the victory.
-Columbus' Steve Mason kept his eyes on this puck:
-Mars, Pa. native Mike Weber has been the odd man out on the Sabres' blue line.
-The Maple Leafs placed goaltender James Reimer on injured reserve due to head and neck ailments.
-The Maple Leafs demoted forward Nazem Kadri to Toronto of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-Nik Antropov and Tanner Glass each had a goal and two assists for the Jets in a wild 9-8 win against the Flyers. Blake Wheeler recorded three assists for Winnipeg while teammates Alexander Bumistrov each collected a goal and an assist. Ondrej Pavelec made 36 saves in the victory. Daniel Briere led Philadelphia with a goal and an assist.
-Goal of the Night: Antropov with the little deke in tight to jam up Philadelphia's Sergei Bobrovsky:
-Pass of the Night: Flyers forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr to set up Scott Hartnell:
-All 17 goals in a minute and 18 seconds:
-Yikes:
-Funny Face of the Night: Jagr:
-The Jets blew two four-goal leads during the game.
-"I have zero confidence in myself right now. I'm terrible. I want to apologize to the fans and my teammates. I don't know what's going on. I have no answer for you guys. I thought the last game in Montreal was the worst, but today was worse." - Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov, one of the biggest free agent signings this summer, allowed four goals on 10 shots after he replaced Bobrovsky.
-Jets captain Andrew Ladd is sporting a real hockey face:
-Pavelec knocked down this puck pyramid:
-Kane shot down a rumor he wants out of Winnipeg.
-The Panthers have decided to keep junior-eligible defenseman Erik Gudbranson beyond his nine-game "tryout."
-Capitals defenseman Mike Green is sidelined due to a right ankle injury.
Central Division
-Mike Fisher had two goals and an assist for the Predators who beat the Lightning, 5-3. Sergei Kostitsyn and Nick Spaling each added a goal and an assist for Nashville while teammate Craig Smith recorded two assists. Pekke Rinne made 29 saves in the win. Steven Stamkos scored two goals for Tampa Bay.
-Save of the Night: Rinne on Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier:
-Check out the pass by Smith to set up Kostitsyn:
-The Blue Jackets activated defenseman Theo Ruth off injured reserve and assigned him to Springfield of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-A goal and an assist by Jordan Eberle led the Oilers to a 2-1 defeat of the Capitals. Former Penguins defenseman Corey Potter recorded two assists while Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves in the victory. Washington had a seven-game winning streak snapped and suffered its first loss of the season.
-The Avalanche has opted to keep junior-eligible forward Gabriel Landeskog on the NHL roster beyond his nine-game "tryout."
-Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner suffered a finger injury last night after blocking a shot.
Pacific Division
-Ray Whitney collected two goals an dan assist for the Coyotes who beat the Devils, 5-3. Martin Hanzal added a goal and an assist for Phoenix while teammates David Schlemko, Radim Vrbata and Keith Yandle each recorded two assists. Mike Smith made 31 saves in the victory.
-Cool Photo of the Night: Smith kicking one out:
-A good look at the lid of Devils goaltender and former Penguin Johan Hedberg:
-Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks in a 3-2 win at Minnesota. Teammate Teemu Selanne recorded three assists while Jonas Hiller made 23 saves in the victory.
-Slava Voynov had two goals and an assist for the Kings who won at Dallas, 5-3. Captain Dustin Brown added a goal and two assists for Los Angeles while teammate Mike Richards recorded three assists. Jonathan Quick made 30 saves in the victory.
-Bloody times for Los Angeles' Matt Greene:
-Quick had his franchise-record shutout streak of 202 minutes 11 seconds snapped.
-The Coyotes are still trying to re-sign restricted free agent forward Kyle Turris.
(Photos: Islanders/Penguin-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Baxter-Penguins Hockey Cards; Maple Leafs/Rangers-Patrick McDermott/Getty Images; Canadiens/Bruins-Charles Krupa/Associated Press and Elsa/Getty Images; Blue Jackets/Sabres-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Jets/Flyers-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Devils/Coyotes-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Kings/Stars-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)