Empty Netter Assists - 12-13-11
Penguins
-"I don't think 'frustrating' even describes it." - Sidney Crosby (right) on his latest setback.
-"You want the top players to be playing and promote the league. It's not good when a top guy is hurt like that." - Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom on Crosby.
-“I think if it would be up to him, he would play. On the other side, the doctors have to make sure. You don’t want anything like what happened to Crosby. You have to be very careful. You don’t look just for the next game. You look for the next 10 years, not only two games.” - Flyers forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr on the head injuries of teammate Claude Giroux and Crosby.
-Richard Park will be sidelined four to six weeks due to a foot injury.
-Bruins forward Brad Marchand was fined $2,500 for a slew foot against Matt Niskanen last Monday. (PG+)
-Dan Bylsma, Tony Granato, Matt Niskanen and Steve Sullivan weigh in on realignment. (PG+)
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Zbynek Michalek speaks:
-If the Steelers and Pirates had issues developing only 10 acres of land between their stadiums, will the Penguins have trouble developing the 28 acres of Civic Arena property?
-The Penguins are good people:
-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Joey Mormina is dealing with a suspected "upper-body" injury.
Atlantic Division
-Adam Henrique and captain Zach Parise each had a goal and two assists for the Devils in a 5-4 win against the Lightning. Former Penguin Johan Hedberg made 32 saves in the victory. Fire Craig Patrick. Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist for Tampa Bay.
-Hedberg got down low for this puck:
-The Devils acquired defenseman Kurtis Foster and minor league goaltender Timo Pielmeier from the Ducks in exchange for forward Rod Pelley and defenseman Mark Fraser. Foster is in the final year of a contract with a $1.8 million cap hit. Pelley ($575,000) and Fraser ($525,000) are in the final years of their contracts.
-The Islanders activated forward Evgeni Nabokov (groin) from injured reserve and demoted forward Micheal Haley and goaltender Kevin Poulin to Bridgeport of the AHL.
-"There's no question; I can't stand it." - Rangers coach John Tortorella on the presence of HBO's cameras for "24/7."
Northeast Division
-The Senators loaned forward Nikita Filatov to Central Red Army of the KHL.
Southeast Division
-The Lightning signed former Wild forward Antti Miettinen to a two-year contract worth a total $3 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.5 million. Having started this season with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL, Miettinen must clear re-entry waivers before he can join the Lightning.
-Lightning forward Steve Downie was fined an undisclosed amount for leaving the bench Thursday against the Rangers after New York forward Artem Anisimov did his "gun" celebration following a goal:
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-The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk of the AHL.
-The Panthers placed forward Tim Kennedy on waivers.
-Capitals defenseman Mike Green visited a specialist to examine his chronic groin injury.
Central Division
-With forward Derek Dorsett dealing with a suspected leg injury, the Blue Jackets recalled forward Dane Byers from Springfield of the AHL.
-The Blackhawks demoted forward Ben Smith to Rockford of the AHL.
-The Predators demoted defenseman Jonathan Blum (right) to Milwaukee of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-Fresh off his suspension for striking Hurricanes forward Alexei Ponikarovsky in the head, Oilers defenseman/expert accreditor Andy Sutton is complaining about the NHL's discipline process.
-Avalanche forward Chuck Kobasew is dealing with a head injury. Additionally, Colorado defenseman Ryan Wilson was place on injured reserve due to a head injury.
Pacific Division
-The Kings fired head coach Terry Murray and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant coach John Stevens. Stevens is a former head coach of the Flyers.
-The Sharks activated goaltender Antero Niittymaki ("lower body") from injured reserve and assigned him to Worcester of the AHL for a rehabilitation assignment.
-The Ducks demoted forward Jean-Francois Jacques to Syracuse of the AHL.
Adams Division
-Former Blackhawks/Red Wings/Thrashers defenseman Chris Chelios (right), broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick, Flyers owner Ed Snider, Flames/Blackhawks/Sharks defenseman Gary Suter, Jets/Coyotes/Blues/Thrashers forward Keith Tkachuk were inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
(Photo: Crosby-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Devils/Lightning-Chris O'Meara/Associated Press; Blum-Jeff Gross/Getty Images)