Empty Netter Assists - 12-31-11
Penguins
-"He communicates with his players all the time, lets you know how you're playing on a daily basis. I think you're going to get the most out of your players if they know where they stand and what you expect from them -- and he gets that." - Steve Sullivan on Dan Bylsma (above).
-Welcome back Deryk Engelland.
-Ben Lovejoy speaks:
-Zbynek Michalek... you know... speaks:
-Kyle Bushee recorded two assists for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-2 loss to the Elmira Jackals. Patrick Killeen made 22 saves for Wheeling.
-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Terry Ruskowski. A free agent signing prior to the 1985-86 season, Ruskowski spent two seasons with the Penguins. In 1985-86, Ruskowski played in 73 games and scored 63 points. He followed that up in 1986-87 by appearing in 78 contests and contributing 51 points. During the 1987 offseason, he joined the Minnesota North Stars as a free agent. In 143 regular season games with the Penguns, Ruskowski scored 114 points, 69th-most in franchise history.
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-Happy 56th birthday to former Penguins forward Gary McAdam. Acquired midway through the 1978-79 season in a trad which sent Dave Schultz to the Sabres, McAdam spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. He finished 1978-79 by appearing in 28 games and scoring 14 points for the Penguins. In the 1979 postseason, he played in seven games and scored three points. He followed that up in 1979-80 by playing in 78 games and scoring 41 points. That spring's postseason saw him appear in five games and score three points. After 34 games and 12 points in 1980-81, McAdam was traded to the Red Wings in exchange for Errol Thompson. In 140 regular season games with the Penguins, McAdam scored 67 points. In 12 postseason games, he contributed six points.
-Happy 34th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Dan Focht. Acquired at the 2003 trade deadline along with Ramzi Abid and Guillaume Lefebvre in exchange for Jan Hrdina and Francois Leroux, Focht spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. He finished 2002-03 by appearing in 12 games for the Penguins and recorded three assists. In 2003-04, Focht appeared in 52 games and scored five points. Following the 2004-05 lockout, Focht joined the Panthers as a free agent.
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-Happy 63rd birthday to former Penguins forward Rene Robert. Claimed from the Sabres during the 1971 offseason in an intra-league draft, Robert's Penguins' career amounted to 49 games and 18 points in 1971-72. During the 1972 offseason, Robert was traded to the Sabres in exchange for Eddie Shack. Robert became an all-star with the Sabres as part of the famed "French Connection line with Rick Martin and Gilbert Perreault.
-Happy 64rd birthday to former Penguins forward Nelson Debenedet (right). Acquired in the 1974 offseason in a trade which sent Hank Nowak and a draft pick to the Red Wings, DeBenedet's Penguins' career amounted to 31 games and nine points during the 1974-75 season. He was released in the 1975 offseason.
-Happy 56th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Lex Hudson. A 12th-round pick in 1978-79, Hudson's entire Penguins and NHL career amounted to two games and no points in 1978-79. He was released in 1979.
Atlantic Division
-Carl Hagellin and Brad Richards each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers who beat the Panthers, 4-1. Ryan McDonagh recorded two assists for New York while teammate Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves.
-Late in the game, Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto and Panthers forward Tomas Kopecky got engaged in a battle near the New York net. It escalated to the point where Kopecky sucker punched Del Zotto. Rangers forward and former Penguin Mike Rupp took Kopecky to task for the transgression:
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-"I know Michael high-sticked him, they were jostling and stuff like that, but you don’t sucker-punch a guy. So he got what he deserved.” - Rangers coach John Tortorella on Kopecky.
-"Some guy cross-checks you in the back and then follows through. He deserves a good smash in the face." - Panthers coach Kevin Dineen on Del Zotto.
-Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder is expected to return to the lineup today against the Penguins after missing six games due to back spasms.
-Will Sergei Bobrovsky or Ilya Bryzgalov get the start in the Winter Classic?
Northeast Division
-An overtime goal by captain Daniel Alfredsson gave the Senators a 4-3 comeback win against the Flames. Erik Karlsson added a goal and an assist for Ottawa while teammate Craig Anderson made 17 saves.
-Alfredsson's goal:
-Alfredsson's goal was the 400th of his career.
-Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff is expected to miss "weeks" after suffering an undisclosed injury last night.
-Do the Bruins have the NHL's top goaltending tandem with Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas?
Southeast Division
-Captain Alex Ovechkin scored two goals for the Capitals in a 3-1 win against the Sabres. Alexander Semin recorded two assists for Washington while Thomas Vokoun made 25 saves in the victory.
-Pass of the Night: Washington's Nicklas Backstrom scored his 100th career goal off a nifty pass from Alexander Semin:
-Ovechkin's second goal was a real ripper:
-Happy times for Ovechkin:
-Vokoun kept his eyes on this puck:
-Sabres defenseman and Cranberry native Mike Weber had issues with Washington's Jason Chimera:
-The Capitals recalled Cody Eakin from Hershey of the AHL.
-Like the rest of the NHL, Jets fans hate the Maple Leafs.
Central Division
-Corey Crawford made 26 saves for the Blackhawks in a 3-2 win against the Red Wings. Chicago has won three out of its last four games.
-Detroit's Mike Commodore (left), Pavel Datsyuk and Chicago's Bryan Bickell each kept their eyes on this puck:
-Martin Erat's shootout goal gave the Predators a 2-1 win against the Blues. Pekka Rinne made 35 saves in the victory.
-Happy times for Rinne and teammates:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Erat lunging forward to poke a puck:
-"Every year he has one of those years where you’re just like ... you hope he retires. I’m kind of sick of playing against him. He’s an unbelievable player." - Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane on Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom.
-Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski will be sidelined six weeks due to a broken ankle.
Northwest Division
-Oilers defenseman/Expert seeker Andy Sutton has finished his eight-game suspension for hitting Hurricanes forward Alexei Ponikarovsky high.
-Avalanche forward Matt Duchene will be sidelined at least a month due to a knee injury.
-Colorado goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere (right) returns to Anaheim for the first time since the Ducks traded him Jan. 10, 2010.
Pacific Division
-Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau suggested forward Jason Blake could return to the lineup in "a game or two" having having been sidelined since Octobert due to a laceration on his left wrist.
-The Coyotes recalled forward Marc-Antoine Pouliot from Portland of the AHL and demoted forward Andy Miele to Portland.
-The Ducks demoted forward Kyle Palmieri to Syracuse of the AHL.
IIHF World Junior Championships
-An assist by Penguins forward prospect Dominik Uher helped the Czech Republic beat the United States, 5-2.
-The loss guarantees the United States can finish no better than seventh place on the tournament.
-Islanders forward prospect Johan Sundström had a goal and two assists for Sweden which routed Slovakia, 9-1.
-Red Wings forward prospect Teemu Pulkkinen collected four goals and an assist for Finland in a 10-1 pounding of Finland.
-Undrafted goaltender Tim Wolf made 20 saves for Switzerland which beat Latvia, 5-3.
Norris Division
-Colin South scores two goals for Robert Morris in a 4-2 loss to Ohio State at the Consol Energy Center.
(Photos: Bylsma-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; DeBenedet-Penguins Hockey Cards; Rangers/Panthers-Joel Auerbach/Getty Images; Sabres/Capitals-Patrick McDermott/Getty Images and Nick Wass/Associated Press; Red Wings/Blackhawks-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Predators/Blues-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images; Giguere-Jeff Gross/Getty Images)