Empty Netter Assists - 01-22-12
Penguins
-"In the past, I've just felt like a call-up guy. This time, I really feel like, with the way I'm playing and the way I've fit in, I could really be a part of something down the road if I continue to play the way I'm playing." - Penguins forward Eric Tangardi (right).
-How aggressive will the Penguins and Ray Shero be at the trade deadline?
-The Penguins hired former Thrashers president/general manager/coach Don Waddell as a scout. As the Thrashers' general manager, Waddell approved the 2008 trade which brought forwards Pascal Dupuis and Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh in exchange for forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a first-round draft pick.
-Dan Byslma speaks:
-Dustin Jeffrey speaks:
-“The ice surface is a lot bigger so there is more space and more room for players that can be hurt [to] get away and skate away from getting injured." - Former Penguins forward Alex Kovalev on the bigger rinks in Russia's KHL.
-Alex Grant had two goals and three assists for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins which routed the Syracuse Crunch, 6-2. Bryan Lerg and Geoff Walker each added a goal and an assist for the Penguins while teammates Colin McDonald and Joey Mormina each recorded two assists. Scott Munroe made 21 saves in the victory.
-Chris Barton collected two goals and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers who lost, 7-4, to the Elmira Jackals. Paul Crowder added a goal and an assist for Wheeling while teammate Brian Day recorded two assists.
-Happy 37th birthday to former Penguins forward Shean Donovan (right). Claimed off waivers from the Thrashers late in the 2001-02 season, Donovan spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. He finished 2001-02 by appearing in 13 games and scoring three points. After 52 games and nine points in 2002-03, Donovan was traded to the Flames in exchange for Micki Dupont and Mathias Johansson. In 65 games with the Penguins, Donovan scored 12 points.
Atlantic Division
-Two goals by Marian Gaborik, including one in overtime with 3.6 seconds left in the period, gave the Rangers a 3-2 win against the Bruins. Captain Ryan Callahan added a goal and an assist for New York while teammate Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves. Former Penguin Andrew Ference had a goal and an assist for Boston. Fire Craig Patrick.
-Gaborik's overtime goal:
-Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh was injured on a hit from behind in overtime by Ference:
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-Ference, who received a major penalty for the play, is scheduled to have a disciplinary hearing over the phone in regards to the hit.
-“It’s one of the most dangerous hits I’ve seen in a while. Nothing has to be said as far as what should be done (by the league).” - Rangers coach John Tortorella.
-New York's Brad Richards blew up the lid of Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask:
-Check out the placement on this shot by New York captain Ryan Callahan:
-Rangers forward and former Penguin Mike Rupp had a spirited fight with Boston's Shawn Thornton:
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-Wayne Simmonds had a goal and two assists for the Flyers who defeated the rival Devils, 4-1. Scott Hartnell scored two goals for Philadelphia while teammate Claude Giroux recorded two assists. Ilya Brzygalov made 30 saves in the victory. Former Penguin Alexei Ponikarovsky scored New Jersey's only goal in his debut with the team. Fire Ray Shero.
-The Flyers saw forwards Daniel Briere (concussion), Jaromir Jagr (groin) and Zac Rinaldo ("upper body") leave the game due to injuries.
-"I'm not too good right now. I don't even know what happened." - Briere.
-Bryzgalov was... well... Brzygalov after the game:
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-Bryzgalov kept an eye on this puck:
-Funny Body Language of the Day: Philadelphia's Peter Laviolette:
-Save of the Day: New Jersey's Martin Brodeur on Simmonds:
-Ponikarovsky's goal came off a nifty re-direction:
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-Fire Ray Shero.
-Happy times for Ponikarovsky:
-Stop us if this sounds familiar. An Atlantic Division team doesn't have a good record against Eastern Conference powers. The Devils are 1-6 against the Flyers, Bruins and Rangers.
-John Tavares scored two goals, including one in overtime, and led the Islanders to a 2-1 victory against the Hurricanes. Tavares extended his point scoring streak to 12 games. Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves for New York which has won four out of five games.
-Tavares' overtime goal:
-Happy times for Tavares:
-The Flyers recalled forwards Ben Holmstrom and Tom Sestito from Adirondack of the AHL.
-The Devils demoted forward Mattias Tedenby to Albany of the AHL.
Northeast Division
-Carey Price made 32 saves for the Canadiens in a 3-1 win against the rival Maple Leafs. Toronto has lost four out of its past five games.
-Hit of the Night: Toronto's Mike Komisarek on Montreal's Travis Moen:
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-Happy times for the Canadiens:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Montreal's Yannick Weber warming up:
-The Bruins recalled defenseman Steven Kampfer from Providence of the AHL.
-“Right now, the way I’m still feeling and the daily issues I’m having, it’s tough to see a bright future right now." - Bruins forward Marc Savard on his recovery from a concussion.
Southeast Division
-Shootout goals by Kris Versteeg, Mike Santorelli and Mikael Samuelsson gave the Panthers a 4-3 win against the Jets. Versteeg had two regulation goals and an assist while teammate Scott Clemmensen made 41 saves. Nik Antropov scored two regulation goals for Winnipeg.
-Winnipeg's Mark Stuart smacked Versteeg pretty good here:
-Samuelsson > Winnipeg's Ondrej Pavelec:
-Versteeg was sporting a rally lid while celebrating with Samuelsson:
-Winnipeg's Zach Bogosian > Florida's Tomas Kopecky:
-Pavelec kept an eye on this puck:
-Clemmensen and Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler got tangled up here:
-Steve Downie and Martin St. Louis each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning which defeated the Coyotes, 4-3. Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves for Tampa Bay. Lauri Korpikoski and Ray Whitney each collected a goal and an assist for Phoenix.
-Pass of the Night: St. Louis setting up Steven Stamkos for a goal:
-Winnipeg forward Evander Kane is dealing with a concussion.
-Jets defenseman Dustin Byfulien is still dealing with a knee injury which has sidelined him since Dec. 23.
-The Jets recalled forward Patrice Cormier from St. John's of the AHL and demoted defenseman Derek Meech to St. John's.
Central Division
-Two goals and two assists by David Backes led the Blues to a 4-2 defeat of the Sabres. Alex Pietrangelo and T.J. Oshie recorded two assists for St. Louis while teammate Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves. Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist for Buffalo which has lost nine consecutive road games.
-A shootout goal by Valtteri Filppula gave the Red Wings a 3-2 win against the Blue Jackets. Niklas Kronwall had a regulation goal and an assist for Detroit while teammate Jimmy Howard made 17 saves. The Red Wings extended a road winning streak to 16 games.
-Blue Jackets defenseman Nikita Nikitin appeared to suffer a leg injury after he was shoved from behind into the boards by Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg:
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(Hometown announcers can be so bad more often than not.)
-"It looked bad. It looks really bad, so I can't blame the referee to give me five minutes." - Zetterberg on receiving the first major penalty of his career.
-Patric Hornqvist, Kevin Klein and Sergei Kostitsyn each had a goal and an assist for the Predators who defeated the Blackhawks, 5-2. David Legwand recorded two assists for Nashville while teammate Pekka Rinne made 20 saves. Former Penguin Marian Hossa scored both of Chicago's goals. Fire Ray Shero.
-Hossa embarrased Nashville captain Shea Weber on his first goal:
-Bad Goal of the Night: Klein with a one-hopper against Chicago's Corey Crawford:
-Crawford had issues with this puck too:
-Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews left the game in the second period due to an "upper-body" injury and did not return.
-“I want to thank all the Chicago fans for coming today. Nashville is a great destination to come to. We’ll take the Chicago people’s money from the chamber of commerce (perspective).” - Predators coach Barry Trotz on the numerous Blackhawks fans at the game in Nashville.
Northwest Division
-Cody Hodgson scored two goals and led the Canucks to a 4-3 win against the Sharks. David Booth added a goal and an assist for Vancouver while teammate Mason Raymond recorded two assists. Roberto Luongo made 23 saves in the victory. Logan Couture scored two goals for San Jose.
-Goal of the Day: Couture used a paralyzing move on Luongo to score this goal:
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-Defensive Play of the Day: Couture with a leg "save" on Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin:
-San Jose's Joe Pavelski and Vancouver's Keith Ballard had issues:
-A hat trick and an assist by Lee Stempniak helped the Flames rout the rival Oilers, 6-2. Jay Bouwmeester and Blake Comeau each added a goal and two assists for Calgary while teammate Olli Jokinen recorded two assists. Mikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves in the victory. Ryan Smyth had a goal and an assist for Edmonton.
-Stempniak's hat trick:
-Check out this pass by Calgary's Mark Giordano to set up Mikael Backlund on the backdoor:
-Oilers forward Taylor Hall returned to the lineup after missing two games due to a gruesome facial injury Tuesday when he was kicked in the face with a skate.
-A goal and two assists by Dany Heatley led the Wild to a 5-2 defeat of the Stars. Devin Setoguchi added a goal and an assist for Minnesota while teammate Josh Harding made 23 saves. Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak.
-Prior to the game, the Wild honored forward Matt Cullen for appearing in his 1,000th career NHL game:
-Funny Face of the Night: Minnesota's Kyle Brodziak apparently felt he could use his tounge to block a slapper by Stars defenseman and former Penguin Alex Goligoski:
-We think.
-Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves for the Avalanche in a 3-1 win against the Kings. Kyle Quincey and Paul Stastny each recorded two assists for Colorado.
-Oilers defenseman and former Penguin Ryan Whitney wants to give his chronically injured right ankle one more shot before he decides to shut things down for this season.
Pacific Division
-Jonas Hiller made 31 saves for the Ducks who defeated the Senators, 2-1. Anaheim had earned points in its last eight games. Ottawa had a streak of 11 consecutive games with a point snapped.
-Check out this pass by Anahem's Bobby Ryan to set up Corey Perry for a goal:
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-Fluky Goal of the Night: Lubomir Visnovsky was given credit for this goal after Ottawa's Erik Karlsson swatted the puck into his own net:
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-Happy times for the Ducks. Not so much for Ottawa's Milan Michalek:
-"To be here with these guys, I don't know what else to say. I can't put any emotions on it. There's a lot of emotions going on. I'm appreciating it every minute I'm here." - Ducks forward Mark Bell on playing his first NHL game since April 5, 2008.
-The Ducks recalled forward Kyle Palmieri from Syracuse of the AHL.
-The Sharks activated defenseman Jim Vandermeer (left hand) from injured reserve, placed forward Tommy Wingels ("upper body") on injured reserve, recalled forward John McCarthy from Worcester of the AHL and demoted forward Frazer McLaren to Worcester.
Patrick Division
-The KHL held its all-star game skill competition. One of the cooler events they do is a wraparound competition (0:35 mark):
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-Cody Crichton had a goal and an assist for the Robert Morris men's team in a 2-1 defeat of Connecticut.
-Trent Frey recorded two assists for the Mercyhurst men's team in a 5-5 tie with Holy Cross.
-Kristen DiCiocco made 26 saves for the Robert Morris women's team which beat Mercyhurst, 3-2.
(Photos: Tangradi-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Donovan-Scott Cunningham/Getty Images; Flyers/Devils-Mel Evans/Associated Press; Hurricanes/Islanders-Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press; Canadiens/Maple Leafs-Abelimages/Getty Images; Panthers/Jets-Marianne Helm/Getty Images and John Woods/Canadian Press; Blackhawks/Predators-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press; Sharks/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press; Stars/Wild-Hannah Foslien/Getty Images; Senators/Ducks-Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)