Empty Netter Assists - 03-09-12
Penguins
-Chris Kunitz should stay on Evgeni Malkin's line when Sidney Crosby returns... right?
-Crosby got physical with Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi yesterday.
Atlantic Division
-Ilya Bryzgalov made 28 saves for the Flyers who shutout the Panthers, 5-0. Daniel Briere and Claude Giroux each recorded two assists for Philadelphia.
-Florida's Shawn Matthias kept his eye on this faceoff:
-Flyers defenseman Pavel Kubina missed the game due to an "upper-body" injury.
-A hat trick by Ilya Kovalchuk led the Devils to a 5-1 rout of the rival Islanders. Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist for New Jersey while teammates Adam Henrique, Zach Parise and Marek Zidlicky each recorded two assists. Martin Brodeur made 29 saves in the victory.
-Kovalchuk's hat trick:
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-Check out this pass from New Jersey's Marek Zidlicky to set up David Clarkson for a goal:
-Spitty times for Brodeur:
-“I know him real well. I don’t know if he’s going to talk to me after the game.” - Kovalchuk on scoring against Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.
-Devils forward and former Penguin Alexei Ponikarovsky returned to the lineup after missing three games due to a knee injury.
-The Flyers recalled forward Harry Zolneirczyk and defenseman Brandon Manning from Adirondack of the AHL.
-Flyers forward and former Penguins capgain Jaromir Jagr made these commercial for a European lottery:
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Northeast Division
-Ben Bishop made 25 saves for the Senators in a 4-1 win against the Rangers. New York, which has a six-point lead over the Penguins for the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference lead, has lost three out of its past four games.
-Pass of the Night: New York's Brad Richards set up captain Ryan Callahan on the backdoor for a goal:
-Ottawa's Zack Smith > New York's Brandon Prust:
-Tim Thomas made 19 saves for the Bruins who defeated the Sabres, 3-1. The Bruins have won two consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 10 and 12.
-Check out this hit by Boston's Johnny Boychuk on Buffalo's Thomas Vanek:
-Boychuk scored on a real rocket here:
-Buffalo's Christian Ehrhoff and Boston's Brad Marchand each went after this puck:
-Vanek left the game due to an "upper-body" injury.
-Two goals and an assist by Max Pacioretty led the Canadiens to a 5-3 win against the Oilers. P.K. Subban added a goal and two assists for Montreal while teammate Peter Budaj made 25 saves.
-Canadiens forward David Desharnais left the game in the first period due to a "lower-body" injury.
-A year after suffering a broken neck, Pacioretty has rebounded to become the Canadien's leading goal scorer.
Southeast Division
-An overtime goal by captain Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 3-2 win against the Lightning. Tomas Vokoun made 24 saves for Washington. Teddy Purcell collected a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay.
-Ovechkin's goal:
-Happy times in Washington:
-In the second period, Capitals defenseman Mike Green clubbed Lightning forward Brett Connolly in the head with a forearm:
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-Connolly returned to the game in the third period.
-EN Says: We can't fathom a scenario where this doesn't lead to supplemental discipline for Green.
Central Division
-Captain David Backes scored two goals for the Blues who beat the Ducks, 3-1. David Perron recorded two assists for St. Louis while teammate Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves. The win moved St. Louis into first place overall in the NHL.
-Hit of the Night: St. Louis' Kevin Shattenkirk on Anaheim's Matt Beleskey:
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-Check out this snipe of a goal by Anaheim's Corey Perry:
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-Halak and Alex Pietrangelo had a moment:
-Pekka Rinne made 15 saves for the Predators in a 4-2 win against the Avalanche. Jamie McGinn and Paul Stastny each collected a goal and an assist for Colorado.
-Rinne kept an eye on this puck:
-Two goals by former Penguin Mark Letestu led the Blue Jackets to a 3-1 win against the Kings. Fire Ray Shero. Vaclav Prospal recorded two assists for Columbus while teammate Steve Mason made 16 saves in the victory which was Columbus' fourth consecutive.
-After suffering a cut from a skate, Mason was replaced by backup Curtis Sanford.
-With forward Derek MacKenzie (head) and defenseman Fedor Tyutin (hand) dinged up, the Blue Jackets recalled forward Maksim Mayorov from Springfield of the AHL.
-The Blue Jackets held a promotion last night where fans were allowed to bring in the No. 7 jersey of former forward Jeff Carter, now of the Kings, in exchange for an nameplate of the new No. 7, defenseman Jack Johnson.
-Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews resumed skating for the first time since suffering an "upper-body" injury Feb. 19.
-Chicago forward Ben Smith will undergo hip and hernia surgery.
-The Red Wings recalled forward Gustav Nyquist from Grand Rapids of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-Shootout goals by former Penguin Erik Christensen, Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley gave the Wild a 3-2 win against the Coyotes. Fire Ray Shero. Matt Hackett made 15 saves in the victory. After going 11-0-1 in February, Phoenix has lost its past five games.
-Cory Schneider made 30 saves for the Canucks in a 3-2 defeat of the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec made 42 saves for Winnipeg which slipped to ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
-Defensive Play of the Night: Nashville's Ryan Suter with a poke check to prevent an easy goal for Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly:
-Cool Photo of the Night: Winnipeg's Ron Hainsey got lost in the snow here:
-And ankle injury will sideline Avalanche forward Matt Duchene three to four weeks.
Pacific Division
-Tomas Vincour's shootout goal gave the Stars a 4-3 win against the Sharks. Jamie Benn had a regulation goal and an assist for Dallas while teammate Stephane Robidas recorded two assists. Kari Lehtonen made a whopping 45 saves in the victory. Captain Joe Thornton had three assists for San Jose.
-Goal of the Night: San Jose's Torrey Mitchell scoring in the final seconds of the second period:
-Stars forward Jake Dowell (finger) was activated from injured reserve after missing seven games while forward Steve Ott missed the game due to back spasms.
-Coyotes foward Martin Hanzal left last night's game against the Wild in the first period due to an apparent wrist injury.
(Photos: Kunitz-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Panthers/Flyers-Matt Slocum/Associated Press; Rangers/Senators-Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press; Sabres/Bruins-Elsa/Getty Images; Islanders/Devils-Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images; Lightning/Capitals-Rob Carr/Getty Images and Nick Wass/Associated Press; Ducks/Blues-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images; Kings/Predators-Mark Humphrey/Associated Press; Jets/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)