Empty Netter Assists - 03-17-12
Penguins
-The Penguins tend not to do too well against New Jersey's Martin Brodeur.
-"When you haven't played for a while, you probably get caught watching a little bit and trying to dissect things, as opposed to reacting." - Sidney Crosby (above) on his return.
-Crosby was granted another assist from Thursday's game against the Rangers after a scoring change. (PG+)
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-Peter Delmas made 23 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-1 loss to the Reading Royals.
-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins forward Patrick Lebeau. A free agent signing in October of 1998, Lebeau appeared in eight games for the Penguins in 1998-99 and recorded one goal. The following season, he joined HC Ambri-Piotta of the NLA in Switzerland.
-Happy 33rd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Andrew Ference (right). An eighth-round pick in 1997, Ference spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1999-2000, Ference appeared in 30 games and recorded six points. In 2000-01, Ference saw action in 36 games and netted 15 points. During the 2001 postseason, he saw action in 18 contests and recorded 10 points. Ference finally broke through as a full-time NHLer in 2001-02 by seeing action in 75 games and scoring 11 points. After 22 games and four points in 2002-03, Ference was traded to the Flames in exchange for a third-round pick. He currently plays with the Bruins. In 163 career regular season games with the Penguins, Ference scored 36 points.
-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Tom Thornbury. A third-round pick of the club in 1981, Thornbury's entire NHL career amounted to 14 games with the 1983-84 Penguins in which he recorded nine points. Midway through the 1984-85 season, he was dealt to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Brian Ford.
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Atlantic Division
-The Flyers are 3-8-1 this season in games which start between 1 and 3 p.m.
-The Devils signed goaltender Scott Wedgewood, a third-round pick in 2010, to a three-year entry-level contract.
Northeast Division
-Filip Kuba's overtime goal gave the Senators a 2-1 win against the rival Canadiens. Ben Bishop made all of 13 saves in the victory.
-Kuba's goal:
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-Hit of the Night: Montreal's PK Subban on Ottawa's Colin Greening:
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-Greening and Subban worked things out afterwards:
-The win moved the Senators ahead of the Bruins for first place in the Northeast Division and second place of the Eastern Conference by a point.
-Canadiens defensemen Andrei Markov and Tomas Kaberle each missed the game due to "upper-body" injuries.
Southeast Division
-A goal and an assist by Dustin Byfuglien led the Jets to a 3-2 win against the Capitals. Ondrej Pavelec made 20 saves in the victory. Washington had a four-game winning streak snapped.
-Goal of the Night: Winnipeg's Nik Antropov had nifty re-direction goal:
-Winnipeg Mark Stuart drew some attention - but no penalty - for this hit on Washington's Marcus Johansson:
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-“Apparently Mark Stuart can hit guys in the head. He did it to (Capitals forward Troy) Brouwer. He did it to Marcus. I’m not an official.” - Capitals forward Brooks Laich on the hit.
-Jets' fan chanted "Crosby's better: at Ovechkin:
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-Pavelec kept an eye on this puck:
-The win pulled the Jets within two points of the Capitals for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
-Capitals defenseman Mike Green returned to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension.
-Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner was suspended two games for kicking Blues forward Scott Nichol Thursday:
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-With forward Jiri Tlusty ("upper body") and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek ("lower body") each returning to the lineup from injuries, the Hurricanes demoted forward Jerome Samson and defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti to Charlotte of the AHL.
-The Hurricanes signed defenseman Austin Levi, a third-round pick in 2010, to a three-year entry-level contract.
-The Jets signed defenseman Julian Melchiori, a third-round pick in 2010, to a three-year entry-level contract.
Central Division
-Patrick Sharp scored two goals for the Blackhawks who beat the Stars, 4-1. Viktor Stalberg recorded two assists for Chicago while teammate Corey Crawford made 21 saves.
-The Blackhawks recalled goaltender Carter Hutton from Rockford of the AHL.
-Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk is expected to return to the lineup Saturday after missing 11 games dues to a knee injury.
-Blues forward Andy McDonald is considered "day to day" due to a shoulder injury.
Northwest Division
-Jordan Eberle had a goal and two assists for the Oilers who beat the rival Flames, 3-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals for Edmonton while teammate Devan Dubnyk made all of 18 saves.
-Save of the Night: Calgary's Leland Irving on Edmonton's Sam Gagner:
Pacific Division
-A goal and an assist by Justin Williams led the Kings past the rival Ducks, 4-2. Drew Doughty and Matt Greene each recorded two assists while teammate Jonathan Quick made all of 18 saves. Cam Fowle had a goal and an assist for Anaheim.
-Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar and Quick had a moment:
Norris Division
-The Mercyhurt men's team's season comes to an end. Max Strang made 37 saves for Mercyhurst which lost to Air Force, 5-2, in an AHA semifinal.
(Photos: Crosby-Nick Laham/Getty Images; Canadiens/Senators-Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press; Capitals/Jets-Marianne Helm/Getty Images; Kings/Ducks-Jae C. Hong/Associated Press)