Empty Netter Assists - 03-29-12
Penguins
-Kris Letang (above) and Matt Niskanen won't be tagging along to Long Island or Buffalo.
-The Penguins haven't been all that sharp defensively as of late.
-Could Brent Johnson be returning soon? (PG+)
-Dan Bylsma speaks:
-James Neal speaks:
-Marc-Andre Fleury speaks:
-"From Wheeling all the way up to Pittsburgh, we have good defensemen." - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Philip Samuelsson.
-Patrick Killeen made 18 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 3-0 loss to the Reading Royals.
-Happy 74th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Duane Rupp (right). Acquired midway through the 1968-69 season in a trade which sent Leo Boivin to the North Stars, Rupp spent parts of five seasons in Pittsburgh. He finished 1968-69 by appearing in 30 games and recording 13 points for the Penguins. His first full season with the Penguins was 1969-70. He saw action in 64 games and scored 16 points and helped the franchise reach the postseason for the first time. He appeared in six playoff games that season and scored four points. In 1970-71, Rupp played in 59 games and scored 33 points. Rupp saw action in four postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. During 1971-72, Rupp was limited to 34 games and 22 points. He rebounded in 1972-73 by playing in 78 games and scoring 20 points. After spending all of 1973-74 with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Hershey, Rupp signed with the Vancouver Blazers of the WHA. In 265 regular season games with the Penguins, Rupp, the first defenseman in franchise history to record a hat trick, scored 104 points, 80th-most in franchise history. In 10 postseason games, he scored four points.
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-Happy 61st birthday to former Penguins forward Hartland Monahan. Acquired early in the 1977-78 season in a trade which sent a draft pick to the North Stars, Monahan's Penguins career amounted to seven games and two goals that season. In November of that season, he was traded to the Kings along with Syl Apps, Jr. in exchange for Dave Schultz, Gene Carr and a draft pick. He is currently the national director for ourFund.us, a Georgia-based fundraising company.
-Happy 72nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Dunc McCallum (right). Acquired in a trade along with George Konik, Paul Andrea and Frank Francis for Larry Jeffrey, McCallum spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. During the club's innagural season of 1967-68, McCallum appeared in 32 games and recorded two assists. He followed that up in 1968-69 with 62 games, 18 points and a team-leading 81 penalty minutes. During 1969-70, he was limited to 14 games and no points. He appeared in 10 postseason games that spring and recorded three points. McCallum's final season in Pittsburgh was 1970-71 and saw him play in 77 games while contributing a career-best 29 points. He was released in the 1971 offseason.
Atlantic Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Captain Ryan Callahan and Michael Del Zotto each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers in a 4-2 comeback win against the Jets. Marian Gaborik recorded two assists for New York while teammate Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves. The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with 105 points, five more than the Penguins.
-Lundqvist recorded his 250th career win.
-With goaltender Evgeni Nabokov sidelined due to a "lower-body" injury, the Islanders recalled goaltender Kevin Poulin from Bridgeport of the AHL and signed former Bruins/Hurricanes/Lightning goaltender John Grahame to a one-year pro-rated contract. Grahame has not played in the NHL since 2007-08.
Northeast Division
-Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (right) is expected to "miss some time" due to a knee injury according to head coach Lindy Ruff.
-Toronto signed undrafted free agent forward Spencer Abbott, formerly of Maine, to a one-year contract worth a total of $925,000.
-The Maple Leafs recalled goaltender Ben Scrivens from Toronto of the AHL and demoted goaltender Jussi Rynnas to Toronto.
-The Senators signed defenseman Chris Wideman, a fourth-round pick in 2009, to a two-year entry-level contract.
-The Canadiens signed defenseman Greg Pateryn, a fifth-round pick in 2008, to a two-year entry-level contract.
Southeast Division
-Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier (right) is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Devils after missing 18 games due to a fractured right hand.
-The Lightning signed college free agent forward J.T. Brown, formerly of Minnesota-Duluth, to a two-year, two-way contract.
-Tampa Bay demoted forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie to Norfolk of the AHL.
-The Capitals recalled forward Cody Eakin from Hershey of the AHL.
Central Division
-A goal and an assist by Plum native (No, really!!!) R.J. Umberger led the Blue Jackets past the Red Wings, 4-2. Nikita Nikitin recorded two assists for Columbus while teammate Allen York made 29 saves. Pavel Datsyuk recorded two assists for Detroit.
-After starting goaltender Steve Mason was injured from taking a shot to the mask during the morning skate, the Blue Jackets signed former Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick to a one-day amateur tryout contract.
-Hunwick was still wearing his old Michigan gear during warm-ups:
-The Blue Jackets signed forward Boone Jenner, a second-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.
-The Blackhawks demoted goaltender Carter Hutton to Rockford of the AHL.
-The Blues signed forward Adam Cracknell to a one-year contract extension. Financial terms were not revealed.
Northwest Division
-Corey Schneider made 43 saves for the Canucks in a 1-0 shutout of the Avalanche. Vancouver has won four consecutive games. Colorado has a four-game losing streak.
-Colorado's Semyon Varlamov was ready for this shot from Vancouver's Alexander Edler:
-The Canucks recorded their 400th consecutive sellout.
Pacific Division
-Jonathan Quick made all of 19 saves for the Kings in a 3-0 shutout of the Flames. Anze Kopitar recorded two assists for Los Angeles. Calgary has lost six out of its past seven games.
-Quick set a franchise record with his ninth shutout of the season.
-Michael Ryder had two goals and an assist for the Stars who beat the Oilers, 3-1. Mike Ribeiro added a goal and two assists for Dallas while teammate Loui Eriksson recorded two assists. Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves in the victory.
-Pass of the Night: Check out this give and go play between Eriksson and Ryder which led to a goal for Ryder:
-Jonas Hiller made 28 saves for the Ducks in a 3-1 defeat of the rival Sharks. Anaheim has won three out of its past four games. San Jose had a three-game winning streak snapped.
-Stars forward Eric Nystrom is dealing with a leg injury.
(Photos: Letang and Ehrhoff-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Rupp and McCallum-Penguins Hockey Cards; Lecavalier-Greg Fiume/Getty Images; Red Wings/Blue Jackets-Jay LaPrete/Associated Press; Avalanche/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images)