Empty Netter Assists - 03-30-12

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "We didn't do a lot of good things and paid for it again. We made some mistakes and they capitalized." - Sidney Crosby.

-Newsday's recap. "Secondary scoring has been a key to a few of our wins lately." - Islanders coach Jack Capuano.

-The Associated Press' recap. “We have to find ways to get back on track. It’s going to take everyone in the room.” - Jordan Staal.

-NHL.com's recap. "When things go your way for a while, it’s tough to be losing like that. Got to learn from it and just try to put it behind us and be ready for tomorrow night." - Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Highlights:

-Crosby's grill took a little rubber last night:

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-The damage:

-Evgeni Malkin and New York's Frans Nielsen went at it for this puck:

-Happy times for Pascal Dupuis:

-Getting up close and personal with the Islanders' bench:

-New York's Matt Martin hit Brian Strait from behind here:

-John Walsh from "America's Most Wanted" dropped a puck for a ceremonial faceoff between Crosby and New York's Mark Streit:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Fleury speaks:

-Crosby speaks:

-Will Brent Johnson get a start tonight?

-The Sabres will hold a fan appreciation function before tonight's game against the Penguins.

-"There's always excitement in that city when you've got as a good of a team as they do." - Sabres defenseman and Cranberry native Mike Weber.

-Happy 52nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman and assistant coach Randy Hillier (right). Acquired prior to the 1984-85 season in a trade which sent a draft pick to the Bruins, Hillier spent parts of seven seasons with the Penguins as a player. In 1984-85, Hillier appeared in 45 games and scored 21 points. During 1985-86, he was limited to 28 games and three assists. He followed that up in 1986-87 by seeing action in 55 games and  recorded 12 points. In 1987-88, Hillier once against played in 55 games and netted 13 points. Hillier appeared in a career-high 68 games in 1988-89 and scored a career-high 24 points. He saw action in nine postseason games that spring and recorded one assist. In 1989-90, he saw action in 61 games and netted 15 points. During 1990-91, Hillier appeared in 31 games and scored four points. He appeared in eight playoff games that spring and failed to record a point while helping the franchise earn its first Stanley Cup championship. During the 1991 offseason, he joined the Islanders as a free agent. In 343 regular season games with the Penguins, he recorded 92 points, 92nd-most in franchise history. In 17 postseason games, he recorded one assist. Hiller returned to the Penguins and served as an assistant coach in the 1997-98 season and once again from 2001 through 2006.

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Happy 36th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin. A free agent signing in the 2007 offseason, Conklin's Penguins career amounted to 33 games in 2007-08. He went 18-8-5 with a 2.51 goals against average, .923 save percentage and two shutouts. He also served as the team's starting goaltender in the first Winter Classic in 2008. During the 2008 offseason, he joined the Red Wings as a free agent. He currently plays for Detroit.

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Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Two goals and an assist by Wayne Simmonds led the Flyers to a 7-1 rout of the Maple Leafs. Brayden Schenn scored two goals for Philadelphia while teammate Daniel Briere recorded four assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made all of 16 saves in the victory. The Flyers are in fifth place of the Eastern Conference and third place in the Atlantic Division with 98 points, two fewer than the Penguins.

-It wasn't all bad for the Maple Leafs. Check out this smooth backhanded breakaway goal by Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski:

-The Flyers had former captain Eric Lindros participate in line rushes during their morning skate.

-David Clarkson, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Ilya Kovalchuk each had a goal and an assist for the Devils who beat the Lightning, 6-4. Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique each recorded two assists for New Jersey while teammate Martin Brodeur made 16 saves. Former Penguin Ryan Malone recorded a hat trick for Tampa Bay. Fire Ray Shero.

-Pass of the Night: Check out this feed from Elias to set up teammate Dainius Zubrus for a shorthanded goal:

-Malone's hat trick:

-Intense Photo of the Night: New Jersey's Anton Volchenkov and Tampa Bay's Teddy Purcell battling for a puck:

-New Jersey's Travis Zajac got a little too grabby with Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos:

-"It's embarrassing, but you can't let it bother you on your next shift or in your next couple of games. I know he scored a goal on one, but that's what happens. That's hockey. You have to be ready on your next shift to do the right thing. You can't be thinking about your mistakes." - Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky on being beaten by Sidney Crosby for a goal Sunday.

-The Rangers demoted defenseman Tim Erixon to Connecticut of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-The Canadiens fired general manager Pierre Gauthier. A replacement has not been named.

-EN Says: Gauthier deserved to be canned a long time ago. he took a team, largely constructed by his predecessor Bob Gainey,  which made a surprising run in the 2010 postseason, and slowly deconstructed it into a 28th place team. And along the way, he managed to do so in an exceedingly embarrassing fashion by making coaches scapegoats and dealing away players who dared speak out about the franchise. The Canadiens will get better with Gauthier no longer involved with the franchise.

-The Canadiens also parted ways with special advisor and former coach/captain/general manager Bob Gainey.

-The Maple Leafs were forced to play minor league goaltender Jussi Rynnas last night after starter Jonas Gustavsson was injured during warm-ups:

-Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg is considered day to day due to an infection resulting from a skate cut on his leg.

-The Sabres signed forward Brian Flynn, undrafted out of Maine, to a one-year, entry-level contract.

Southeast Division

-Shootout goals by Alexander Semin, Matt Hendricks and Brooks Laich gave the Capitals a 3-2 win against the Bruins. Marcus Johansson had a regulation goal and an assist for Washington while captain Alex Ovechkin recorded two assists. Michal Neuvirth made 19 saves in the victory. David Krejci netted a regulation goal and an assist for Boston.

-A goal by Bruins defenseman and former Penguin Andrew Ference with 1:16 left in regulation forced overtime:

-Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid was injured when he was hit from behind into the boards by Capitals forward Adam McQuaid in the first period:

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-EN Says: Chimera was given a game misconduct for the hit but this is a tough one with regards to supplemental discipline. Did McQuaid turn into the hit? Did Chimera leave his feet? We don't envy NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan on this one.

-Both coaches - Washington Dale Hunter and Boston's Claude Julien - defended the hit.

-Boston's Johnny Boychuk put a little too much on this shot:

-Capitals goaltender Tomas Vokoun left the game in the first period due to a "lower-body" injury.

-Former Penguins forward Tim Brent is having a career year with the Hurricanes. Fire Ray Shero.

Central Division

-A shootout goal by Dave Bolland led the Blackhawks to a 4-3 win against the rival Blues. Corey Crawford made 17 saves in the victory. Kris Russel recorded two assists for St. Louis.

-Bolland > St. Louis' Jaroslav Halak:

-St. Louis' Kent Huskins kind of got lost in no-man's land here among the Blackhawks:

-Goaltender Ray Emery was named the Blackhawks's nominee for the Masterton Trophy.

-The Predators signed defenseman Anthony Bitetto, a sixth-round pick in 2010, to a two-year entry-level contract.

-The Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Dalton Prout from Springfield of the AHL and demoted defenseman David Savard to Springfield.

-A day after signing him to a one-day amateur tryout contract, the Blue Jackets signed goaltender Shawn Hunwick, undrafted out of Michigan, to a one-year contract through the conclusion of the season.

-The Blue Jackets signed forward Sean Collins, a seventh-round pick in 2008, to a two-year entry-level contract.

Northwest Division

-An overtime goal and an assist by captain Mikko Koivu led the Wild to a 3-2 win against the Panthers. Tom Gilbert recorded two assists for Minnesota while teammate Niklas Backstrom made 25 saves. Tomas Fleischman had a goal and an assist for Florida.

-A goal by former Penguin Erik Christensen with just over 30 seconds left in regulation forced overtime:

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Backstrom returned to the lineup after being sidelined since March 1 due to a groin injury.

-The Flames signed defenseman Brady Lamb, undrafted at Minnesota-Duluth, to a one-year two-way contract.

Pacific Division

-Mike Smith made 38 saves for the Coyotes in a 2-0 shutout of the Sharks. Radim Vrbata scored both of Phoenix's goal while teammate Ray Whitney recorded two assists.

-Vrbata > San Jose's Antti Niemi:

-Anthem time in Phoenix Glendale:

-The Coyotes signed forward Chris Brown, a second-round pick in 2009 and goaltender Mike Lee, a third-rounder in 2009, to three-year entry-level contracts.

-Kings forward Jeff Carter is dealing with an ankle injury.

-Sharks defenseman Douglas Murray is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.

(Photos: Penguins/Islanders-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Seth Wenig/Associated Press; Hillier-Penguins Hockey Cards; Lightning/Devils-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Capitals/Bruins-Elsa/Getty Images; Blues/Blackhawks-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Sharks/Coyotes-Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press and Christian Petersen/Getty Images)