Empty Netter Assists - 04-18-12
Playoff Stuff
Penguins - Flyers
-The Philadelphia Daily News' hopes for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize probably took a hit with the above cover.
-"The thing that gives you hope is that we know we haven't played well for a full game, or probably even half a game." - Brooks Orpik (above).
-Welcome back Simon Despres.
-Arron Asham and James Neal get suspended.
-"It won't end like this." - Pascal Dupuis.
-"Sid is such a great competitor. He shows up every night, every game. When it's not going his way, he tries to do other things. He's kind of like me, but with 10 times more skill. He's going to do everything he can to spark his team or get a win. He tried to do that." - Flyers forward Maxime Talbot on former teammate Sidney Crosby.
-"He does harm only to himself." - Flyers forward and former Penguin Jaromir Jagr on Crosby's actions in Game 3.
-"When I was younger, I used to admire him." - Flyers forward Sean Couturier.
-The Flyers will be giving out these t-shirts for tonight's game:
-The Flyers recalled forwards Tyler Brown, Matt Ford, Ben Holmstrom, Tye McGinn, Harry Zolnierczyk, defensemen Erik Gustafsson, Oliver Lauridsen, Brandon Manning and goaltender Michael Leighton from Adirondack of the AHL.
Rangers - Senators
-"We're going to score on him. It's just a matter of time." - Senators forward Kyle Turris.
-“But we need somebody, I think it’s our power play, to step up and get us some goals. That would be a big help for us. I guess that would lead to Jason Spezza, and (Milan Michalek), and Sergei (Gonchar), and Karlsson. Our best players always have to be your best players.” - Senators coach Paul MacLean.
-MacLean said captain Daniel Alfredsson suffered a setback in his recovery from a concussion.
Bruins - Capitals
-Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom was suspended one game for cross checking Bruins forward Rich Peverly at the end of Game 3.
-The explanation:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}gC0548gWLOE{/youtube}
-Capitals coach Dale Hunter accused the Bruins of targeting the head of Backstrom.
-Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has seen a lot of Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg this series.
Panthers - Devils
-Brian Campbell and Sean Bergenheim each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers who held off the Devils in a wild 4-3 comeback win in Game 3. Scott Clemmensen made 19 saves for Florida which leads the series, 2-1. Captain Zach Parise led New Jersey with a goal and an assist.
-Check out the placement on this goal by Bergenheim:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}vI_5pRReOos{/youtube}
-Save of the Night: Check out this stop by New Jersey goaltender and former Penguin Johan Hedberg on Florida's Marcel Goc:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}xFq_HR3zKxE{/youtube}
-The Devils had a potential game-tying goal in the second period waved off on account of interference by forward Steve Bernier:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}-ksnAxZ70sM{/youtube}
-Happy times for Clemmensen and Brian Campbell. Not so much for New Jersey's Patrik Elias or captain Zach Parise:
-A good look at Clemmensen's lid:
-Generally speaking, having two goaltenders on the ice - Hedberg and starter Martin Brodeur - is never good:
-Happy times in New Jersey:
-Elias put a little too much on this shot:
-Rats!
-"Stupid play by me. Uncalled-for. It cost us the hockey game." - Elias on a penalty he took which led to a power-play goal the Panthers scored their first goal on.
-“It is a little bit unique playing against your former team. Anyone who says different is lying." - Clemmensen on playing the Devils.
-Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was pulled from a playoff game for only the sixth time in his career.
-The Panthers won a road playoff game for the first time since beating the Penguins in Game 7 of the 1996 Eastern Conference final.
-Panthers coach Kevin Dineen ripped the quality of the ice at the Prudential Center.
Canucks - Kings
-“When your name's out there, you definitely want to prove people wrong. I'm a pretty self-motivated person as it is. It's not like I didn't hear about [the reports]. At the same time, I knew I could be better than I was in the first half of the year." - Kings captain Dustin Brown (right) on responding to trade rumors.
-Canucks forward Daniel Sedin (concussion) resumed practicing.
-Kings forward Brad Richardson is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the first three games of the series due to an appendectomy.
Blues - Sharks
-Forward Andy McDonald has been carrying the Blues' offense.
-Sharks coach Todd McLellan called out his team's penalty kill.
Coyotes - Blackhawks
-An overtime goal and an assist by Mikkel Boedker gave the Coyotes a 3-2 win against the Blackhawks. Rostislav Klesla added a goal and two assists for Phoenix while teammate Mike Smith made 35 saves. Phoenix has a 2-1 series lead.
-Boedker's goal:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}gt-2dfwbs3I{/youtube}
-Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa was hospitalized after being hit in the head by Coyotes forward Raffi Torres:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}W2mX7LqBGo4{/youtube}
-The play was not penalized.
-Scary times for Hossa:
-Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville wanted Torres to get a five-minute major penalty:
-"We had four (officials) out there. When there's a guy getting carried off on a stretcher you think there might be something wrong with what happened." - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
-Torres is no stranger to supplemental discipline.
-EN Says: We'll apply some somple math here. Matt Cooke + 17 game suspensions = Him no longer injuring opponents. Raffi Torres + 2-3 game suspensions = Him still injuring opponents.
-Smith and Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford had issues:
-Phoenix's Antoine Vermette had a jumping screen on Crawford:
-Coyotes forwards Martin Hanzal and Lauri Korpikoski each skipped the game due to undisclosed injuries.
-Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw was suspended three games for his hit on Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith in Game 2:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}MK3BqzSkkCk{/youtube}
-EN Says: As we've said before, there is no consistency to these rulings.
Predators - Red Wings
-Pekka Rinne made 40 saves for the Predators who beat the Red Wings, 3-1, in Game 4. Nashville has a 3-1 series lead.
-Pass of the Night: Nashville's Martin Erat setting up teammate Kevin Klein:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}5KFj7hLzXno{/youtube}
-Defensive Play of the Night: Check out this "save" by Nashville forward Mike Fisher:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}-QWT9wr1Mu8{/youtube}
-Not to be outdone, check out this poke check by Nashville's David Legwand which led to a goal:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}CK0p6UVzuzY{/youtube}
-Check out this re-direction goal by Detroit's Jiri Hudler:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}dkUN3JfKKmM{/youtube}
-Thirsty times for Rinne:
-"Usually the game gets a little easier when I face more shots." - Rinne
-"He's been playing real well, he's been their best player." - Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom on Rinne.
-Klein had two goals in 66 regular seaosn games. He has two goals in four postseason games.
-Hockey Night in Canada's opening montage was mellow:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}qK-EaFALLlg{/youtube}
Non-Playoff Stuff
Penguins
-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Francois Leroux (right). Claimed off waivers from the Senators early in the 1994-95 season, Leroux was one of the toughest players in franchise history and spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. He appeared in 40 games for the Penguins during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign and recorded two assists while leading the team with 114 penalty minutes. In 12 postseason games that spring, he recorded two assists. During the 1995-96 season, Leroux played in 66 games, scored 11 points and once again led the team with 161 penalty minutes. He saw action in 18 postseason games that spring and scored two goals. In 1996-97, Leroux played in 59 games and recorded three assists. In three postseason games that season, he failed to record a point. During the 1997 offseason, he was traded to the Avalanche in exchange for a draft pick. In 165 regular season games with the Penguins, Leroux scored 16 points and 356 penalty minutes. In 33 postseason games, he recorded four points.
{youtube width="465" height="266"}b9ysnsV6fW8{/youtube}
-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Dan LaCouture. Acquired at the 2001 trade deadline in a deal which sent Sven Butenschon to the Oilers, LaCouture spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. He finished 2000-01 by playing in 11 games for the Penguins and failing to record a point. He saw action in five postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. During 2001-02, LaCouture set career highs in games played (82) and points (17). After 44 games and four points in 2002-03, LaCouture was traded along with Mike Wilson, Alex Kovalev and Janne Laukkanen in exchange for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Rico Fata and Mikael Samuelsson. In 137 regular season games with the Penguins, LaCouture scored 21 points.
{youtube width="465" height="266"}7K5yoVJSVFg{/youtube}
IIHF World Championships
-Ducks forward Teemu Selanne will not play in next month World Championships being held in his native Finland.
(Photos: Panthers/Devils-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Julio Cortez/Associated Press; Brown-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Coyotes/Blackhawks-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images and Steve Lund/Daily Herald/Associated Press; Predators/Red Wings-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images; Leroux-Rick Stewart/Allsport/Getty Images)