Empty Netter Assists - 04-23-12

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Flyers

-Note: We'll have our full-blown postmortem "Day After" post tomorrow. Driving back from Philadelphia through a monsoon has left our nerves a bit frayed and we don't want to write something requiring that much detail with a half-hearted effort. Our apologies.

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "There are obviously a lot of regrets in the room, and stuff you can't take back." - Brooks Orpik.

-The Philadelphia Daily News' recap. "He came over to me and said, 'Watch the first shift.'" - Flyers forward Daniel Briere on teammate Claude Giroux.

-The Associated Press' recap. ''Being down 3-0, we were confident, and we remained confident, but we just ran out." - Jordan Staal.

-NHL.com's recap. "When the best player in the world comes up to you and says, 'I don't know who you plan on starting tonight, but I want that first shift, that says everything you need to know about Claude Giroux." - Flyers coach Peter Laviolette.

-Highlights:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}V0drPx0Wlng{/youtube}

-Handshake lines:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}5OM8jyj4ii8{/youtube}

-Grim times for the Penguins' bench:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-"It's not a good feeling, but, that being said, we've got to find some way to learn from this and be better for it." - Sidney Crosby.

-"It was special for me because you play against team you played for six years. I took it as a challenge. It was definitely special for me to win this playoff series." - Flyers forward and former Penguin Maxime Talbot.

-" 'Flower' is always going to be my friend. It's never easy to play against your friends like that, but we competed." - Talbot on Marc-Andre Fleury.

-The Penguins demoted Simon Despres, Brian Strait and Eric Tangradi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. (PG+)

Rangers - Senators

-Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is expected to return to the lineup for tonight's game 6. He has been injured since game 2 with a concussion.

-Rangers forward Carl Hagelin returns to the lineup after being suspended three games for injuring Alfredsson.

-Ottawa forward Chris Neil will not face any supplemental discipline for a hit which concussed Rangers forward Brian Boyle in Game 5:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}obT7dtdXefc{/youtube}

Bruins - Capitals

-An overtime goal and an assist by Tyler Seguin gave the Bruins a 4-3 win against the Capitals in Game 6. Former Penguin Andrew Ference, David Krejci and Rich Peverly each added a goal and an assist for Boston while teammate Milan Lucic recorded two assists. Tim Thomas made 36 saves in the victory. Nicklas Backstrom and Roman Hamrlik each netted two assists for Washington. The series is tied, 3-3.

-Seguin's goal:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}BvR6UMy2hFw{/youtube}

-Goal of the Day: Check out this deflection by Krejci:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}vLKMNh4Lq-8{/youtube}

-Pass of the Day: Check out this dish from Backstrom to set up Jason Chimera:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}Sb5vHcWONfw{/youtube}

-Happy times for the Bruins. Not so much for Washington's Braden Holtby:

-Happy times for Washington captain Alex Ovechkin:

-Holtby kept an eye on this puck:

-“They’re not gonna die easy." - Capitals forward Matt Hendricks.

-“He’s a player that’s grown and matured. He’s understanding, more and more, how important it is to play a great two-way game in the playoffs. We’re pretty proud and pleased at the way he’s handling everything since he’s been with us. He’s a player who still knows he’s got a lot to learn. He wants to learn to become the best player he can in this league." - Bruins coach Claude Julien on Seguin.

-Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is dealing with an undisclosed injury.

-Hockey Night in Canada's opening montage:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}LLcywAFvmbM{/youtube}

Panthers - Devils

-Can the Panthers be penalized for their fans throwing plastic rats on the ice?

-Could captain Zach Parise and goaltender Martin Brodeur be playing their final games for the Devils tomorrow?

Kings - Canucks

-Jarret Stoll's overtime goal gave the Kings a series-clinching 2-1 win against the Canucks in Game 5. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves for Los Angeles which won the series, 4-1.

-Stoll's goal:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}wMBuFAtJHJk{/youtube}

-Check out this pass from Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin to set up his brother Daniel:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}7FLMcT6QxwY{/youtube}

-Hit of the Night: Stoll on Vancouver's Alex Burrows:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}wbw70vM_enE{/youtube}

-Handshake line:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}5qG1zy3f3gM{/youtube}

-Happy times for the Kings. Not so much for Vancouver's Cory Schneider:

-Intense Photo of the Night: Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar battling with Vancouver's Dan Hamhuis:

-"It's shocking, it's always shocking." - Canucks forward Daniel Sedin.

-Hockey Night in Canada's opening montage:

{youtube width="465" height="266"}nKF2hreVptA{/youtube}

Blues - Sharks

-"You could see it when they were painting the Bluenotes on the streets. When I was leaving the rink one day, I was like, 'This is pretty special.'" - Blues goaltender Brian Elliott on playoff fever hitting St. Louis.

-Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak is still dealing with a foot injury.

-Do the Sharks blow everything up after another playoff exit?

Coyotes - Blackhawks

-"It's fun to be in that position. They're not booing because I'm a bad player, obviously, but (they're) trying to get under my skin a little bit. But it's a fun atmosphere, great fans. If I wasn't playing hockey, I'd be up there with them yelling." - Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith (right) on being taunted by Blackhawks fans.

-"You can kind of imagine the feeling they have right now. They didn't want to come back to Chicago." - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on Game 6.

Predators

-“It’s nice to get a mental break and a physical break, but I think just dialing it in when you’re at the rink is really important.” - Predators forward Paul Gaustad on having a lengthy break between playoff series.

Non-Playoff Stuff

Penguins

-Former Penguins defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski has joined Gottéron of the NLA in Switzerland.

-Happy 63rd birthday to former Penguins forward Gregg Sheppard (right). Acquired prior to the 1978-79 season in a trade which sent Jean Pronovost to the Atlanta Flames, Sheppard spent four seasons with the Penguins. During 1978-79, Sheppard appeared in 60 games and contribute 37 points. He saw action in seven postseason games that spring and scored three points. He followed that up in 1979-80 by playing in 76 games and once against scored 37 points. During that season's playoffs, Sheppard played in five games and collected two points. In 1980-81, Sheppard was limited to 47 games and 28 points. During that spring's postseason, he came through with six points in five games. His final NHL season was 1981-82. He saw action in 58 games and scored 21 points. He was released in the 1982 offseason. In 241 games with the Penguins, he recorded 123 points, 67th most in franchise history. In 17 postseason games, he scored 11 points.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}q3oS0mtCn_E{/youtube}

-Happy 51st birthday to former Penguins forward Jock Callander. A free agent signing prior in the 1987 offseason, Callandar spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1987-88, Callandar set career highs with 41 games and 27 points. He followed that up in 1988-89 by playing in 30 games and scoring 11 points. During that spring's postseason, Callandar played in 10 games and contributed seven points. In 1989-90, Callandar appeared in 30 games and recorded 11 points again. After spending all of 1990-91 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Muskegon, Callandar saw action in 12 postseason games in 1992 with fellow call-ups Dave Michayluk and Mike Needham on a unit dubbed "The Muskegon Line" and contributed four points while helping the franchise earn its second consecutive Stanley Cup title. He joined the expansion Lightning in the 1992 offseason. In 101 regular season game with the Penguins, Callandar recorded 49 points. In 22 postseason games, he scored 11 points.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}m4BPtHpFmLM{/youtube}

Adams Division

-St. Louis' David Backes, Boston's Patrice Bergeron and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk were named finalists for the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward.

-Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell, Oilers forward Jordan Eberle and Islanders forward Matt Moulson were named finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly play.

(Photos: Penguins/Flyers-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Bruins/Capitals-Patrick McDermott/Getty Images; Kings/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images; Smith-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Sheppard-Penguins Hockey Cards)