Empty Netter Assists - 04-26-12
Penguins
-"A few journalists had asked me about it in the beginning of the season – they wanted to know why I hadn’t signed with the Penguins, although they were interested in me. I kept telling them I didn’t think the level of their interest had been as high as the Penguins’ representatives had claimed it to be." - Flyers forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr (right).
-Eric Tangradi had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Hershey Bears in overtime, 4-3, in Game 3 of their Calder Cup Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The Penguins lead the best-of-five series, 2-1.
-Highlights courtesy of EN contributor Eric Politowski:
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-Happy 35th birthday to current Penguins forward Craig Adams. Claimed off waivers from the Blackhawks late in the 2008-09 season, Adams has spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. He finished 2008-09 by appearing in nine games and recorded one assist. He played in all 24 of the club's playoff games during its run to a third Stanley Cup title and scored five points. In 2009-10, Adams appeared in all 82 games and recorded 10 assists. He saw action in 13 postseason games last spring and contributed three points. During 2010-11, Adams, the only NHL player born in Brunei Darussalam, played in 80 games and recorded 15 points. He played in seven postseason games last spring and had one goal. This past season, he appeared in all 82 games and collected 18 points. In the postseason, he played in five games and did not record a point. In 153 regular season games with the Penguins he has recorded 44 points. In 48 postseason games, he has scored nine points.
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-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Victor Ignatjev. A free agent signing prior to the 1998-99 season, Ignatjev appeared in 11 games for the Penguins that regular season and recorded three assists. A shoulder injury cost him most of that campaign but he was able to appear in one playoff game for the team that spring. The following offseason, he joined Nurnberg in Germany.
Playoff Stuff
Rangers - Senators
-“There’s a lot of pressure on them. We have a chance to spoil their season. They finished in first place. We have a chance to make ours a real successful one.” - Senators forward Jason Spezza (right) on tonight's Game 7.
-The modern Ottawa Senators franchise has never won a Game 7.
-The Rangers haven't hosted a Game 7 since the 1994 Stanley Cup final.
-Rangers forward and former Penguin Ruslan Fedotneko is 4-0 in his career in Game 7s.
Bruins - Capitals
-Joel Ward's overtime goal gave the Capitals a series-clinching 2-1 win against the Bruins in Game 7. Braden Holtby made 31 saves for Washington which won the series, 4-3.
-Ward's goal:
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-Goal of the Night: Check out this re-direction goal by Washington's Matt Hendricks:
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-Defensive Play of the Night: Check out this block by Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg against Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin:
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-Boston's Rich Peverly faked a slash against Holtby:
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-Handshake lines:
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-The captains, Boston's Zdeno Chara and Washington's Ovechkin, exchanging pleasantries:
-After the handshake lines, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas tried to cheer up an upset Bruins fan:
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-Happy times for the Capitals. Not so much for Thomas:
-All seven games of this series were decided by one goal.
-“It’s such a weird feeling. You play a hard, tight game. Suddenly a bounce goes against you and the season’s over. For the first few minutes, even right now, you’re wondering what time practice is tomorrow. But there is no practice.’’ - Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage:
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Panthers - Devils
-“When you’re a kid, when you play hockey, you imagine Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s a game everybody wants to be part of and help the team win.” - Panthers goaltender Jose Theodore.
-Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison ("lower-body") will be a game-time decision tonight.
-“It will be my first Game 7. I can’t wait.” - Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
-"I remember the ones I want to remember." - Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (right) on his previous nine career Game 7s.
Flyers
-Do the Flyers have too much downtime?
-"Eat more veggies.” - Flyers goaltender Ilya Brzygalov on how he plans on staying fresh between series.
Blues - Kings
-“As you go along, that’s all B.S., to be quite honest. I know from experience. The less travel you have, you want to be in your own building and you want to be in your own bed. That does have a big psychological difference for a player. It’s very simple. I’d rather have players getting treated in our treatment centers, and not in a hotel and not on an airplane, and getting practice in your own building. We’ve talked about it enough. You want to play a deciding game in your building, always.” - Kings coach Darryl Sutter on the value of home-ice advantage.
-"I think he's at his happiest when he's barking and cajoling." - Blues coach Ken Hitcock on Sutter.
Coyotes - Predators
-"You have a seventh game, and where would you rather play a seventh game? Home or on the road? That's where the advantage can really come into play." - Coyotes coach and former Penguins forward Dave Tippett (right) on the value of home-ice advantage.
-“His style is to be open about things, and as we move along, if I keep giving up the same kind of goal, we know there’s something to improve and a little thing to correct, he doesn’t waste time. He tells me right away, even if it’s not fun to hear, it’s for my best.” - Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne on his relationship with goaltending coach Mitch Korn.
Non-Playoff Stuff
Northeast Division
-The Sabres will raise their season ticket prices $2 to $8 per game.
Central Division
-Forward Andrew Brunette pretty much acknowledged the Blackhawks will not re-sign him this summer.
-"I would love to play three or four more years. It's so much fun to come to the rink. It's just whether the body can take it one or two more years. It's all about the wear and tear on the body." - Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom, 39, on his future.
-"To be honest with you, I could care less if they win or lose. Some guys on that team I played with, I'll always consider friends. But whether they win or not, it means nothing to me." - Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson (right) on his former team, the Kings.
-The Blue Jackets re-signed forward Nick Drazenovic to a one-year two-way contract.
(Photos: Jagr-Post-Gazette archives; Spezza-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Capitals/Bruins-Charles Krupa/Associated Press; Brodeur-Joel Auerbach/Getty Images; Tippett-Greg Fiume/Getty Images; Johnson-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)