Empty Netter Assists - 09-23-12

Penguins

-Evgeni Malkin and Senators defenseman/ex-Penguin Sergei Gonchar each recorded an assist for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in a 2-1 shootout loss to Ak Bars Kazan in a KHL game yesterday. Another former Penguin, forward Aleksey Morozov, scored the winning shootout goal.

-Highlights:

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-Malkin and Gonchar speak in the second part of an interview filmed last week:

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-If the lockout drags out, how difficult is it to fill Consol Energy Center on vacant dates?

Southeast Division

-Jets forward Nik Antropov has joined Barys Astana of Russia's KHL for the duration of the lockout.

Central Division

-The Red Wings were fined an undisclosed amount - believed to be $250,000 - by the NHL for comments made by team executive Jim Devellano in which he refered to NHL owners as ranchers and players as cattle.

-Thinking Out Loud: In a press release, the NHL labeled the comments as "neither appropriate, nor authorized, nor permissible." We find it interesting that the league didn't address the validity of the comments.

-"People are scared we're going to miss the season. Even if it's an 80-game season and not an 82-game season it's disappointing. There's no reason it should go to that point. It has been a negotiating tactic all around from the league's standpoint to wait this long. … It's almost embarrassing it's already gone this far." - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on the lockout.

-Blues defenseman Roman Polak has joined HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga for the duration of the lockout.