Empty Netter Assists - 11-17-12

Penguins

-"I don't see how that's going to help anything. If that's the way he feels, ultimately that's up to them." - Sidney Crosby on the NHL's suggestion of a two-week moratorium on negotiations.

-James Neal (right) will participate in a charity game in Atlantic City, N.J. to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy.

-A hat trick by Eric Tangradi led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-1 win against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Teammates Benn Ferriero and Trevor Smith each recorded two assists while teammate Jeff Zatkoff made 19 saves.

-All three of Tangradi's goals came on the power play.

-Evgeni Malkin was held without a point for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in a 3-2 loss to Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia's KHL.

-Dustin Jeffrey was held without a point for KHL Medvescak Zagreb in a 4-1 win against EC KAC in Austria's EBEL.

-Happy 56th birthday to former Penguins forward Bobby Simpson. A free agent signing just prior to the 1981-82 season, Simpson spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. In 1981-82, he appeared in 26 games and scored 18 points. He appeared in two postseason games that spring and failed to record a point. He followed that up in 1982-83 by only playing in four games and scoring one goal. After spending the entire 1983-84 offseason with the Penguins' AHL affiliate in Baltimore, Simpson was released in the 1984 offseason. In 30 career games with the Penguins, Simpson scored 19 points.

-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Chris Tamer (right). A fourth-round pick in 1990, Tamer, one of the toughest players in franchise history, spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1993-94, Tamer saw action in 12 games and failed to record a point. He also appeared in five postseason games in 1994 failing to record a point. During the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign, Tamer played in 36 games, scored two goals and recorded 82 penalty minutes. In the 1995 playoffs, Tamer played in four games and was held without a point. Arguably his best season with the Penguins was 1995-96. He played in 70 games, scored 14 points and was second on the team with 153 penalty minutes. He appeared in 18 playoff games that spring and recorded a career-high seven assists. Tamer was limited to 45 games, seven assists and 131 penalty minutes in 1996-97. In the 1997 postseason, Tamer appeared in four contests and was held without a point. In 1997-98, Tamer played in 79 games, recorded seven assists and led the team with 181 penalty minutes. He played in all six of the team's postseason games that spring and recorded one assist. After 11 games and 32 penalty minutes in 1998-99, Tamer was traded to the Rangers along with Petr Nedved and Sean Pronger in exchange for for Alex Kovalev and Harry York. In 253 regular season games for the Penguins, Tamer scored 29 points and accumulated 588 penalty minutes, 18th-most in franchise history. In 37 postseason games, Tamer had eight assists and 52 penalty minutes. He is currently the owner/trainer of Sticks Training Center in Brighton, Mich.

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Northeast Division

-In an effort to support a charity benefitting homless people, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke slept on the street overnight in Toronto.

Southeast Division

-Jets forward Evander Kane has left Dinamo Minsk of Russia's KHL.

-Lightning forward B.J. Crombeen has joined the Orlando Solar Bears, the Wild's ECHL affiliate.

-Are the Panthers actually turning a profit?

Central Division

-"I think I feel more upset that we’re missing out on what we could be doing. Obviously you want to make a paycheck, but for the most part we want to be playing hockey. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be. That’s a frustrating thing. Not much we can do about it right now. We have to stand up for what we believe in and we have to stick it out and hopefully it doesn’t last too much longer.” - Predators defenseman and former Penguin Hal Gill (right) on the lockout.

-"I personally think he's an idiot. Since he's come in, he's done nothing but damaged the game." - Red Wings defenseman Ian White on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Smythe Division

-Devin Williams made 53 saves for the Erie Otters in a 3-1 loss to the Kitchener Rangers.

-Max Strang made 19 saves for the Mercyhurst men's team which lost to Rensselaer, 4-2.

-Thea Imbrogno had a goal and an assist for the Robert Morris women's team which defeated Rensselaer, 3-2.

-Alison Wickenheiser had a goal and two assist for Penn State in a 5-1 victory against Lindenwood.

-Amanda Makela made 12 saves for the Mercyhurst women's team which shut out Yale, 4-0.

(Photos: Neal-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Tamer-Craig Melvin/Getty Images; Gill-Grant Halverson/Getty Images)