Empty Netter Assists - 12-11-12
Penguins
-"Trying to draw some time of conclusion as to when it's going to be over, I think you drive yourself crazy." - Brooks Oprik on the lockout.
-"I think it’s getting harder to keep that motivation and practice hard not knowing." - Marc-Andre Fleury on the lockout.-The NHL officially canceled games up until Dec. 31. To date, 42.8 percent of the schedule has been axed. The Penguins saw the following games canceled with this latest wave:
Dec. 15 - at Jets
Dec. 17 - vs. Devils
Dec. 21 - vs. Jets
Dec. 22 - at Islanders
Dec. 27 - vs. Red Wings
Dec. 29 - at Islanders
-Representative from the NHL and NHLPA are expected to resume negotiations on Wednesday.
-Evgeni Malkin leads in voting for the KHL's all-star game. (PG+)
-Several of the Penguins' players made their anual visit to Children's Hospital:
-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff is dealing with an undisclosed injury.
Northeast Division
-“With 39, well, there’s a nine in there. It just sounds old. I don’t know. (40) sounds cleaner. It sounds better.” - Senators captain/forward Daniel Alfredsson on celebrating his 40th birthday today.
Southeast Division
-"I've been in the league for 20 years and faced three lockouts. There's only 14 other players in the league that are facing their third career lockout. I believe I've earned the right to say what I think." - Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik on comments he made two weeks ago which were critical of the NHLPA.
Central Division
-"If nothing is going on by Jan. 15, that would be for me an end-all. It has to be. I know they canceled Feb. 16 last time, but it's not fathomable to have a season at that point. You can't have a 35-game season." - Red Wings forward Dan Cleary on the 2012-13 season potentially being canceled..
(Photo: Orpik-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)