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Empty Netter Assists - 05-03-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Friday, 03 May 2013 1:29 pm.

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Islanders

-Welcome back Sidney Crosby ... to the lineup .

-This Penguins team doesn't care much about David Volek.

-"The depth here is second to none." - Douglas Murray.

-Sidney Crosby speaks:

-Dan Byslma speaks:

-Pascal Dupuis speaks:

-Kris Letang speaks:

-"It's part of the playoffs. You're just trying to work through it. I'm not worried about that." - Islanders forward John Tavares on being focused on by the Penguins' defense.

-"This team has always responded. The one thing about this club is we've found a way to get back on track." - Islanders coach Jack Capuano.

-"There was too much puck-watching out there. I think all of us, individually, can play a lot better." - Islanders forward Matt Moulson.

Calder Cup Playoffs

-Zach Sill and Jayson Megna each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a series-clinching 3-2 win against the Binghamton Senators in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference final. Brad Thiessen made 19 saves in the victory. The Penguins swept the best-of-five series, 3-0.

-Highlights:

-Thiessen played in place of goaltender Jeff Zatkoff who was sidelined due to an undisclosed injury.

-Upper St. Clair native Dylan Reese has steadied the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defense.

-After the Jump: A dangerous hit by Ottawa's Eric Gryba injures Montreal's L ars Eller and Boston's Andrew Ference is suspended.

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Twenty Years Later - Islanders 3, Penguins 2 - 05-02-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Thursday, 02 May 2013 7:00 pm.

"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2012-13 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1992-93 season which led to the only President's Trophy in franchise history. The 1992-93 squad is commonly regarded as the most talented in the history of the Penguins. We will look back on games on the date they happened.

Today, we look at the Penguins' 3-2 win against the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Patrick Division final series, May 2, 1993.

The Islanders took a 1-0 series lead at the Civic Arena. Right winger Mike Needham gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a goal against goaltender Glenn Healy 8:19 into the contest. Left winger Troy Loneyhad the only assist.

At 12:20 of the first period, New York tied the game, 1-1, when defensman Vladimir Malakhov scored against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Assists went to left winger Derek King and defenseman Dennis Vaske.

The Islanders took a 2-1 lead at the 17:09 mark when center Ray Ferraro scored a short-handed breakway goal. The lone assist was credited to center Tom Fitzgerald.

Center Benoit Hogue scored the eventual game-winning short-handed goal at 5:02 of the second period off assists from defenseman Darius Kasparaitis and Fitzgerald.

A goal by left winger Jeff Daniels at the 15:10 mark made it a 3-2 game. The only assist was recorded by defenseman Larry Murphy.

Notes:

-Barrasso made 28 saves in the loss.

-Penguins center Mario Lemieux left at 2:34 of the first period due to back spasms.

-Dating back to 1992, the Penguins had a nine-game home postseason winning streak snapped.

Statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Mario Lemieux, C	5	5	4	9
Ron Francis, C	6	2	6	8
Kevin Stevens, LW	6	2	5	7
Rick Tocchet, RW	6	3	3	6
Larry Murphy, D	6	1	5	6
Jeff Daniels, LW	6	3	1	4
Shawn McEachern, LW	6	3	1	4
Jaromir Jagr, RW	6	2	2	4
Dave Tippett, C	6	1	3	4
Mike Ramsey, D	6	0	4	4
Joe Mullen, RW	6	1	2	3
Ulf Samuelsson, D	6	0	3	3
Peter Taglianetti, D	6	1	1	2
Troy Loney, LW	4	0	2	2
Mike Needham, RW	3	1	0	1
Martin Straka, C	6	0	1	1
Kjell Samuelsson, D	6	0	1	1
Mike Stapleton, C	5	0	0	0
Grant Jennings, D	6	0	0	0

Also in the news that day:

-A goal and an assist by center Paul DiPietro led the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 1 of the Adams Division final at the Montreal Forum.

-Goaltender Kirk McLean made 25 saves for the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Smythe Division final at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

-Third baseman Jeff King went 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs for the Pirates in a 6-2 win against the Houston Astros at the Houston Astrodome.

(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)

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(3) Capitals - (6) Rangers preview - 05-02-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Thursday, 02 May 2013 5:03 pm.

(3) Capitals vs. (6) Rangers

Capitals Leading Regular Season Scorer: Alex Ovechkin (right), 56 points (32 goals, 24 assists).

Rangers Leading Regular Season Scorer: Derek Stepan, 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists).

Capitals Expected Starting Goaltender: Braden Holtby, 23-12-1, 2.58 GAA, .920 SV%.

Rangers Expected Starting Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist, 24-16-3, 2.05 GAA, .926 SV%.

Capitals Regular Season Statistics

Rangers Regular Season Statistics

Capitals Injuries: Right winger Joel Ward (knee) is probable. Center Brooks Laich (groin) is out. Defenseman Tom Poti (bacl) is on injured reserve.

Rangers Injuries: Left winger Ryane Clowe (leg) and center Brian Boyle (leg) are out. Defensemen Michael Sauer (concussion), Marc Staal (eye) and right winger Derek Dorsett (left winger) are on injured reserve.

Capitals with Stanley Cup bling: Troy Brouwer, RW.

Rangers with Stanley Cup bling: Brad Richards, C.

Something worthwhile about the Capitals: The Capitals had the league's best power play at 26.8 percent this past regular season.

Something worthwhile about the Rangers: The Rangers were the least penalized team in the NHL this past regular season with 183 penalties.

Something useless about the Capitals that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Former Penguins center Mario Lemieux holds the record for most points in a postseason game against the Capitals. He had four points in a 6-4 win for the Penguins in Game 3 of the 1992 Patrick Division final.

Something useless about the Rangers that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Lester Patrick, grandfather of former PEnguins general manager/coach Craig Patrick, holes the Rangers' record for most postseason series wins with 15.

Former Penguins on the Capitals: None.

Former Penguins on the Rangers: Arron Asham, RW; Rick Kehoe, professional scout; Glen Sather, general manager..

Who needs to be the difference for the Capitals: Alex Ovechkin. A Hart Trophy candidate, Ovechkin sparked Washington's push to the postseason in the second half of the regular season. He needs to maintain his level of play for the Capitals to beat the Rangers.

Who needs to be the difference for the Rangers: Dan Girardi (above), Ryan McDonagh. They will routinely be matched up against Ovechkin throughout the series. They need bring their usual brand of tenacious, collapsing defense to give the Rangers a chance.

Best Capitals YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Capitals forward Dale Hunter's overtime goal in Game 7 of a 1988 Patrick Division semifinal series:

Best Rangers YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Rangers left winger Esa Tikkanen's overtime goal in a series-clinching 3-2 win against the Panthers in Game 5 of a 1997 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series:

EN Prediction: The Capitals enter the postseason on a tear while the Rangers enter the postseason with several key players sidelined due to injuries. With the Capitals finally settling into the system of new coach Adam Oates, they will advance to the semifinal round. Capitals 4-2.

(Photos: Ovechkin-Rob Carr/Getty Images; Girardi-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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(2) Canadiens - (7) Senators preview - 05-02-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Thursday, 02 May 2013 3:49 pm.

(2) Canadiens vs. (7) Senators

Canadiens Leading Regular Season Scorer: Max Pacioretty (right), 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists).

Senators Leading Regular Season Scorer: Kyle Turris, 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists).

Canadiens Expected Starting Goaltender: Carey Price, 21-13-4, 2.59 GAA, .905 SV%.

Senators Expected Starting Goaltender: Craig Anderson, 12-9-2, 1.69 GAA, .941 SV%.

Canadiens Regular Season Statistics

Senators Regular Season Statistics

Canadiens Injuries: Defenseman Alexei Emelin (knee) is out.

Senators Injuries: Defenseman Chris Phillips ("lower body") is out. Left winger Mike Hoffman (collarbone) is out. Center Dave Dziurzynski (concussion) and Jason Spezza (back) are on injured reserve.

Canadiens with Stanley Cup bling: Brian Gionta, RW; Tomas Kaberle, D; Travis Moen, LW; Michael Ryder, RW.

Senators with Stanley Cup bling: Sergei Gonchar, D.

Something worthwhile about the Canadiens: The Canadiens are the only team in the postseason which failed to score a short-handed goal in the regular season.

Something worthwhile about the Senators: The Senators had the league's best penalty kill this season at 88.0 percent.

Something useless about the Canadiens that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: The last Canadiens goaltender to stop a postseason penalty shot was Andy Moog who denied former Penguins right winger Aleksey Morozov during overtime of a 3-2 Canadiens win in Game 1 of a 1998 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Something useless about the Senators that is vaguely connected to the Penguins: Former Penguins goaltender Patrick Lalime is the Senators' all-time leader in postseason shutouts with five.

Former Penguins on the Canadiens: Colby Armstrong, RW; Marc Bergevin, general manager; J.J. Daigneault, assistant coach; Michel Therrien, head coach.

Former Penguins on the Senators: Sergei Gonchar, D.

Who needs to be the difference for the Canadiens: Carey Price. Montreal's defense has been floundering as of late. Price needs to steal some goals and make up for the mistakes this defense is bound to make.

Who needs to be the difference for the Senators: Daniel Alfredsson and Gonchar. With injuries ravaging the Senators this season, veterans Alfredsson and Gonchar managed to keep this team together and direct it to the postseason. They need to be leaders for a mostly young roster.

Best Canadiens YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Canadiens center Vincent Damphousse scoring an overtime goal in a 3-2 win against the Rangers in a 1996 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series:

Best Senators YouTube Video We Could Find: Former Senators defenseman Igor Kravchuk securing a series-clinching 3-1 win in Game 6 of a 1998 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Devils with an empty-net goal:

EN Prediction: The Canadiens had some significant defensive issues down the stretch. They'll have their hands full with a skilled but mostly inexperienced crew of skilled forwards up front for the Senators. Senators 4-3.

(Photos: Pacioretty-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Alfredsson-Photobucket)

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Empty Netter Assists - 05-02-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Thursday, 02 May 2013 1:49 pm.

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Islanders

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "The way we came out, being physical on their top guys, the way we battled, I don't know if they were expecting that." - Pascal Dupuis.

-Newsday's recap. "We have to come back for the next game and be ready, be more physical and just make it harder on them on every inch of the ice. It's the only way we can play with that team." - Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

-The Associated Press' recap. ''For most of the game we made it pretty easy on them, and if you do that they're just going to run up the score on you.'' - Islanders forward Matt Martin.

-Highlights: