Empty Netter Assists - 02-02-13

Penguins

-Brandon Sutter and Zach Boychuk (above) are BFFs.

-"We're going to win, and we intend to win, a lot of home games, and we intend to play them a lot like we play them on the road." - Dan Bylsma on his team's record of 0-2-0 at Consol Energy Center this season.

-Expect to see Marc-Andre Fleury start today. (PG+)

-“Since I’ve been there (the Devils) have changed. It was always a defensive system there-- depending on who was coach—with Jacques Lemaire it was the trap and packing it in. Now they’re playing a little more simple. The D are coming down and pressuring." - Paul Martin comparing the Devils now to when he played for them

-How successful was Ray Shero's first draft in 2006?

-Dan Byslma speaks:

-Sidney Crosby speaks:

-Boychuk speaks:

-Jeff Zatkoff made 21 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-1 defeat of the Manchester Monarchs. Adam Payerl recorded two assists for the Penguins.

-Penguins forward Tom Kostopoulos appeared in the 1,000 game of his professional career.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Brad Thiessen was named the AHL goaltender of the week. (PG+)

-Scott Darling made 32 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-1 loss to the Reading Royals.

-After the jump: Bad officiating hurts the Flyers and Blues in very different fashions and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg scores one of the best empty net goals you'll ever see.

Atlantic Division

-The Devils assigned forward Matt Anderson to Albany of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-Bruins forward Shawn Thornton was diagnosed with a concussion as a result of his fight with Sabres forward John Scott Thursday.

-Boston forward Daniel Paille (right) is dealing with an "upper-body" injury as a result of taking a high stick to the face from Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers Thursday.

-Canadiens coach Michel Therrien has banned defenseman P.K. Subban and goaltender Carey Price from their traditional post-game celebration. The Celebration is called the "Triple-Low five:"

-The Canadiens assigned forward Mike Blunden to Hamilton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist for the Capitals in a 3-2 defeat of the rival Flyers. Braden Holtby made 29 saves in the victory.

-Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds suffered what was termed as a "head injury" in the first period when he was hit by an elbow from Capitals defenseman John Erskine in the first period.

-The hit in question:

-Simmonds did not return to the game. There was no penalty on the play.

-EN Says: That is inexcusable. What an awful, dangerous hit. Regardless of any injury to Simmonds, Erskine deserves a five-game suspension at the very least for this.

-Philadelphia's Mike Knuble caught up with former teammate Troy Brouwer during warm-ups:

-Two goals and an assist by Cory Conacher led the Lightning to an 8-3 rout of the Jets. Captain Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos each collected a goal and two assists for Tampa Bay while teammates Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell each had a goal and an assist. Anders Lindback made 26 saves in the victory. Tobias Enstrom and Paul Postma each collected a goal and two assists for Winnipeg.

-Thinking Out Loud: At 6-1-0, the Lightning is starting to look pretty legit.

-Tampa Bay's Adam Hall and Winnipeg's Olli Jokinen were ready for this faceoff:

-Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien missed the game due to a "lower-body" injury.

-Dan Ellis made 33 saves for the Hurricanes in a 1-0 shutout of the Senators. It was his 13th career shutout.

-Cool Photo of the Night: Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson fending off a stick on puck from Carolina captain Eric Staal:

-A good look at the lid of Ottawa's Craig Anderson:

-Anderson got some help here from Marc Methot in blocking a shot by Carolina's Patrick Dwyer:

-Painful times here for Carolina's Zac Dalpe as he got the business end of an elbow from Ottawa's Erik Karlsson:

-An ankle injury is expected to sideline Panthers forward Scottie Upshall for a month.

-Panthers captain/forward Ed Jovanovski is dealing with a wonky knee.

-Washington captain Alex Ovechkin sells razors in Russia:

Central Division

-Captain Henrik Zetterberg had a hat trick and two assists for the Red Wings in a 5-3 defeat of the rival Blues. Johan Franzen recorded three assists for Detroit while teammate Jonathan Ericsson collected a goal and an assist. Jimmy Howard made 23 saves in the victory.

-Zetterberg's hat trick:

-Goal of the Night: Zetterberg's short-handed empty net goal to complete his hat trick deserves its own clip:

-"I hope he sick every day if he play like that." - Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk on Zetterberg who was dealing with an illness.

-Check out the placement on this shot by St. Louis' Kevin Shattenkirk:

-Check out the placement on this shot by St. Louis' Matt D'Agostini:

-Hit of the Night: Detroit's Jordin Tootoo on St. Louis' Roman Polak:

-Terrible Penalty Call of the Night Season Decade Century Millenium THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE SPORT: St. Louis captain David Backes was ejected from the game and penalized for a "deliberate illegal hit to the head:"

-EN Says: Huh? How in the world is this any sort of penalty let alone a game misconduct in the third period of a tie game? How does this get called but the Erskine-Simmonds hit gets nothing? The ensuing power play for Detroit produced a game-winning goal by Pavel Datsyuk. This just illustrates how much the lockout hurt on-ice officials.

-Huskins did leave the game due to an "upper-body" injury.

-Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak left the game due to a "lower-body" injury.

-Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.

-Blue Jackets forward Derek Dorsett sort of denied an accusation that he bit Blues forward Chris Stewart Thursday.

Northwest Division

-A shootout goal by rookie Jordan Schroeder gave the Canucks a 2-1 win against the rival Blackhawks. Roberto Luongo made 27 saves in the victory.

-Popular times for Schroeder:

-Chicago's Corey Crawford had issues with this puck:

-Cool Photo of the Night: A puck snuck through one of the photographer's holes:

-“I think I pooped myself a little there before the shootout when I saw all those guys." - Luongo on the Blackhawks' strong shootout lineup of all-stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp.

-Avalanche captain/forward Gabriel Landeskog was officially placed on injured reserve due to a concussion.

-Wild forward Matt Cullen is dealing with an undisclosed injury.

Pacific Division

-Kyle Palmieri scored two goals for the Ducks in a 3-1 defeat of the Wild. Bobby Ryan had a goal and two assists for Anaheim while teammate Teemu Selanne recorded three assists. Viktor Fasth made 26 saves in the victory.

-Check out this sharp wraparound pass by Selanne to set up Palmieri for his second goal:

-Pass of the Night: Check out this smooth backhanded dish by Selanne to set up Ryan:

-Happy times for the Ducks. Not so much for Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom:

-Backstrom kept an eye on this puck:

-A good look at the "two-faced" lid of Fasth:

-Shootout goals by Jamie Benn and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr gave the Stars a 4-3 win against the Coyotes. Brenden Dillon had a regulation goal and an assist for Dallas while teammate Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves in the victory. Martin Hanzal scored two regulation goals for Phoenix.

-Check out this pretty move by Dallas' Antoine Roussel which led to his first career NHL goal:

-Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith returned to the lineup after missing four games due to a "lower-body" injury.

-Phoenix forward Raffi Torres is expected to return to the lineup today against the Stars after serving his 21-game suspension for a hit to the head of Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa in last season's playoffs.

-The Coyotes recalled forward Andy Miele from Portland of the AHL and assigned former Penguins goaltender Chad Johnson to Portland.

Norris Division

-Devin Williams made 20 saves for the Erie Otters in a 5-1 loss to the Niagara IceDogs.

-Andrew Blazek and Brendan Jamison each had a goal and two assists for the Robert Morris men's team in a 6-3 win against Sacred Heart.

-Max Strang made 28 saves for the Mercyhurst men's team in a 1-1 tie with Army.

-Rebecca Vint recorded two assists for the Robert Morris women's team in a 3-2 loss to Syracuse.

-A hat trick by Christine Bestland led the Mercyhurst women's team past Penn State, 5-2.

-Cody Gylling and Mitch Kontny each had a goal and an assist for the Johnstown Tomahawks in a 5-4 loss to the Port Huron Fighting Falcons.

(Photos: Boychuk-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Paille-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Flyers/Capitals-Greg Fiume/Getty Images; Jets/Lightning-Chris O'Meara/Associated Press; Senators/Hurricanes-Gerry Broome/Associated Press and Grant Halverson/Getty Images; Blackhawks/Canucks-Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press; Wild/Ducks-Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)