Happy Halloween - 10-31-08

(No, that's not our pumpkin. But we would pay someone's rent/mortgage/alimony to have that.)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Jordan Staal (right) called out his teammates and himself. He apparently wasn't cool with the lack of Abraham Lincoln beards on the team.

-Audio of Staal venting his frustrations.

-Audio of Sidney Crosby talking about his injury.

-Shelly Anderson' recap from last night.

-Catching up with former Penguins defenseman Ulf Samuelsson.

-Does Tyler Kennedy deserve a shot on the top line?

-Why did the Penguins recall Chris Minard from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton instead of Janne Pesonen?

-Crosby thinks the Coyotes are on the verge of being a playoff team.

Atlantic Division

-Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and an assist for the Rangers who edged the Thrashers, 3-2.

-Check out this brilliant defensive play Zherdev also had last night:

-Atlanta's Eric Boulton and New York's Colton Orr had a whale of a fight last night:



-Jeff Carter had two goals, including one in overtime, to lead the Flyers to a 3-2 win against the Islanders.

-The Rangers dealt 2003 first-round pick Hugh Jessiman to the Predators for future considerations. Jessiman, a forward, is the only first rounder of the 2003 draft class who has not played a single game in the NHL.

-The Devils are trying to weasel out of their rent for the Prudential Center.

-Forward David Clarkson (right) does a little bit of everything for the Devils.

-The Flyers acquired goon Josh Gratton from the Predators in exchange for defenseman Tim Ramholt. Apparently the Flyers felt they just didn't have enough untalented goons on the roster.

-As if that move wasn't enough, the Flyers recalled forward Steve Downie from their AHL affiliate.

-The Islanders officially put goaltender Rick DiPietro on injured reserve.

-Could the Islanders adopt their classic throwback third jerseys as their primary uniform by next season?

Northeast Division

-Two assists from Alex Tanguay lifted the Canadiens to a 2-1 win at Minnesota.

-Former Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque was a healthy scratch for the Canadiens again last night.

-Alex Auld made 26 saves for the Senators in a 2-1 at Florida.

-The Senators signed captain Daniel Alfredsson (right) to a four-year contract extension.

-Despite being under contract with the Canadiens, prospect Pavel Valentenko signed with a KHL team.

-Despite scoring fewer goals, the Maple Leafs are winning games.

Southeast Division

-Steven Stamkos scored the first two goals of his NHL career and had an assist for the Lighting in a 5-2 win at Buffalo. Ryan Malone scored his second goal as a member of the Lightning. Fire Ray Shero.

-Cam Ward made a whopping 19 saves for the Hurricanes in a 1-0 shutout win at St. Louis.

-Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian will miss six weeks due to a broken leg.

-The Panthers recalled forward Shawn Matthias from Rochester of the AHL.

Central Division

-The Predators got a goal and an assist from Shea Weber in a 3-1 defeat of the Oilers.

-Derrick Brassard and Jason Chimera each had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets in a 4-2 win at Colorado.

-Check out Chimera's goal:

-The Blues signed former Rangers goaltender Chris Holt.

-Today's "Marian Hossa is ripping things up in Detroit" article is brought to you by Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Hossa is now the NHL's third-leading scorer with 15 points. Fire Ray Shero.

-The Blues contacted the agent for free agent forward Brendan Shanahan.

Northwest Division

-Roberto Luongo (right) made 28 saves for Vancouver and recorded his 40^th career shutout in a 4-0 win at Los Angeles.

-Mike Cammalleri and Dion Phaneuf each had a goal and an assist for the Flames in a 3-2 defeat of the Bruins.

-Oilers forward Erik Cole makes his return to Carolina tomorrow.

-A lot of people want to see the Koivu brothers play together with the Wild.

-Minnesota is having troubles on the power play.

Pacific Division

-A showdown between the two best teams in the Western Conference, and perhaps the NHL, saw the Sharks beat the Red Wings, 4-2. Jamie McGinn and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist for San Jose.

-Two games off really benefited Coyotes goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov in last night's win against the Penguins.

-Ducks forward Brad May is dealing with a sprained knee.

-Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne moved past Bruins great John Bucyk for 21^st on the NHL's all-time scoring list. Selanne now has 558 career goals.

-Check out this sneaky elbow Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger put into the head of Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk Wednesday night:



(Kudos to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! for the find.)

Patrick Division

-CHA, the division Robert Morris plays in, might fold.

(Photos: Staal-Paul Sancya/Associated Press; Clarkson-Rich Schultz/Associated Press; Alfredsson-Lynne Sladky/Associated Press; Luongo-Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

Coyotes 4, Penguins 1 - 10-31-08

PREGAME

-Sidney Crosby's "butt" goal is replayed almost right off the bat:

 
The obvious Crosby-Gretzky comparison starts almost immediately as well.

-The Penguins' scratches are Darryl Sydor, Pascal Dupuis and Paul Bissonnette.

-There goes our Bissonnette-Daniel Carcillo fight prediction.

-Keith Yandle and Brian McGrattan are the Coyotes' scratches.

-Ilya Bryzgalov and Marc-Andre Fleury are the starting goaltenders.

-Tyler Kennedy totally cuts Dan Potash off during the pregame interview. Jerk. We don't feel quite as bad for making fun of his nose now.

-The Consol Energy commercial where that guy flips the switch stays on for 13 minutes.

-Plenty of empty seats in Jobing.com Arena. Something tells us that wouldn't happen in Winnipeg.

-Chris Minard makes his season debut for the Penguins. He will wear No. 32. The last Penguin to wear that number was Alain Nasreddine. Of course, the greatest Penguin to wear that number was the great Dick Tarnstrom.


 
FIRST PERIOD

18:53: Paul Steigerwald reminds us that Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek and Sharks forward Milan Michalek are brothers. We so bet the "Michaleks are brothers" is the "Staals are brothers" of the Pacific Division.

16:40: Olli Jokinen tosses a puck into the crease from the boards. Fleury punches it away.

16:03: Derek Morris fires a slapper from the right point. Minard blocks it.

15:43: Bob Errey makes a comment about Kyle Turris being fed cheesecake by the wife of Darren Pang, the Coyotes' television broadcaster. We can't imagine Pang being married for some reason. We totally see him living in a tree making cookies and screaming "Jumping Jesus!" all the time.

14:02: Steven Reinprecht works the puck out of the corner and zips a quick shot low on net. Fleury covers it up.

13:53: Maxime Talbot works the puck down the left wing and centers it into the crease for Miroslav Satan. Satan tries to shoot it but Mikkel Boedker does a marvelous job backchecking and breaks up the pass.

12:19: It's apparently Sunday night on 3WS as "Shout" by the Isley Brothers is played:

 

12:15: Right off the faceoff, Carcillo blocks a shot from the point by Alex Goligoski. It deflects out of play.

9:33: Ken Klee swats a slapper from the right point. Jordan Staal blocks it.

8:43: Ed Jovanovski puts a shot on net. Fleury makes the save despite traffic. Carcillo tries to poke in the rebound but it goes wide.

7:18: Brooks Orpik completely runs over Viktor Tikhonov at the Penguins' blue line.

7:11: Evgeni Malkin gets sloppy with the puck behind his own net. Kyle Turris almost takes advantage of a turnover and tries to jam the puck in. Fleury holds it out with his left foot.

6:24: Steigerwald mentions that the Penguins are getting outshot 7-0 at this point. Good to see those line changes working out.

5:45: Maxime Talbot and David Hale discuss the ramifications of Hustler Magazine v. Falwell. We think.

5:15: Going into commercial, Steigerwald calls out Staal slightly as he mentions Staal has gone 18 consecutive regular season games without a goal while averaging 25 shifts per game this season which is tops on the Penguins. Hmm... Coming back from commercial, clips of Coyotes assistant coach and former Penguin Ulf Samuelsson battering Bruins great Cam Neely are shown. Then Bob Errey says Neely "had" to go into "Dumb and Dumber" because of Samuelsson.

 
-Quality.

4:35: On a delayed penalty Peter Mueller takes a nice feed from a teammate and directs a pass onto the net. Fleury is able to slide over and kick it out. Fantastic save.

4:27: Leave it to the great Mike Zigomanis to get the Penguins' first shot on goal. Shorthanded, he pushes the puck up ice and blasts a slapper five hole on Bryzgalov who were forgot was actually playing in this game. Bryzgalov hangs on and freezes play.

3:44: Steigerwald refers to Jovanoski by his nick name "Jovocop." We've never understood why that's his nickname. "Tyler The Tiger" makes more sense.

2:30: Someone break out the record book! The Penguins are up to two shots! That has to be some sort of record. Orpik comes won the right wing and fires a wrister that Bryzgalov fights off.

1:34: Boedker blasts a drop pass on net. Fleury shuffles it aside.

0:57: Klee tosses a wrister towards the net. Fleury makes a save but gives up a rebound. The Coyotes can get a stick on it though.

0:00: End of period. Coyotes 0, Penguins 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-Well that was ugly. The Penguins were outshot 12-2 that period. Ick.

-Hale and Reinprecht lead the game with two blocked shots each.

-The Penguins had a 9-5 advantage in faceoffs.

-The great Mike Zigomanis was 4-for-4 against his former team.

-Can we call this Zigmanis' Revenge?

-Hopefully for the Coyotes, this is nothing like Montezuma's Revenge.

-Jovanovski leads the game with 8:25 of ice time.

Mark Eaton, who hasn't exactly been all that sharp, leads the Penguins with 7:20.

-While being interviewed by Potash, Minard flashes up a beautiful hockey smile:



-Does that look say "idiot henchman" to anyone else?

-Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" is busted out prior to the start of the period:



SECOND PERIOD

19:47: Right away, Ruslan Fedotenko attacks the net with a backhander. Bryzgalov keeps it out with his left toe.

19:14: Orpik deflects a shot by Mueller out of play.

18:16: Malkin grabs a puck in the corner, moves to the net and tries to jam it in. Bryzgalov stands his ground.

17:38: Malkin steals the puck off an awful pass by Jovanovski. Malkin tries to deke by Morris but falls. He still manages to push a shot on net. Bryzgalov makes the initial save but makes the save. Matt Cooke picks up the loose puck and centers it for Petr Sykora who puts a shot on net. Bryzgalov says no. Malkin tries to poke it by Bryzgalov and does, but the whistle had blown. No goal.

16:18: Kevin Porter uses a Penguin as a screen and whips a wrister. Fleury shuffles it aside.

13:09: Orpik is called for interference.

13:52: Some stupid coyote howl sound effect accompanies the announcement that Phoenix is on a power play.

13:45: Jokinen punches a quick shot on net. Fleury eats it up.

13:17: Crosby zips up ice with the puck shorthanded, blows by Jovanovski and puts a shot to Bryzgalov's stick side. The Coyotes goaltender fights it off.

12:38: Off a turnover by Eaton, Jokinen gets a shot off from in tight. Fleury stands tall.

12:07: Michalek fires a slapper from the point. It misses the mark. Doan collects the rebound and backhands it into the crease. Jokinen punches the rebound in by a prone Fleury. Eaton failed to account for Jokinen on that play. A coyote howl with Joe Satriani's "Crowd Chant" is played. Orpik's penalty had expired so it was not a power-play goal. Coyotes 1-0.



11:44: Malkin steals a puck off Hale, zooms by him and gets a backhander off. Bryzgalov fights it off.

11:41: Hale is called for interference.

11:30: It's always better to be lucky than good right? Malkin bombs a one-timer from the right point. It totally misses the net but ricochets into the crease off the backboards. Satan is just to the left of the crease but lunges to poke it in by an out of place Bryzgalov. That was a little lucky, but it was pretty. Coyotes 1, Penguins 1.

10:38: Jokinen blasts a slapper from the left wing. Letang appears to get a piece of it as the shot sails over the net.

8:42: Malkin takes a pass in the slot and tries to move around Jovanovski. Jovanovski holds his ground for the most part, but Malkin is still able to put the puck on net. Bryzgalov with the save.

8:15: Bryzgalov makes a stick save on a shot by Kris Letang.

7:48: Minard has a nice opportunity on in the slot. His shot is blocked by Jovanovski.

7:31: Minard pumps a shot from the left wing. Brzygalov kicks it out.

6:48: Turris tosses a shot on net from the right wing. Fleury knocks it away.

6:30: Bryzgalov covers the puck in the crease. Talbot digs for a potential rebound. A few Coyotes converge on him to protect their goaltender. This the first real skirmish of the game.

5:33: Sykora charges into the offensive zone and slides a pass into slot. Malkin picks it up, moves to the backhand and tries to put it buy Brzygalov. The goaltender's left foot juuust keeps it out of the net. Nice save. Coming out of commercial, Steigerwald mentions that the Penguins have 12 shots this period already while the Coyotes only have six.

5:09: Michalek is called for hooking.

4:48: Malkin blasts a slapper from the left point. Brzygalov stops it with a "thud."

4:41: Crosby sneaks a shot on net from the right wing. Bryzgalov kicks it out with his right leg.

3:49: Satan takes a pass from Crosby in the crease and shuffles a shot on net. Brzygalov covers it up.

3:31: Boedker steals the puck at the Coyotes' blue line and works his way behind the Penguins' defense. Letang is able to keep pace with him, lunges and pokes the puck off Boedker's blade. Fantastic defensive play by Letang.

3:09: Michalek's penalty expires.

2:48: Staal is called for boarding a Coyote in the corner. FSN Pittsburgh puts a graphic up showing the Penguins now have a 19-18 edge in shots.

2:19: Rob Scuderi interrupts a centering pass in the crease and deflects it away. The great Mike Zigomanis scoops it up and clears.

2:01: A little bad luck and a defensive breakdown leads to a Coyotes goal. Hal Gill tries to clear a puck dumped into the corner but puts it into a trailing Shane Doan. Reinprecht swoops in and picks up the puck and gets Scuderi to commit. That leaves Doan wide open. Reinprecht gives him the puck and Doan fires it into an open cage. Coyotes 2-1.

1:45ish: Fedotenko whips a one-timer on net. Bryzgalov eats it up.

0:42: Cooke chips a shot high on net. Bryzgalov gloves it. Errey mentions that Gretzky can be seen on the bench wearing a tie that benefits the Hockey Fights Cancer tie. Errey calls it "his cancer tie." We're not going to crack a joke about cancer, but that sounded very awkward.

0:00: End of period. Coyotes 2, Penguins 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-The Penguins clearly played a lot better in that period but ended up with a one-goal deficit. Regardless, the were a lot more aggressive on offense, especially on the power play.

-Shots are even, 20-20.

-Someone must've said something to Malkin. He leads the game with nine shots.

-Jokinen leads the Coyotes with five.

-The Penguins lead in faceoffs, 20-16.

-Zigomanis' revenge is in full effect as he is 6-for-7 in faceoffs.

-Jovanovski leads the game with 16:44 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 14:55.

-Mike Yeo gets some face time:



(That's a video tape in the corner of that picture. You're parent used them in the 1980s and in most of the 1990s.)

THIRD PERIOD

19:05: Eaton sneaks in from the left point and rips a wrister. It hits a body in front and deflects away.

17:33: Michalek blasts a slapper from outside the Penguins' blue line. Fleury kicks it aside. Daniel Winnick picks it up and tosses it on net from the left wing. Fleury makes another save.

16:44: Kennedy cruises down the right wing and fires a wrister that totally misses the net.

15:49: Satan sweeps a backhander on net from the slot. Bryzgalov strikes it away with his stick.

15:23: The Coyotes are called for too many men on the ice. Gretzky goes ballistic.

14:54: Goligoski loses the puck at the Coyotes' blue line. Winnick pushes it up ice and dishes it to Doan. Malkin gets back for the Penguins. Doan tries to dish it back to Winnick but Malkin is able to break it up.

14:49: Malkin tees up a big blast from the right point. Brzygalov is able to snag it up with his glove despite traffic. FSN Pittsburgh mentions that Malkin's nine shots in the second period broke Mario Lemieux's team record of six in one period.

14:33: Malkin blast another bomb from the point. It appears to hit a body and kicks back out.

13:33: Somehow the Coyotes generate their second two-on-one during the Penguins' power play. Tikhonov comes up ice with the puck with Winnick. Tikhonov elects to keep it. Letang is able to get down and make a block.

13:27: Kennedy tries to work the puck into the offensive zone and is tripped up by a Coyote. No call.

13:13: Coming back from commercial, Steigerwald mentions Crosby has left the bench.

12:23: Jovanovski blasts a slapper from the left point. It hits something on the way to the net and lands in the crease. Fleury covers it up before Doan can do any damage.

11:44: Boedker pins Talbot against the boards away from the puck. No call.

11:23: Carcillo runs Sykora from behind into the boards. What a stupid play. Malkin tries to go after Carcillo but an official gets between them. A scrum ensues in front of the Penguins' bench. Another official holds back Sykora who is incensed. What a stupid play. No only is that dangerous to Sykora's health, but why would Carcillo put the Penguins on the power play while they're down by a goal? Carcillo is a nice feisty player with some ability, but he's prone to stupid things like this. Errey mentions that Crosby will not return to the game.

11:17: The Coyotes just dug their hole a little deeper. Kurt Sauer jumps for a puck in the air and accidently tips it over the boards. Five-on-three for 1:54. The Penguins need to score here.

11:08: Winnick blocks a one-timer by Malkin at the point. Winnick stumbles for a bit.

10:59: A drive by Malkin is kicked out by Bryzgalov.

10:14: Sykora tosses a pass into the slot. Staal is there but can't get his blade on the puck. A franchise player buries that.

10:05: Satan is nailed for hooking then also gets a 10-minute misconduct. Geez. The Penguins will be without their best player and their top goal scorer for the rest of the game. The Penguins will still have a four-on-three for 42 seconds.

9:35: Goligoski pushes a soft shot to the then from the left faceoff circle. Bryzgalov eats it up easily.

9:23: Carcillo's penalty expires.

9:17: Hale's penalty expires. The Coyotes will have a power play for 1:11.

9:08: Somehow the Penguins give up a breakaway to Kurt flipping Sauer while killing a penalty. He shows his sublime offensive skills by completely missing the net. Actually, a replay shows Kris Letang getting back and possibly deflecting the shot. Letang has played a marvelous defensive game so far.

9:05: Jokinen drives a big blast just inside the Penguins' blue line. Fleury fights it off.

8:14: Talbot takes the puck into the corner in the Coyotes' zone and pins it against the boards. That essentially kills the rest of Satan's minor penalty.

7:22: Steigerwald mentions that Crosby's penalty "is not serious." So for all we know, he could have a dislocated head given how "honest" injury reports are in the NHL.

7:15: Fleury eats up a shot by Jovanoski.

6:44: Jokinen uses a Penguin as a screen and fires a low wrister. Fleury is able to fight it off.

6:13: Jovanoski blasts a slapper from the left wing. Fleury appears to get a piece of it and deflects it away.

5:11: Goligoski makes a poor pass into the neutral zone that Boedker intercepts. Boedker dishes it to Reinprect at the Penguins' blue line, Reinprect sneaks in from the right wing, completely undresses Goligoski and pushes a slight pass through the crease where Porter is able to bang it home by a helpless Fleury. Fantastic move by Reinprecht to create that goal. Goligoski looked very bad on that play. Coyotes 3-1.

3:51: Goligoski chips a backhander on net from the right wing. Bryzgalov knocks it down and covers it. During the stoppage, Steigerwald mentions that Orpik is in a class with Calgary's Dion Phaneuf as the top hitters in the league among defensemen. For what it's worth, we'd stick Montreal's Mike Komisarek in that company as well:



2:19: Sykora has a chance in the slot with an open shot. He fires but his stick breaks and the puck slides wide of the net.

1:24: Orpik tries to take out Todd Fedoruk just inside the blue line. Fedoruk avoids the bulk of the hit at the last moment but still gets spilled.

1:05: Fleury is pulled for an extra attacker.

0:58: Tikhonov flips a pass through the neutral zone to Doan at the Penguins' blue line. Doan knocks it down and tosses a backhander into the empty net for one of us. Coyotes 4-1.

0:44: Zigomanis zips a wrister on net from the right side. Bryzgalov fights it off.

0:00: End of game. Coyotes 4, Penguins 1.

POSTGAME

-Obviously there's something wrong with the team right now (no duh) on offense. Is it unfamiliarity with the constant line changes? Is it the injuries on defense? Is it poor coaching? It could be a combination of all three.

-Are we the only ones wondering if Miroslav Satan deserves more of a chance on Crosby's wing? It takes some time to for linemates to get acclimated with each other. Remember how long it took Marian Hossa to click with Crosby? Granted, injuries to each player probably caused that process to take longer than it should have, but Hossa really didn't start meshing with the Penguins' captain until the second round of the playoff against the Rangers. Satan deserves more than a handful of games as an audition with Crosby.

-The failure to score at least one goal with the two-man advantage late in the third was inexcusable. Anytime a team only has three players on the ice, you have to score. There's so much ice for those three to cover.

-We stated this before, but Kris Letang played a fantastic defensive game. He rescued the Penguins on more than a few odd-man rushes.

-Goligoski didn't have a great game, but you need to remember he's still a very raw rookie. The only reason he's in an NHL Penguins uniform is because of injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. Otherwise, Goligoski would be in an AHL Penguins jersey.

-Fleury was solid but obviously got very little help.

-Bryzgalov was more than up to the challenge against a team that was willing to put a lot of puck on the net in the second and third periods.

-Its fashionable to say this after they won, but the Coyotes have a nice team. They could sneak in to the playoffs as a seventh or eighth seed. Their biggest problem is playing in the Pacific Division where there are three teams on paper (Anaheim, Dallas and San Jose) who you could consider Stanley Cup contenders.

-We're hardly blaming this for the Penguins' problems last night, but the ice appeared to be an issue last night. Several players had trouble staying on their skates.

-Phoenix had a 30-28 edge in shots.

-Malkin led the game with 10 shots.

-Jokinen led the Coyotes with seven.

-The Penguins had a 30-25 lead in faceoffs.

-The great Mike Zigomanis was 10-for-13 in the faceoff circle.

-Letang led the game with 23:24 of ice time.

-Jovanoski led Phoenix with 23:12.

-Letang and Orpik led the game with three blocked shots.

-Crosby is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights.

Another example of the NHL's spectacular customer service - 10-30-08

We're recent subscribers to Gamecenter Live, the NHL's new online version of its Center Ice package. We've been happy with it for the most part.

We logged on tonight to enjoy a pretty full slate of 12 games.

But this is what we were greeted with:

We called the league's customer service hotline to figure out what the problem was. Turns out the free preview they gave tonight for the product has bascially swamped their servers. So if you're a paying customer, like us, you're paying $159 for a white screen while others are enjoying your product for free.

For a league that endlessly brags about how savy it is when it comes to new media, this is a complete embarrassment.

Yes, we realize the irony in complaining about someone else's bandwith considering the recent problems with EN, but EN is a free product. Gamecenter Live isn't.

@&*#$@*$@#*#@%$@#!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE: The service appears to be up and running again as of 10:15 p.m.

Penguins recall Minard - 10-30-08

The Penguins recalled forward Chris Minard (right) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Also, Maxime Talbot and Hal Gill are expected to return to the lineup tonight in Phoenix (er... Glendale, Ariz.) while forward Pascal Dupuis has been ruled out.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Penguins will officially unveil their "new" third jersey Wednesday at Dick's Sporting Goods in Robinson.

About the Jets - 10-30-08

A preview of the Coyotes.

Record: 3-4-0

Leading Scorer: Olli Jokinen, 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists).

Last Game: 4-1 home loss to the Flames Saturday.

Last Game against the Penguins:  3-1 loss at Pittsburgh Dec. 3, 2007.

Coyotes Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Steve Reinprecht. He has sevens points in just as many games against the Penguins over the course of his career.

Ex-Penguins: Daniel Carcillo, LW (former Penguins prospect), Ulf Samuelsson, assistant coach.

Useless Jets Trivia: Jeremy Roenick is the highest ranked player on the Coyote's career scoring list who never spent time with the franchise when it was in Winnipeg. His 379 points rank with the franchise are the eighth most all-time.

Best Jets YouTube Video We Could Find: We've posted this before, but this video from the final regular season game in Jets history sure makes Winnipeg Arena seem like it was an amazing old-fashioned barn to watch hockey in:

 
NOTES:

-No live blog tonight. We're stuck in the office. We'll have a recap ready for Friday morning.

-Michel Therrien changed his lines again. Is this really news anymore? A headline involving Michel Therrien changing his underwear would be more newsworthy to us at this point.

-Pascal Dupuis is questionable with an undisclosed injury.

-The Coyotes have changed their lines too.

-We're going to predict a fight between Carcillo (right) and Paul Bissonnette. Carcillo didn't exactly leave the Penguins' organization under the best of terms and something tells us he would like a crack at a guy who in his weight class and more than willing to drop the gloves.

-New Coyotes defenseman Ken Klee is ecstatic over his opportunity with Phoenix.

-Apparently tickets are still available for this game. What a joke of a hockey market.

-Phoenix demoted forward Enver Lisin to San Antonio of the AHL.

-Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky likes the work ethic of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

-Gretzky wants more offense from his defensemen.

-The league will offer a free preview of its Gamecenter package tonight. You should be able to watch tonight's game through that platform assuming you live outside the Pittsburgh and Phoenix markets.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Contrary to popular belief, the Penguins have actually won some games this season.

-What's up with Jordan Staal?

-Versus is already promoting some minor non-conference game for the Penguins on Nov. 11:

-Goaltender John Curry is set to make his season debut for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

-The Pirate Parrot apparently accused Iceburgh of wanting to spread the wealth:

-Forbes ranked the Penguins as the 18^th most valuable team in the NHL.

-The Confluence of The Three Rivers has moved over to Kukla's Korner's stable of blogs. It is now called simply, The Confluence.

Atlantic Division

-We don't like linking to the New York Post all that often, but this story has quotes from the source. Former Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan (right) has told his agent to accept any inquiries for his services. The free agent has basically been waiting for the Rangers to make him an offer. He had 23 goals last season playing for a team that struggled to find chemistry among its forwards. He can still play.

-New Jersey forward Patrik Elias is fine after taking a puck to the face last night.

-Forward Matt Halischuk was already the fourth rookie to make his NHL debut with the Devils this season.

-The Devils signed 2006 second-round pick Alexander Vasyunov.

-The Rangers are having problems with the power play.

-The Rangers demoted forward Lauri Korpikoski to Hartford of the AHL.

-Forward Glen Metropolit has given the Flyers' top line a boost.

Northeast Division

-Shootout goals by Nicklas Hagman and Tomas Kaberle gave the Maple Leafs a 6-5 win at New Jersey. This was one of two amazing games in the NHL last night. There were more than a few lead changes and plenty of up-and-down hockey. Matt Stajan added two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs who managed to put 48 shots on goal.

-Check out Hagman's goal and the snow he sprayed on Martin Brodeur:



Check out this hit Toronto defenseman Jeff Finger had that popped New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus into the bench:



-Jarkko Ruutu not impressed:



-Sabres forward Adam Mair was fined $2,500 by the NHL for confronting Senators forward Jarkko Ruutu off the ice.

-Senators goaltender Brian Elliott was demoted to Binghamton of the AHL.

-There's apparently a controversy over the Senators' theme music. You can't hear it over Bryan Murray's whining. We think.

-The Alex Tanguay experiment is working out so far in Montreal.

Southeast Division

-Several Panthers employees were laid off.

-Florida forwards Gregory Campbell (hip flexor) and Stephen Weiss (groin) are dealing with injuries.

-Lightning goaltender Olaf Kolzig considered retiring after last season. In other news, Olaf Kolzig has apparently still been an active NHL player the past few seasons.

-Check out this cool Nike commercial with Lightning rookie forward Steven Stamkos:



-After getting romped by the Flyers Tuesday, Thrashers coach John Anderson took his team to task.

Central Division

-Red Wings coach Mike Babcock (right) said the Sharks are the best team in the Western Conference.

-Predators goaltenders Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne have the least combined experience in the NHL among any pairing of netminders in the NHL.

-Blues forward Andy McDonald might be the best bargain in the NHL.

Northwest Division

-For the first time in NHL history, brothers will face each other as the captains of their respective teams. Mikko Koivu's Wild will play host to Saku Koivu's Canadiens tonight. Something tells us Don Cherry is holding down vomit over the idea of two Europeans setting this precedent.

-Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck is wasting a lot of money parking his car in Houston.

-Minnesota forward Andrew Brunette has played in 460 consecutive games. (The article is a little dated. He played in Game No. 461 last night.)

-Avalanche forward Marek Svatos is having trouble finding the net.

-Colorado defenseman Adam Foote makes his return to Columbus where he didn't leave under the best of circumstances.

Pacific Division



-This was the other fantastic game in the league last night. Francois Beauchemin's (above, left) overtime goal gave the Ducks a 5-4 win against the Red Wings. This game had almost as much up-and-down action as the Devils-Maple Leafs game, and it was really intense. You would've thought these two teams were playing the Western Conference final, which they might be come May. Ryan Getzlaf assisted on all of Anheim's goals while teammate Teemu Selanne recorded his 21^st career hat trick. Marian Hossa had two assists for Detroit. Fire Ray Shero.

-Brad Richards had a goal and an assist for the Stars in a 4-2 defeat of the Wild. Prior to this game, Minnesota was the last team without a regulation loss this season.

-A.J. Perez of USA Today had an interesting Q&A with Ducks goon and Washington, Pa. native George Parros.

-Stars forward Sean Avery says facial hair is in. For guys that is.

-The return of Stars defenseman and former Penguin Sergei Zubov will be delayed one day due to a technicality.

-Sharks coach Todd McLellan meets his former boss, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, tonight.

-Who scheduled the Ducks and Sharks on back-to-back nights for the Red Wings by the way? Were the 1981 Islanders and 1987 Oilers unavailable?

Adams Division

-The NHL moved the trade deadline back from March. 3 to March. 4.

-Jeff Marek of the CBC debunks the myth of the alleged "Gordie Howe Hat Trick."

(Photos: Carcillo-Tim Sharp/Associated Press; Shanahan-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Babcock-Carlos Osorio/Associated Press; Beauchemin-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Congratulations - 10-29-08

(Cliff Richards ladies and gentlemen.)

We're a day late with his but congrats to the Penguins who tied a team record last night. They matched the franchise record for fewest shots in a game with thieir meaty output of 11 pucks on net against the Sharks.

That marked tied the team's mark that was set in the following games:

• 3-0 loss at Boston March 27, 1977. No information is available on the Web for this game.
  
• 7-0 home loss to Carolina, Dec. 1, 2001. Jan Hrdina, Josef Melichar and Kevin Stevens were the only members of the team to get at least two shots.
• 3-0 home loss to Los Angeles, Oct. 10, 2003. This was Marc-Andre Fleury's debut in the NHL. He was "welcomed" to the league by the Kings who put 49 shots on net. He did stop Esa Pirnes on a penalty shot. The immortal Zigmund Palffy had a goal and an assist for the Kings. No Penguins skater had more than one shot on net.
• 2-1 overtime loss at Carolina, Dec. 18, 2003. Konstantin Koltsov scored the Penguins' only goal. He was also the only Penguin with at least two shots. Glen Wesley scored the winning goal in overtime. Ron Francis assisted on it.
• 3-3 tie at Ottawa, Dec. 26, 2003. Lord knows how they got a tie out of this game. Patrick Lalime was in net for Ottawa so that might've had something to do with it. Tom Kostopoulos had two goals while Steve McKenna had the other for the Penguins. The Penguins managed only two shots in the third period and overtime. Kostopoulos led the Penguins with three shots while rookie Sebastien Caron made 41 saves.
  

So we might not have noticed it immediately, but the Penguins created a little history last night. 

And we totally forgot how bad that 2003-04 team was. It tied the record three seperate times.

UPDATE: We wandered back to the PG's library and dug through the microfilm for information on that Bruins game. Nothing really of note occured in the contest outside of the fact that the Penguins established a franchise record for fewest shots on goal. The previous record was 16. Denis Herron was in net for the Penguins that night and lost the game despite making 33 saves. Don Cherry was the coach of the Bruins at the time and was apparently in the middle of a contract dispute. Boston would go on to the Stanley Cup final that season and lose to the Canadiens in four games.

Smooth - 10-29-08

Check out the goal Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier scored last night:

 
Lecavalier had two goals that helped Tampa Bay claim its second win of the season, 3-2, at Toronto.

Lightning forward Steven Stamkos, the first overall pick in this year's draft, finally scored his first point.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Shelly Anderson' recap from last night.

-The Penguins actually recorded the fewest shots ever by a opponent in the Shark's history.

-Do the Penguins need to change who they use on the shootout?

-The Penguins are good at blocking shots.

-In their last 85 minutes of play, the Penguins have managed only 17 shots.

-If you missed it, here's Eric Godard getting beat up by Sharks forward Jody Shelley:

-Former Penguins star Jaromir Jagr says Russian have more freedom than Americans.

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are still trying to find their identity.

-Financing for new practice facility for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was finalized.

-The AHL Penguins demoted goaltender David Brown to Wheeling of the ECHL.

-Nailers forward Tommy Goebel was named the ECHL player of the week.

-Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (right) is going to be tested when he faces the Penguins Thursday.

Atlantic Division

-Simon Gagne had two goals and two assist for the Flyers who smashed the Thrashers, 7-0. Antero Niittymaki made 24 saves in the shutout.

-The Devils recalled forward Nicklas Bergfors and Matt Halischuk from Lowell of the AHL.

-New Jersey forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond has a cracked orbital bone.

-The Islanders demoted defenseman Jack Hillen to Bridgeport of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-Saku Koivu's shootout goal gave the Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Hurricanes.

-Former Penguins goon Georges Laraque was a healthy scratch last night for Montreal.

-Boston's Tim Thomas made 31 saves and recorded his second consecutive shutout, a 1-0 win at Vancouver.

-Former Penguins forward Robert Lang is working out so far in Montreal.

Southeast Division



-Shootout goals by Alexander Semin (above) and Michael Nylander gave the Capitals a 4-3 win against the Predators.

-The Panthers re-signed free agent defenseman Jassen Cullimore.

-Thrashers defenseman Zach Bogosian is dealing with a leg injury.

-Versus had an "exclusive" blackout for the Flyers-Thrashers game last night. Basically, Versus' game was the only one on in the United States during that time. That mean a pretty good game between the Capitals and Predators was not televised whatsoever. In Washington, Nashville or anywhere else. What a wonderful way to build up the sport at a regional level.

-Hurricanes prospect Tim Conboy actually bit Flyers prospect Steve Downie in a fight during an AHL game.

Central Division

-The Blue Jackets demoted forward Nikita Filatov to Syracuse of the AHL.

-If you want some information on attending the Winter Classic, here you go.

-Sports Illustrated posted a gallery of new goaltenders' masks. Check out the lid of Red Wings goaltender and former Penguin Ty Conklin.

Northwest Division



-Miikka Kiprusoff (above) made 22 saves for the Flames in a 3-0 shutout of the Avalanche.

-Kiprusoff recorded his 150^th career win as a Flame.

Pacific Division

-The Coyotes claimed defenseman Ken Klee off waivers from the Ducks.

-Phoenix is giving goon Todd Fedoruk a try on the first line.

-Stars forward Joel Lundqvist is dealing with a shoulder injury.

-The return of forward Steve Ott should give the Stars some energy.

-Sharks forward Jamie McGinn made his NHL debut last night against the Penguins.

(Photos: Bryzgalov-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Semin-Greg Fiume/Getty Images; Kiprusoff-Aaron J. Latham/Associated Press)

Sharks 2, Penguins 1 - 10-28-08

Greetings from a cold and blustery night in Pittsburgh. We went outside earlier tonight to take out the trash and it was actually snowing outside. We're tempted to say it's "hockey weather" but we don't know what that means. Most hockey games are indoors. Weather doesn't really come into play. Unless it's like a hurricane or tornado or something that destroys the building.

If you want to say it's "Walking-up-from-Cafe-Milano-to-Mellon-Arena weather," we're down with it. That's not a fun stroll from mid-November to mid-March.

-Michel Therrien tells Dan Potash that Tyler Kennedy will play at center in Maxime Talbot's absence until Therrien changes the lines four minutes into the first period.

-Bob Errey mentions that everyone in the East thinks Sidney Crosby should be the MVP. There might be some folks in Washington that might diagree with him on that.

(Photo: Frank Gunn/Associated Press)

-Maxime Talbot and Hal Gill are the Penguins' scratches.

-San Jose has scratched Marcel Goc and Alexei Semenov.

 -Dany Sabourin and Evgeni Nabokov will start in goal.

FIRST PERIOD

19:44: Jonathan Cheechoo comes down the right wing and punches a quick shot. Sabourin stands his ground.

19:05: Is it us or is the camera angle for this game a little higher than in most games?

17:57: Kennedy enters the offensive zone, drags the puck by a defender and rips a high wrister. Nabokov gloves it.

17:37: Eric Godard doesn't waste anytime dropping the gloves tonight. He decides to go with Jody Shelley. Shelley pretty much dominates the quick fight. After they hold each other off with their left arms, Shelly gets Godard's jersey up over his head and socks him with a couple rights before Godard falls.

17:22: Miroslav Satan interferes with Nabokov behind the net. Satan accidently tripped him behind the Sharks' net. Two minutes.

16:05: Jordan Staal grabs a loose puck off a block in the Penguins' zone. He pushes it up through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. He dumps it for the great Mike Zigomanis who fires a quick wrister from the left wing. Nabokov fights it off.

15:22: The Penguins kill off Satan's penalty with giving the Sharks much of an opportunity to score.

13:39: Jamie McGinn fires a wrister high. Sabourin deflects it away with his shoulder.

12:29: Devin Setoguchi enters the offensive zone, uses Darryl Sydor as a screen and fires a bullet of a wrister five hole. Sabourin makes the save. Setoguchi tries to follow up on the rebound but Sydor sweeps it away.

11:32: Milan Michalek tries to go to the outside on the left wing. Before he can get a shot off, Kris Letang dives and pokes the puck off his stick. Nice play.

11:16: Evgeni Malkin steals the puck off Doug Murray who made a terrible pass in his own end. Malkin tries to fire it almost immediately but misses the net.

10:12: Jordan Staal takes the puck off 65-year-old Rob Blake. Blake trips him with his cane stick. Two minutes.

9:48: The Penguins get sloppy in the neutral zone with the puck and pay for it. Goligoski loses the puck just on the outside of the Penguins' blue line. Michalek takes it, zips in on Sabourin on a break away. Sabourin makes the inital save but Joe Pavelski punches in the rebound. Very sloppy. Some re-mixed version of the "Hey Song" is played. It sounds very awkward. Sharks 1-0.

 

8:12: Blake's penalty expires.

7:48: Joe Thornton moves through the Penguins' defense and slides a pass to Patrick Marleau on the left wing. Marleau rings  a shot off the post.

5:59: Mike Grier chips a soft wrister on net from the top of the slot. Sabourin gloves it with ease.

3:56: Errey says the Sharks need some walkers on the ice with Blake and Jeremy Roenick suiting up for the Sharks.

2:33: Mihalek charges into the corner and whips a backhander towards the net. Sabourin holds it out.

2:07: After Staal pushs a shot wide, Paul Steigerwald mentions that his last goal was March 20 against Tampa Bay.

0:39: Matt Cooke makes a nice move by Brad Lukowich and creates a chance for himself. He shoots a wrister that Nabokov knocks away.

0:00: End of period. Sharks 1, Penguins 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-Not a lot going on with either teams' offense that period. The Sharks controlled the play for the most part.

-San Jose has a 6-3 lead in shots.

-Michalek leads the game with two shots.

-It's probably not a good thing that Cooke, Goligoski and Zigomanis were the only Penguins to record shots.

-Marc-Edouard Vlasic leads the game with 7:53 of ice time.

-Malkin leads teh Penguins with 7:12.

-San Jose has a 7-6 edge in faceoffs.

-The great Mike Zigomanis is 3-for-4.

-Rob Scuderi and Letang each have two blocked shots.

-EN Reader Dax Arguello of Saratoga, Calif. is at the game and spotted this Winter Classic Malkin jersey:

-Potash interviews the great Mike Zigomanis:

-Potash is everywhere. He unearthed what is believed to be the only known picture of Brooks Orpik smiling:

-Errey gives the Cow Palace some love.

SECOND PERIOD

19:04: Staal cruises through the Sharks defense along the left wing and chops ash

18:43: Vlasic zips a shots through traffic. Sabourin hangs on for the save. A classic photo of Errey in an old-school Sharks jersey is shown:

18:25: Pascal Dupuis blasts a slapper from the left wing. Nabokov makes a spectacular glove save.

18:08: Thornton works his way down the right side with the puck. As Malkin hooks him. Thornton gets a weak shot off. Sabourin makes the save.

17:42: Ryan Clowe fires a risting wrister high. Sabourin fights it off.

17:11: Pavelski fires a loose puck from in the slot. It bounces around a bit before Sabourin covers it.

16:33: Blake tees us a big slapper from the point. Despite traffic Sabourin makes a save.

16:08: Malkin's penalty expires.

14:26: Mihalek takes a lead pass into the offensive zone and slides a backhander on to the net. Sabourin makes the save.

14:22: Right off the faceoff, the Sharks blast a big slapper from the right point. Sabourin gloves it. The Sharks have 15 shots to the Penguins' four.

14:05: Thornton directs a shot on net. Sabourin makes another save.

12:46: Dupuis dumps Pavelski in the slot. Two minutes.

11:50: Clowe punches a rebound on net. Sabourin is slightly out of place but is able to kick it out.

11:21: Pavelski works his way through the defense and dishes a quick pass to Mihalek in the slot. Mihalek has a wide open shot but clunks it off the crossbar. The Sharks are totally controlling play.

10:39: Malkin and Dupuis move up on a two-on-one. Malkin dishes the puck and the Sharks player gets a piece of it. Dupuis still gets the pass but he doesn't have much to work with and he fires a bad shot into a Sharks player. Malki has to shoot that.

10:02: Crosby puts a shot off the crossbar.

9:29: Crosby works it up into the Sharks' zone. He slides a cross ice pass to Satan who blasts a one-timer. Nabokov moves over and kicks the shot out.

8:57: Boyle sneaks in on a nifty passing play and whips a wrister towards a seemingly wide-open net. Sabourin is able to dive and make a huge glove save. Sabourin is the reason this game is only 1-0. The Sharks are totally outplaying the Penguins right now.

8:53: The Penguins are getting outshot 21-6 at this point. Yeesh.

8:41: Errey drops a "best shape of his life" comment in regards to Sabourin. Mario Lemieux unimpressed.

7:51: Lukowich fights off a check from Cooke.

7:20: Crosby works the puck behind the net and spots Letang moving from the point. Crosby zips a feed into the slot but Nabokov knocks it away.

6:41: Grier crunches Goligoski in the corner.

6:33: The great Zigomanis fires a slapper low. Nabokov makes the easy save.

4:50: Grier chops a loose puck from the corner into the slog. Sabourin covers it.

4:38: Dupuis feeds Malkin a puck. Malkin fights off a check and puts a weak shot on net that Nabokov has some trouble with, but he still keeps it out.

4:16: Officials review Malkin's shot to see if it went over the goal line. No goal.

3:38: Steigerwald seems to enjoy saying "Zzzzigomanis" a little too much for our comfort.

3:09: Thornton pushes a wide open shot wide of the net.

2:59: Sabourin gloves a shot from the point. Ruslan Fedotenko leaves the Penguins bench and heads to the locker room with the team's equipment manager Dana Heinze.

2:19: Setoguchi fires a quick shot from the slot. Sabourin makes a big leg save.

1:53: Setoguchi drops Malkin in the neutral zone.

0:40: Christian Ehrhoff tosses a shot on net from the left point. Sabourin knocks it down and covers. Grier digs for a rebound but no dice.

0:00: End of period. Sharks 1, Penguins 0.

-Where ever the Penguins go after this game, they all need to buy Dany Sabourin a beer. If it weren't for him, this would be a 4-0 game. San Jose is completely dominating this game in every aspect but the scoreboard.

-If you're reading along, congratulations. You're part of history. This is only the second live blog in EN history that has gone past midnight. The other one was some game that Petr Sykora scored in late last season.

-San Jose has a 25-8 advantage in shots.

-Blake, Clowe, Michalek and Thornton lead the game with three shots each.

-Thornton is 9-for-10.

-Malkin and the great Mike Zigomanis lead the Penguins with two each.

-San Jose has an 18-13 lead in faceoffs.

-Scuderi leads the game with 15:54 of ice time.

-Ehrhoff leads the Sharks with 15:39.

-Scuderi leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Is it us or does Penguins assistant coach Andre Savard look like Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter?

(Photo: Dennis Cook/Associated Press)

THIRD PERIOD

17:48: Cooke tags Clowe with a hit. This has easily been Cooke's best game as a Penguin.

16:42: Crosby brings the puck into the offensive zone and is surrounded by blue jerseys. Without anything to do, he loses the puck.

14:30: Right off the faceoff, the Sharks put a quick shot on net. Sabourin makes a big save. Sorry if the updates this periods have been light. We were looking for a photo of Arlen Specter.

12:53: Lukowich tags Cooke in fron tof the Sharks' bench.

12:31: A shot by Murray from the point is deflected wide.

12:17: Staal fire a shot that gets deflected out of play.

11:08: Thornton controls the puck near the net, turns and tries to shoot but he's hooked by Crosby. Two minutes. The Sharks could put this game away for good here.

9:44:  Marleau rips a wrister that hits the post. The Penguins are catching some breaks tonight.

9:08: The Penguins dodge a bullet and kill Crosby's penalty.

8:59: Crosby comes out of the box and brings the puck up ice. The tries to feed the puck to Dupuis in the slot but a Sharks player deflects it away. You need to get  a shot on net somewhere there.

8:48: Clowe is called for hooking. Big opportunity for the Penguins here.

8:22: As Crosby brings the puck into the offensive zone, Fedotenko is called for interference on Pavelski. We'll have four-on-four for 1:35.

8:02: Crosby throws the puck towards the net. Letang is there to attempt a re-direct.

7:39: Cheechoo re-directs a shot on net. Sabourin stands his ground.

7:08: Grier takes the puck in the slot, goes to the backhand and whips a shot by Sabourin on the gloves side. The fake "Hey Song" is played. It was four-on-four there, but San Jose looked like it was on the power play. Sharks 2-0.

6:48: Clowe's penalty expires. The Sharks will have a 25-second power play.

6:22: Fedotenko's penalty expires.

5:33: Fedotenko makes up for his gaffe on the power play and gets the Penguins on the board. The Penguins get the puck behind the Sharks' net and outwork the Sharks for possession. Crosby ends up punching it on net from the side. Nabokov makes the save but gives up a rebound. Fedotenko jumps on it and gets the goal. See what some hard work will get you? Sharks 2-1.

4:10: Eaton tries to toss a shot on net from the right point. Clowe blocks it.

3:56: Tyler Kennedy whips a wrister on net from the corner. Nabokov covers it up.

3:38: Fedotenko shoots the puck from nearly the same spot. Nabokov fights it off with his blocker.

2:45: Orpik tags Setoguchi with a big hit.

2:33: Roenick blasts a slapper from the right wing. Sabourin kicks it out.

2:06: Clowe tosses a shot on net from the right point. Sabourin gloves it.

1:49: Any momentum the Penguins had was just nullified. Cooke is called for high sticking Lukowich. Errey calls it a terrible call even though replays clearly show Cooke's stick conking Lukowich in the face.

0:50: Sabourin leaves the net for an extra attacker.

0:00: End of game. The fake "Hey Song" plays. Sharks 2, Penguins 1.

POSTGAME

-Wow. That was ugly. Except for a five-minute spurt at the end, the Penguins were completely outworked in this game. There might be games where the puck doesn't bounce your way or you run into a hot goaltender, but anytime you're outworked, you're going to get beat.

-Dany Sabourin was clearly the best Penguins player tonight. This could've been a 6-1 game.

-We know it's a fairly obvious comparision considering Sharks coach Todd McLellan was an assistant coach with the Red Wings last season, but did that game remind anyone else of some of the Penguins' Stanley Cup final games last season? The Sharks controlled the puck for the most part. They kept it away from the Penguins. San Jose seemingly kept getting to every loose puck. And they were dominant in the faceoff circle. It was a little eerie.

-Yeah, it's still only October. There's still a lot of games to play. But it was pretty clear which team in this game was the legit Stanley Cup contender. But like we said. It's still October. A lot can and will happen between now and March.

-It hard to imagine Maxime Talbot or Hal Gill making a big difference in this game.

-Were we the only ones to notice how slow Mark Eaton looked?

-Did anyone notice Petr Sykora at all?

-San Jose dominated in shots, 34-11.

-Dan Boyle, Cheechoo and Michalek led the game with four shots each.

-The only Sharks skaters who failed to record a shot were Marleau (that's kind of surprising), Tomas Plihal, Shelley and McGinn.

-Malkin and Zigomanis led the Penguins with two each.

-Vlasic led the game in ice time with 24:43.

-Scuderi led the Penguins with 24:41.

-The Sharks dominated the faceoff circle also, 30-16.

-Thornton was nearly automatic going 12-for-13.

-The great Mike Zigomanis was the only Penguin over 50 percent going 7-for-12.

-San Jose's 8-2-0 start is the best in the franchise's history.

-Crosby had an assist on Fedotenko's goal. It was his 307th career point as a Penguin, 19th most in the franchise's history. He moved past Lowell MacDonald on the team's career scoring list. Randy Carlyle is 18th with 323.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights.

No Talbot tonight - 10-28-08

Maxime Talbot (above) is not expected to play tonight in San Jose due to an undisclosed injury. Paul Bissonnette will take his place in the lineup.

Hal Gill who has missed the past two games due to a hand injury is also expected not to play tonight.

(Photo: Talbot-Doug Benc/Getty Images)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Northeast Division

-Senators forward and former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu is a joke apparently. Just ask Sabres forward Adam Mair who tried to confront Ruutu in the bowels of HSBC Arena last night.

About the Sharks 10-28-08

A preview of the Sharks.


 
Record: 7-2-0

Leading Scorer: Patrick Marleau 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists).

Last Game: 3-0 win at Tampa Bay Saturday.

Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 shootout win at Pittsburgh, Feb. 24.

Sharks Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Ryane Clowe. He has a goal in each of his past three games.

Ex-Penguins: Todd Richards, assistant coach (He is the former coach of the AHL Penguins).

Useless Sharks Trivia: Former Penguins forward Pat Falloon, who was San Jose's first ever first-round pick in 1991, is still ninth among the Sharks career scoring leaders with 162 points.

Best Sharks YouTube Video We Could Find: Jeremy Roenick scored his 500^th career goal last season. It was a total joke:

 
NOTES:

-Dany Sabourin is expected to start tonight for the Penguins.

-The Sharks recalled forward Jamie McGinn from Worcester of the AHL.

-Forward Brad Staubitz was demoted to Worcester.

-San Jose forward Marcel Goc is questionable with an unspecified injury.

-For the first time in Sharks history, the two defending Stanley Cup finalists will play in San Jose in back-to-back games. The Red Wings play at HP Pavilion Thursday.

-Sidney Crosby is fairly anonymous in San Jose.

-The Confluence of the Three Rivers has a preview as well.

-Yahoo! will provide streaming video of tonight's game to those within the United States but outside the Pittsburgh and San Jose market. Click here to watch. (Kudos to EN reader T.J. McAloon for the heads up.)

-Our live blog begins at 10:30 p.m. Suck down some Surge and stay up with us.

-That's our Sharks Starter jacket from eighth grade in the above photo. That jacket changed the course of the 1992-93 scholastic year at Norwin Junior High West.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins



-Maxime Talbot (above) wants to be a leader. Just not a well-groomed one necessarily.

-Mark Eaton didn't have a good game in New York Saturday.

-The Penguins signed defenseman Alex Grant to a three-year entry-level deal. He was the team's fourth-round draft pick in 2007.

-The Penguins are the 18^th largest team in the league.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach Dan Bylsma likes Wendy's. And Bill Thomas.

-A used car dealer who used to work for former Penguins forward John Cullen is in some hot water.

Atlantic Division

-Chris Drury scored his first two goals of the season and led the Rangers to a 4-2 road win against their rivals, the Islanders.

-The Devils put forward Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston, their two big free agent signings in the offseason, on injured reserve.

-New Jersey coach Brent Sutter said the hit Islanders forward Doug Weight put on his son, Hurricanes forward Brandon Sutter, was dangerous.

-If Weight's hit took place during an NFL game, his team would be penalized 15 yards.

-The Islanders unveiled their new "old" third jerseys. Bill Guerin modeled the duds :



-Why have they ever gone away from this look?

-Could the Islanders be moved?

-With Rick DiPietro on the shelf with another injury, the Islanders recalled goaltender Yann Danis and defenseman Brett Skinner from Bridgeport of the AHL.

-The Flyers will not return rookie defenseman Luca Sbisa to his junior puppy-drowning team.

-Philadelphia is a doing a fathers' trip.

-Shockingly, it's not just the Flyers fans that are disgusting pigs. The Phillies fans are too.

Northeast Division

-The Senators got two goals and an assist from Jason Spezza in a 5-2 win at Buffalo. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Ottawa.

-Ottawa forward Mike Fisher had a "fight" with Sabres defenseman and Pittsburgh native Mike Weber last night:

 
-Weber was called up from Portland of the AHL due to an injury to defenseman Henrik Tallinder.

-Sabres goaltender and former Penguin Patrick Lalime appeared in his 400^th career game last night.

-Dennis Wideman's overtime goal gave the Bruins a 1-0 win at Edmonton. Tim Thomas made 27 saves in the shutout.

-The Maple Leafs announced they will not return rookie defenseman Luke Schenn to his junior team.

-Sabres defenseman Teppo Numminen's health is no longer an issue.

Southeast Division

-The Hurricanes recalled forward Dwight Helminen from Albany of the AHL.

-Carolina goaltender Cam Ward is trying to extend his career record in Montreal to 8-0-0.

-Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has taken a leave of absence to tend to his ill grandfather.

-Thrashers general manager Don Waddell blames his team's attendance problems on just about everything other than his mismanagement of the franchise.

-Atlanta forward and former Penguin Colby Armstrong (right) was checked for a potential concussion.

-Apparently, part of Ryan Malone's big contract with the Lighting involves him helping promote the owner's lame horror movies:

 
-The Lightning denied a report that owner and former Penguins forward Len Barrie is diagramming plays in the locker room.

Central Division

-Shootout goals by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg gave the Red Wings a 3-2 win at Los Angeles. Detroit's Marian Hossa scored a goal for the third consecutive game. He has four goals in his past three games. You know, the Penguins should've tried to sign this guy or something in the offseason.

-Hossa's a pretty good defensive player too. AND he was named the NHL's third star of the week. Fire Ray Shero.

-Detroit reunited the Grind Line.

-The Blue Jackets put goaltender Pascal Leclaire on injured reserve and removed forward Jared Boll from the list.

-Last night's game against the Ducks, produced the Blue Jackets' lowest attendance ever.

-The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Cam Barker from Rockford of the AHL.

-Having gone through a similar situation with forward Alexander Semin, the Capitals can relate to the Predators' problems with forward Alexander Radulov.

Northwest Division

-Mikko Koivu assisted on all of the Wild's goals in a 3-2 defeat of the Blackhawks. At 6-0-1, Minnesota is the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss.

-Canucks forward Rick Rypien is dealing with a sports hernia.

-They still don't like Flames forward Todd Bertuzzi in Denver.

-Behold the amazing sight that is the Oilers' throwback jersey. Dwayne Roloson (right) and company wore them last night. The Oilers could be cleaning out horse stalls while wearing these masterpieces and we would still post a photo of it.

Pacific Division

-The Ducks got a goal and an assist each from Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and won at Columbus, 3-2. Anaheim has won four consecutive games.

-Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Zubov will be returning to the Stars' line up soon, but he won't fix all of Dallas' problems.

-The Coyotes need to rebound against the Penguins Thursday.

Patrick Division

-Scoring is back to the pre-lockout levels. Remember the "new" NHL?

-A player from Minnesota State (no not that one) scored a natural short-handed hat trick. Geez.

-Should empty netters count? We certainly hope so.

(Photos: Talbot-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Drury-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Guerin-New York Islanders; Armstrong-Mike Zarilli/Getty Images; Roloson-Jimmy Jeong/Canadian Press)