The Penguins, hockey and more, by Seth Rorabaugh.
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Penguins
-Dave Molinari's recap from last night. Mark Eaton called the loss embarrassing.
-The Globe and Mail's recap. As if the loss wasn't bad enough for the Penguins, it turns out they got beaten by an injured Vesa Toskala.
-The National Post's recap.
-The Toronto Star's recap.
-Here's Ruslan Fedotenko's fight with Toronto's Andre Deveaux:
-EN reader Lowell Murray spotted a Kendrell Bell Steelers jersey at last night's game:
-We're pretty sure that's a jersey foul regardless of the sport.
-Jeff Taffe is scared of Sidney Crosby.
-Could the economy hurt negotiations with Jordan Staal?
-Marc-Andre Fleury has pulled into first place for Eastern Conference goaltenders in the All-Star Lame Game voting.
-Tommy Goebel had two goals for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 defeat of the Albany River Rats. Janne Pesonen added a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while Ryan Whitney contributed an assist. John Curry made 25 saves in the win.
-By all accounts, Ryan Whitney played well last night.
-Janne Pesonen likes eating reindeer.
-Rob Sirianni had two goals and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-4 road win against the rival Johnstown Chiefs. Teammates Jordan Morrisson had two goals while Bryan Ewing added three assists. Curtis Darling made 22 saves in the win.
-Is the Nailers' future in Wheeling in doubt?
Atlantic Division
-Scott Hartnell scored his second hat trick of the season and had an assist for the Flyers in a 7-1 romp of the Capitals. Teammate Jeff Carter added two goals and two assists while Joffrey Lupul had a goal and three assists. Philadelphia defenseman Matt Carle and Kimmo Timonen each had two assists. Antero Niittymaki made an amazing 47 saves in the win. He made 25 alone in the first period.
-Flyers forward Riley Cote got roughed up by Washington's Donald Brashear twice yesterday:
-Philadelphia forward Josh Gratton got a measure of revenge against Washington forward and former Penguin Matt Bradley:
-The Flyers recalled defenseman Randy Jones from a conditioning assignment with their puppy-drowning AHL affiliate.
-Can things get any worse for the Islanders?
-After failing to land forward Mats Sundin, the Rangers will focus on their defensemen.
Northeast Division
-So much for Alex Kovalev being in a goal-scoring slump. The former Penguins forward's overtime goal gave the Canadiens a 4-3 win against the Sabres. After failing to find the back of the net for 19 consecutive games, Kovalev has goals in his last three contests. Kovalev and teammate Alex Tanguay each finished with a goal and an assist. Sergei Kostitsyn led Montreal with two goals while Buffalo's Clarke MacArthur had a goal and an assist. Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves in the win.
-Manny Fernandez made 32 saves for the Bruins in a 4-2 defeat of the Hurricanes. Rod Brind'Amour led Carolina with two assists.
-Boston forward Patrice Bergeron suffered another head injury after a collision with Carolina defenseman Dennis Seidenberg yesterday:
-The Bruins put forward Marco Sturm on long-term injured reserve due to a knee injury.
-Jason Smith's overtime goal gave the Senators a 5-4 win against the Stars. Mike Fisher, Filip Kuba and Nick Foligno each recorded two assists for Ottawa. Dallas was led by Matt Niskanen and Brad Richards who each had a goal and an assist. Stars forward Jere Lehtinen returned to the lineup after missing 14 games due to a groin injury.
-Neither team had strong goaltending in this game.
-Montreal demoted goaltender Marc Denis to Hamilton of the AHL.
-Canadiens forward and former Penguin Robert Lang is enjoying a renaissance late in his career.
-Toronto's Jonas Frogren scored his first NHL goal last night.
Southeast Division
-In his first game since Oct. 30, Kari Lehtonen (right) made 33 saves and led the Thrashers to a 4-3 win against the Lightning. Tampa Bay was led by Martin St. Louis who had two goals and former Penguins forward Adam Hall who had one. Fire Ray Shero.
-Lehtonen came back in a big way last night.
-Lightning forward Martin St. Louis went off on his team last night.
-Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet feels bad for his team's fans.
-Lightning forward Jussi Jokinen cleared waivers.
-Today's "We Hate The Shootout" article is brought to you by Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times. We would argue Cristodero is forgetting the point of sports is to entertain and the shootout is one of the most entertaining aspects of the sport.
-Thrashers defenseman called Sidney Crosby "embarrassing" after the Penguins' captain punched him below the belt Thursday.
-Contrary to prior reports, Hurricanes forward and former Penguin Dan LaCouture is not heading to Russia.
-Washington coach Bruce Boudreau thought the Flyers ran the score up on his team yesterday.
-Capitals defenseman Tom Poti suffered a groin injury yesterday.
(Photo: Gregory Smith/Associated Press)