Penguins
-Dan Bylsma wants the Penguins to be aggressive.
-A video of Bylsma's press conference from yesterday.
-Chris Minard knows what Bylsma is all about.
-Bylsma was very popular with his players in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
-The Penguins will need some help to make the playoffs. Gene Collier won't be surprised if the Canadiens and/or Rangers offer it.
-Ray Shero or Michel Therrien. Who do you want?
-Therrien gave an interview to Bob Pompeani of KDKA-TV:
-Therrien also talked to TSN's "Off the Record."
-Today's "Would-be Penguins owner potentially in legal trouble" story is brought to you by Jim Balsillie.
Atlantic Division
-Injured Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (arm) is hoping to return to the lineup Feb. 26 against the Avalanche.
-New Jersey defenseman and former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is dealing with an "upper-body" ailment.
-Islanders coach Scott Gordon is pretty high on forward Frans Nielsen.
-Forwards Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo (right) are two big reasons for Islanders fans to have hope.
-How big is the Rangers' game against the rival Islanders tonight?
-The Philadelphia Phantoms went all 1930s Ottawa Senators on their jerseys.
Northeast Division
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Drew Stafford had two goals and led the Sabres to a 4-1 win at Toronto.Teammate Daniel Paille added a goal and an assist while Tim Connolly had two assists. The Sabres are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 66 points, six more than the Penguins who are in 10th place.
-Why is it the Maple Leafs can slaughter the Penguins with ease but are just totally
inept against the other teams battling for the Eastern Conference's
final playoff spots? They are 3-1-0 against the Penguins this season. Against the Sabres (1-3-0), Hurricanes (1-2-1), Panthers (0-2-2), Rangers (1-0-1) and Canadiens (2-2-0), they are a combined 5-8-4.
-Goaltender Ryan Miller showed why he's important to the Sabres last night.
-It's been a good 2009 for Buffalo forward Drew Stafford.
-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each had a goal and an assist for the Bruins in a 5-1 win at Carolina. Tim Thomas made 31 saves for the Bruins who are the first team in the league to reach 40 win this season. Boston snapped a four-game losing streak. The Hurricanes are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 51 points, one more than the Penguins.
-The Canadiens are doing their darndest to help the Penguins.
They are leaving struggling former Penguins forward Alex Kovalev (right),
arguably their most talented player, home for their game in Washington tonight and a contest in Pittsburgh Thursday. Habs general manager Bob Gainey bluntly said, "The team doesn't need him the way he's playing now."
-Gainey also had a very cryptic quote about whether or not Kovalev is on the trading block stating, "This is the trading season."
-In addition to Kovalev's benching, the Habs demoted forward Sergei Kostitsyn to Hamilton of the AHL and recalled forward Gregory Stewart.
-Defenseman Ryan O'Byrne was also demoted to Hamilton.
-Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette says Gainey is handing Montreal's slump in the right fashion.
-Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! says the Habs are in full-out panic mode.
-James Mirtle wonders if the Canadiens are partying too much.
Southeast Division
-Scoreboard watch for the Penguins: Tomas Vokoun made 36 saves and led the Panthers to a 4-0 shutout of the Devils. Stephen Weiss and Richard Zednik each had a goal and an assist for Florida which won for the fourth time in its past five games. New Jersey had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Panthers are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 66 points, six more than the Penguins.
-The Panthers are 13-4-3 since Jan. 3.
-If Florida is serious about making a playoff run, they need to hang on to free-agent-to-be defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
-The Hurricanes retired the No. 2 of former defenseman Glen Wesley (right) before last night's game.
-Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason is dealing with a hand injury.
-The Lightning recalled defenseman Ty Wishart from Norfolk of the AHL.
-The Capitals demoted defenseman Karl Alzner and forward Jay Beagle to Hershey of the AHL.
-Forward Eric Fehr has made the most out of his opportunity with the Capitals.
-Washington defenseman Mike Green isn't giving up his record-setting stick quite yet.
-Tampa Bay forward and former Penguin Adam Hall had a fight with Chicago's Adam Burish last night:
-Zach Bogosian and Nathan Oystrick are the future on defense for the Thrashers.
-Things are just peachy with the Thrashers' ownership group. One of the investors in the group, Bruce Levenson, labeled another investor, Steve Belkin, as "evil."
-Unavailable for comment:
(Photos: Okposo-Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images; Kovalev-Mike Stobe/Getty Images; Wesley-Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images; Skeletor-Photobucket)
(Note: How awesome is it we credited a Skeletor image?)
Posted
Feb 18 2009, 12:18 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh