Empty Netter Assists - 4-12-09

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. Time to get familiar with the Flyers again.

Note: Per the article, if the Flyers get home-ice advantage, the series would likely start Thursday due to Fleetwood Mac concert which is scheduled to be held in the Wachovia Center Wednesday.

-Go your own way:

-The Associated Press' recap. Sidney Crosby never thought his team would have a chance at home-ice advantage.

-The Penguins' goals:

-The Montreal Gazette's recap. Carey Price was strong.

-Price's absurd save on Matt Cooke:

-The Penguins had plenty of motivation to win last night.

-How did Dan Bylsma turn around the Penguins?

-"Sydney Crosby" shot a playoff promo for TSN:

-Back in February, did you honestly believe the Penguins would qualify for the playoffs?

-Paul Bissonnette had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 loss to the Norfolk Admirals.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will meet the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

-Kelly Cup Playoffs: Bryan Ewing had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 7-3 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones. Wheeling owns a 2-1 series lead.

Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist for the Flyers who edged the Islanders, 3-2. Martin Biron made 30 saves in the win. New York has lost six of its past seven games. The Flyers are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 99 points, just as many as the fifth-place Penguins. They have a tiebreaker on account of having played fewer games.

-Aweseome Photos of the Day: Islanders forward Richard Park and former Penguin Richard Park flashing a nice hockey smile:

-Islanders goaltender Yann Danis spitting water:

-The Flyers are a tough team to figure out.

-Philadelphia has six players with 25 or more goals.

-You are all Rangers fans today.

-Islanders forward Kyle Okposo returned to the lineup after missing four games due to a groin injury.

-The Islanders will get a big boost this summer with the drafting of either John Tavares or Victor Hedman.

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Brian Rolston recorded two assists and led the Devils to a 3-2 defeat of the Hurricanes. Carolina, which will face New Jersey in the first round, got two goals from Anton Babchuk. The Hurricanes finished the season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 97 points, two less than the fifth-place Penguins who have 99 points.

-Rangers coach John Tortorella likes that his club will be starting the playoffs on the road in Washington.

Northeast Division

-Thomas Vanek had two goals and an assist for the Sabres who routed the Bruins, 6-1. Teammates Tim Connelly and Matt Ellis each added a goal and an assist while Andrej Sekera recorded two assists. Mikael Tellqvist made 33 saves in the win.

-The loss cost the Bruins a chance at the NHL's best record.

-The Bruins can't quit the Habs.

-After missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, Sabres minority owner Larry Quinn pledged to review his organization.

-Remember when the Battle of Ontario meant something? Boyd Devereaux's (right) hat trick helped the Maple Leafs beat the rival Senators, 5-2. Teammate Niklas Hagman added two goals while Matt Stajan and Lee Stempniak each recorded two assists. Martin Gerber made 37 saves in the win against his former team.

-Martin Gerber screwed up the Senators one last time.

-The Maple Leafs recalled forward Tim Stapleton from their AHL affiliate.

Southeast Division

-David Booth had two goals and three assists for Florida in a 7-4 defeat of the Capitals. Michael Frolik added a goal and two assists for Florida while teammate Bryan McCabe added a goal and an assist. Alexander Semin led Washington with a goal and two assists. Washington's Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist and finished with 110 points, three fewer than league leader Evgeni Malkin.

-Twenty minutes after this game, workers at BankAtlantic Center began destroying the ice.

-Fire. Ray. Shero. Colby Armstrong had two goals and led Atlanta to a 6-2 rout of the Thrashers. Ron Hainsey added a goal and an assist for Atlanta while teammates Marty Reasoner and Rich Peverly each recorded two assists. Kari Lehtonen made 33 saves in the win. Tampa Bay finished its season with a nine-game losing streak.

-Armstrong actually finished the season with 22 goals.

-The Trashers ended their season strongly.

-Panthers owner Alan Cohen said general manager Jacques Martin's job is safe.

-Florida forward Stephen Weiss needs wrist surgery.

-"A fair amount of players in that room aren't NHL players — right now." Lightning coach and former Penguins forward Rick Tocchet on his team's roster.

Central Division

-Andrew Ladd recorded a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks in a 4-2 defeat of the Red Wings. Teammates Brian Campbell and Martin Havlat each added two assists for Chicago which had won five of its past six games.

-Detroit got a really raw deal on this game-winning penalty shot goal by Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien:

-As you could tell, the Red Wings wore their throwback Winter Classic jerseys.

-The Blackhawks recalled forward Jacob Dowell from Rockford of the AHL.

-The only match-up determined in the Western Conference is No. 4 Chicago vs. No. 5 Calgary. The Blackhawks went 4-0-0 against the Flames this season.

-Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are ready for the playoffs:

-Marian Hossa's agent, Ritch Winter, said the salary cap won't be an issue in terms of his client re-signing with the Red Wings.

-The Blue Jackets failed to clinch the No. 6 seed last night.

-Some Columbus fans waited outside Nationwide Arena starting at 12:30 a.m. Saturday for playoff tickets.

-Blue Jackets forward Derick Brassard is hoping to make a return to the lineup for the playoffs. He has been sidelined since Dec. 18 due to a shoulder injury.

-Columbus forward Andrew Murray is dealing with a hamstring injury.

-Nashville's failure to make the playoffs will impact its bottom line.

-Predators captain Jason Arnott wants free agent to be forward Steve Sullivan (right, No. 26, with Arnott) to stay in Nashville.

-Blues overlord John Davidson made a point to reuinite his team with his community.

Northwest Division

-An overtime goal by Henrik Sedin gave the Canucks a 1-0 win at Colorado and secured the Northwest Divisioin title for Vancouver. Roberto Luongo made 22 saves in the shutout. Vancouver, which finished the season on a three-game winning streak, also clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

-In the final Battle of Alberta for the season, Mike Cammalleri had two goals and an assist for the Flames who beat the rival Oilers, 4-1. Craig Conroy added a goal and an assist while Curtis McElhinney made 35 saves for his first NHL win. It was the first win by a Calgary goaltender this season other than Miikka Kiprusoff. From the "life isn't fair" department, Edmonton's Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 41 saves and lost.

-In what potentially could be his final game in a Wild uniform, Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist for the Wild in a 6-3 win at Columbus. Teammates Kurtis Foster and Mikko Koivu each recorded a goal and an assist. Minnesota won four out of its final five games.

-After the game, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire announced his resignation. He was the first and only coach in Wild history.

-Lemaire set a pretty high standard in Minnesota.

-Could former Penguins coach Kevin Constantine replace Lemaire?

-The Avalanche has taken a pretty big tumble from its glory days.

Pacific Division

-Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist for the Kings who edged the Sharks, 4-3. Teammate Davis Drewiske added two assists. Devin Setoguchi had a goal and an assist for San Jose which won the the Presidents' Trophy despite the loss.

-Shootout goals by Steven Reinprecht, Shane Doan and Viktor Tikhonov gave the Coyotes a 5-4 win against the Ducks. Reinprecht (right, No. 28, with Scottie Upshall) had two goals and two assists in regulation while Doan and Keith Yandle each recorded two assists. Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves in the win against his former team. Teemu Selanne led Anaheim with a goal and an assist.

-The Ducks will meet either the Sharks or Ducks in the first round.

-Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne came through on his promise to get his team to the playoffs.

-The Coyotes went with too many young players this season.

-The Stars demoted defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy to Peoria of the AHL.

NCAA Men's Tournament

-Colby Cohen's overtime goal gave Boston University a thrilling 4-3 win against Miami, Ohio in the NCAA championship game.

-Highlights:

(Photos: Park and Danis-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Devereau-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Sullivan-Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press; Reinprecht-Christian Petersen/Getty Images)