Penguins
-How many games is Brent Johnson (above, with Phoenix's Petr Prucha) expected to play in?
-Jay McKee, who leads the league in blocked shots, has fit in quite well with the Penguins.
-Consol Energy Center is expected to be finished by Aug. 1.
-Forward Andrew Lord has turned into a leader for the Wheeling Nailers.
-Shameless Plug: We'll be appearing on Penguins Live at 9 a.m. on the Penguins' HD Radio Station, 105.9 HD2. Click here to listen in.
-Shameless Plug Update: The station is having some technical issues. We're hoping to be on after 10 a.m.
-Happy 60th birthday to former Penguins enforcer Dave "The Hammer" Schultz. Schultz, far more renown for his time with the Flyers, led the NHL in penalty minutes with 405 in 1977-78, his first season with the Penguins.
-It must be a good day to born be a meathead. Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Billy Tibbetts. After a trade that sent him to the Flyers, Tibbetts, a convicted statutory rapist, allegedly threatened former teammate Eric Meloche over the phone.
Atlantic Division
-Devils forward Patrik Elias is getting close to returning to the lineup from his groin injury. New Jersey pays a visit to Mellon Arena next Saturday.
-Injured Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro (knee) faced some pseudo actual live shots in practice yesterday.
-Rangers forward Brian Boyle, a failed first-round pick with the Kings, is trying to get his career on track in New York.
-Have a $375 burning a hole in your pocket? Well here's your chance to go hunting with former Flyers' goaltender Bernie Parent (above).
(Kudos to Illegal Curve for the find.)
-In other news, Bernie Parent is looking a lot like Kenny Rogers these days.
-The Scott Hartnell hunting trip is still in the works:
-We think.
-Speaking of Hartnell, he and a number of his teammates tailgated before the Eagles' game Sunday:
-We really have nothing else to add about Hartnell.
-From the "What Took So Long" department, the Flyers will induct former goon Dave Schultz into the team's hall-of-fame. You'd think he would've been inducted into that franchise's hall of fame a long time ago.
Northeast Division
-Two goals by Thomas Vanek helped the Sabres rout the Red Wings, 6-2. Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta each recorded a goal and an assist while Derek Roy contributed three assists for Buffalo which did lose Vanek to an "upper-body" injury. He is expected to miss "weeks" of playing time according to Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.
-Buffalo's highlights with the incomparable radio calls of Rick Jeanneret:
-The Canadiens recalled defenseman Shawn Belle from Hamilton of the AHL.
-Montreal forward and former Penguin Georges Laraque asked Habs management if he could switch from No. 17 to No. 27, a number he has worn is every other NHL city he has played in. His request was denied because "the team thought it wouldn't be good" for Alex Kovalev fans, a former Penguin who left the Canadiens this offseason as a free agent. Kovalev wore No. 27 during his time in Monreal.
-For a player who doesn't do much, Laraque sure gets into the news a bunch. He apologized for appearing in an advertisement for an alcoholic energy drink that featured several half-naked women. Laraque apologized for the sexual overtones of the commercial as well as violating a part of the league's CBA which prohibits players from endorsing alcohol.
-The Maple Leafs are one loss away from tying their worst start in franchise history.
-This goal by Colorado pretty much explains the Maple Leafs' season. Defenseman Mike Komisarek, the team's biggest free agent signing this past summer, went for a big hit on Colorado forward Ryan O'Reilly but missed. Komisarek scrambled to get back into position and had the puck hit off his head and bounce into the net:
-We don't care if they've been bad for for the past five seasons. The Maple Leafs could be bad for 100 years and we'll never have sympathy for them.
-It wasn't all bad for the Maple Leafs. Check out this Scuderiesque effort in net by Toronto defenseman Ian White:
Southeast Division
-By the sounds of things, the Lightning plans on keeping 19-year-old forward James Wright on their roster instead of returning him to his junior team.
-We're all for enviromental causes and everything, but this just reeks of desperation by the Lightning:
-What's next? "Display the Ability to Breathe Oxygen Night?"
-Former Lightning defenseman Marek Malik has joined HC Vitkovice in the Czech Republic.
-Thrashers captain Ilya Kovlachuk is off to a fast start this season.
-Even if his team is struggling, Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore has been pretty sharp so far this season.
-Washington defenseman John Erskine ("upper body") and forward Boyd Gordon (back) are dinged up.
-Japer's Rink names the all-decade team for the Capitals. Sergei Gonchar makes the cut on defense.
-The Chicago Wolves, the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, released former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Brendan Buckley.
Central Division
-Two assists from Rick Nash helped the Blue Jackets claim a 2-1 win against the Flames. Steve Mason (above, with Calgary's Jarome Iginla) made 22 saves in the victory.
-Columbus' Jared Boll went at it with Calgary's Brandon Prust:
-Check out the kid banging the glass at the early part of the fight. An usher comes down and tells him to get back to his seat. What a jerk.
-Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin got a little too much torque on his stick:
-The Blackhawks demoted forward Jack Skille to Rockford of the AHL. This is the fourth straight day Skille has been moved between Chicago and Rockford. This is being done for salary cap concerns.
-Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin returns to Chicago tonight where his former team, the Blackhawks, are having issues between the pipes. The Blackhawks let Khabibulin leave as a free agent this past offseason.
-The Predators demoted forward Triston Grant to Milwaukee of the AHL.
-Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood called his team's loss last night one of the worst during his time with the Red Wings.
Northwest Division
-David Jones, John-Michael Liles and Darcy Tucker each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 4-1 win at Toronto. Craig Anderson made 30 saves for Colorado. The Maple Leafs are now 0-5-1.
-Colorado's David Koci, a former Penguins prospect, had a heck of a tilt with Toronto's Colton Orr:
-The Maple Leafs actually played a tribute video for Tucker who used to play in Toronto.
-The Wild placed forward Cal Clutterbuck on injured reserve due to a sprained ankle. With Clutterbuck and former Penguins forward Petr Sykora (groin) down, Minnesota recalled former Penguins forwards Andy Hilbert and Nathan Smith from Houston of the AHL.
-How has Minnesota enforcer Derek Boogaard rehabbed from his concussion? Why... boxing of course.
-With defenseman Sami Salo down for at least a month due to a knee injury, the Canucks are going to rely on new defenseman Christian Ehrhoff quite a bit. Especially on the power play.
-Vancouver demoted forward Guillaume Desbiens to Manitoba of the AHL.
-The Springfield Falcons, the Oilers' AHL affiliate, released former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Adam Henrich from his professional tryout agreement.
Pacific Division
-We can't find any news from the Pacific Division, so... here's a video of current Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato, then of the Rangers, driving former Kings tough guy Marty McSorley nuts:
-Two Marty McSorley videos today. How about that?
(Photos: Johnson and Prucha-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Parent-eBay; Hartnell-Philadelphia Flyers; Lightning-Tampa Bay Lightning; Mason and Iginla-Jay Laprete/Associated Press; Tyutin-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Posted
Oct 14 2009, 01:52 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh