Penguins
-Sidney Crosby might want to avoid fighting given the injuries to teammates like Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar.
-Speaking of Crosby and fighting, his opponent in Saturday's bout, Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky (above, with Crosby), admitted that he didn't have his jersey tied down.
-Does Alex Goligoski merit some consideration for the United States' Olympic roster?
-A reader sends an epic jersey foul to The Pensblog.
-This guy apparently thought there was a White 'Aht' for Saturday's game:
(Kudos to Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies for the find.)
-By the sounds of things, the Wheeling Nailers are on the verge of some significant changes.
-"The doctors told me that I needed less than three months to recover from. I need time to decide if I want to pursue my career." - Former Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis on a knee injury he suffered in a KHL game earlier this season.
-Former Penguins forward Bryan Smolinski signed with the Flint Generals of the IHL.
-You haven't met a Penguins fan quite like Derry native Pat Celesnik.
-Happy 40th birthday to former Penguins enforcer Jim McKenzie. McKenzie was acquired in a trade that sent forward Mike Needham to the Stars at the 1994 deadline.
Atlantic Division
-Jeff Carter and William Wallace Mike Richards each had two goals and an assist for the Flyers in a 6-2 romp of the Lightning. Jon Voight Scott Hartnell added a goal and two assists while teammate James van Riemsdyk recorded three assists.
-Forward David Laliberte also scored a goal for the second consecutive game. He became the first Flyers rookie to score in his first two NHL games since Eric Lindros in 1992.
-Laliberte chose an odd time to start a staring contest with teammate Ray Emery:
-Why is just about everyone on the Flyers' bench giving the stink eye to van Riemsyk and Carter:
-Emery didn't have trouble locating this shot by Lightning defenseman Andrej Meszaros:
-Meszaros was rolling his eyes at the Flyers' gossip circle:
-After 861 career games, Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt finally recorded the first two-goal games of his career in New York's 3-1 defeat of the Oilers. Captain Doug Weight recorded two assists for the Islanders who have won four consecutive games.
-Witt's goals:
-Witt's "shrug" reaction to the second goal is priceless.
-Witt's hair has apparently made it impossible for him to wear a helmet in a typical fashion:
-Yesterday's needless fight after a clean, legal hit is brought to you by Oilers forward Jean-Francois Jacque who jumped Islanders defenseman Andy Sutton after a check on Oilers defenseman Tom Gilbert:
-Jacque was given an instigator and and a 10-minute misconduct for the fight.
-Islanders forward and former Penguin Jon Sim either lost some teeth or he's went all "Hartnell" on someone despite only having one tooth:
-A couple of cool shots of the Islanders' bench:
-Flyers forward Simon Gagne is expected to miss six to eight weeks following hernia and abdominal surgery.
-Devils forward Patrik Elias resumed practicing for the first time since offseason hip and groin surgeries.
Northeast Division
-Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel could to make his Toronto debut against the Lightning tonight. Acquired from the Bruins in a preseason trade, Kessel missed the first month of the season due to a shoulder injury.
-According to RDS, the Canadiens will recall defenseman Mathieu Carle from Hamilton of the AHL to replace former Penguins defenseman Hal Gill who injured a foot after getting hit by a shot in practice.
-The Canadiens demoted their last remaining Kostitsyn - Andrei - to the fourth line.
-After being shut out by the Rangers Sunday, the Bruins have combined former Penguins forward Mark Recchi (right) with Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm on the team's top line.
Southeast Division
-The Capitals officially listed forward Alex Ovechkin as "week-to-week" with an "upper-body" strain.
-IMG, a little agency that represents some guys named Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, has signed a deal with Ovechkin.
-And yet another franchise star player goes down. Hurricanes forward Eric Staal is expected to miss some games due to an "upper-body" injury. Staal will have a consecutive games streak of 349 games snapped.
-"Tonight was an alarming message where we are going." - Lightning coach and former Penguins forward Rick Tocchet ripping his team after yesterday's loss in Philadelphia.
-No wonder Martin St. Louis and the Lightning can't score. They don't keep their eyes open when the shoot:
-"I didn’t want to have stitches because I really don’t like needles that much." - Thrashers forward and former Penguin Colby Armstrong explaining why he prefers to glue cuts on his face shut.
Central Division
-And yet another franchise star player goes down. Predators defenseman Shea Weber is expected to miss one to two weeks due to a foot injury.
-"It’s got to be a rule. If I’m looking to my left and someone’s coming
from my right — if he hits me, it’s his responsibility to hit me from
the shoulder down." - Red Wings general manager Ken Holland explaining his position on hits to the head.
-Injured Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews, left, and Adam Burish apparently have a problem with their pets' heads falling off:
-Speaking of Toews, he has yet to return to the ice after suffering a concussion Oct. 21 in Vancouver.
-Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek is going all Jaromir Jagr with his hair.
Northwest Division
-After forward Michael Grabner tore ankle ligaments in a pregame soccer warm-up, the Canucks signed forwrd Matt Pettinger from their AHL affiliate in Manitoba.
-Could the hot start of Avlanche goaltender Craig Anderson merit him a spot on the United States' Olympic roster.
-Flames coach Brent Sutter went all Herb Brooks on his team after back-to-back home losses at home.
Pacific Division
-Two goals and two assists from Ryan Smyth (above) helped the Kings come back for a 5-3 win at Phoenix. Teammates Anze Kopitar added a goal and two assists while Drew Doughty contributed a goal and an assist. Captain Shane Doan led the Coyotes with a goal and an assist.
-Yesterday's second needless fight after a clean hit is brought to you by Kings forward Raitis Ivanans who went after Coyotes forward and former Penguin Paul Bissonnette after a hit to Kings forward Brad Richardson:
-Kudos to Bissonnette for landing a nice hit on a much larger opponent.
-Ivanans was not given an instigator despite the fact he started the fight.
-Two good photos of this fight:
-Lots of cool photos from this game.
-Phoenix's Scottie Upshall reacted negatively to the halitosis of teammate Adrian Aucoin:
-Anze Kopitar stretching:
-Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick stretching:
-Faceoff:
-Coyotes goaltender Jason LaBarbera in the spotlight:
-The Kings during the national anthem:
-Phoenix's Taylor Pyatt taking the ice:
-Phoenix's Keith Yandle and his shadow:
-A U.S. Bankruptcy Court officially approved the sale of the Coyotes to the NHL. The league eventually hopes to sell to another owner who will keep the team in Arizona.
-"He understands positioning, he understands what he’s doing." - Coyotes coach and former Penguins forward Dave Tippett on Bissonnette.
-The Sharks demoted forwards Logan Couture and Jamie McGinn to Worcester of the AHL.
Adams Division
-Is the NHL's condensed schedule the reason for all of the injuries.
-Has the NHLPA become a joke?
(Photos: Crosby and Zidlicky-Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Emery, van Riemsdyk, Emery, Meszaros and St. Louis-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Witt, Sim and Islanders bench-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Recchi-Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press; Toews and Burrish-Chicago Blackhawks; Smyth, Bissonnette first, Aucoin, Kopitar, Quick, faceoff, LaBarbera, anthem, Pyatt and Yandle-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Bissonnette second-Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press)
Posted
Nov 03 2009, 01:52 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh