Marc-Andre Fleury, trendsetter

Goaltenders are notoriously finicky when it comes to their equipment. They will fret endlessly over seemingly minor things such as a strap for a leg pad or how much tape they have on the butt ends of their sticks.

So when Marc-Andre Fleury changed from his flamboyant signature yellow pads to his quieter docile white ones, lots of folks were somewhat shocked. Fleury was almost defined by those pads. 

While recovering from the ankle injury he suffered last season, an eye doctor from Ottawa informed him that such a change would make it harder for shooters to locate holes to shoot at since the white pads wouldn't contrast much against white netting and boards.

Considering he took his team to the Stanley Cup final, it's hard to argue with the results. And some folks are noticing. Most notably, the Bruins goaltenders have followed Fleury's lead and are taking on the whiter look.

According to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe, Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez and Tuuka Rask are all sporting white pads now.

No word yet if any of the three are planning on sporting Ethan Hawke-esqe facial hair in the near future however.

(Photos: Jim Rogash/Getty Images; Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is already taking shots on Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur.

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced their 10^th anniversary team as selected by fans. Colby Armstrong, Dennis Bonvie, Tom Kostopoulos, Alaine Nasreddine and John Slaney were chosen as was Michel Therrien as the team's coach.

-Individual game tickets for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins go on sale Sept. 22.

-The promotional schedule for the Wilkes-Barres/Scranton Penguins was released. Check out the sweet Michel Therrien bobblehead to the right.

(Photo: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)

-The Bleacher Report ranked Mario Lemieux 199-point effort in 1988-89 as the second best individual season ever.

-Faceoff Factor thinks it's a make or break season for Penguins prospect Keven Veilleux.

Northeast Division

-New Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson, ever the expert on winning games when they matter during his tenures in San Jose and Washington, blasted past Toronto leadership for losing games late.

-A presale for Bruins single-game tickets is underway and will last until Sept. 12. Click here for the password. The Penguins play in Boston Oct. 20 and Jan. 1.

-RDS, the French Canadian version of TSN, will make a streaming broadcast of every Canadiens game available on its Web site this season.

Southeast Division

-Former Lightning coach John Tortorella ripped his former team's new owners.

-The Hurricanes appear to be going with a darker look in regards to their third jersey.

Central Division

-The Red Wings will offer single-game ticket sales beginning Sept. 19. Assuming you have access to some sort of urban assault vehicle, the Penguins play there Nov. 11.

-Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom is already taking pucks in the face.

-Red Wings and former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin is used to new surroundings.

Smythe Division

-The Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL re-signed defenseman Mike Knight.

-Former NHLPA overlord Bob Goodenow has been consulting the KHL.

-What are the chances Kansas City could score a NHL franchise?

Stone ready for the NHL?

Tom Venesky of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader has a good piece today on Penguins prospect Ryan Stone, the team's second-round draft pick in 2003.

Basically, it explains that after years of waiting for his opportunity, this is Stone's best chance to stick with the Penguins full time. It's also probably his last chance. Should he not make the team out of training camp, he would need to clear waivers in order for the team to send him back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

From our vantage point, we think the Penguins need Stone. He's a physical player with some decent size (6-foot-2, 199 pounds) who can play a power forward type of game. Plus Stone doesn't mind getting his knuckles bloody. He had ten fights between the NHL and AHL last season. He also seems to have a healthy dislike for the Flyers organization which certainly won't hurt his cause:

Additionally, Stone can provide offense on occasion:





("Softer than yogurt" might be the greatest call ever.)

Considering the losses of Adam Hall, Georges Laraque, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu, Stone, a restricted free agent after this season, is exactly the player the Penguins need to compliment the finesse of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora and others. He won't make Penguins fans forget Ruutu or Roberts, but he's certainly capable of replacing some their toughness.

If nothing else, Stone's presence on the roster would be something of a rarity for the Penguins. Only a handful of players drafted in the second round by the Penguins have played at least 82 games for the team. And none of them have been "recent" selections. Stone and Alex Goligoski (2004), each have a chance to change that trend and end the franchise's "curse" of poor second-round picks.

A look at every second-round pick in the history of the franchise and how many regular season games they suited up for in a Penguins jersey:

Player	Year drafted	Games Played
Greg Malone	1976	495
Russ Anderson	1975	353
Wayne Bianchin	1973	264
Colin Campbell	1973	243
Jim Hamilton	1977	95
Steve Gatzos	1981	89
Todd Charlesworth	1983	86
Rick Kessell	1969	83
Jacques Cossette	1974	64
Paul Marshall	1979	59
Matt Murley	1999	59
Richard Park	1994	58
Tim Hrynewich	1982	55
Bernie Lukowich	1972	53
Shane Endicott	2000	45
John Stewart	1970	40
Lee Giffin	1985	27
Noah Welch	2001	27
Rusty Fitzgerald	1991	25
Ron Snell	1968	7
Dave Capuano	1986	6
Brian McKenzie	1971	6
Ryan Stone	2003	6
Mike Meeker	1978	4
Pavel Skrbek	1996	4
Alex Goligoski	2004	3
Dominic Pittis	1993	1
Rick Tabaracci	1987	1
Brian Gaffaney	1997	0
Michael Gergen	2005	0
Marc Hussey	1992	0
Paul Laus	1989	0
Mark Major	1988	0
Ondrej Nemec	2002	0
Johannes Salmonsson	2004	0
Carl Sneep	2006	0
Jeremy Van Hoof	1999	0
Keven Veilleux	2007	0
Alexander Zevakhin	1998	0

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Penguins forward Sidney Crosby was awarded with an Order of Nova Scotia Award. To us, that sounds like something you would give someone you would trust in defending your land from marauding invaders.

-The Sidney Crosby Show found a picture of the award.

-The NHL will be using that "Is This They Year?" campaign again in its advertising. Crosby will be featured in the national ads.

-The Penguins' center ice design won a contest over at Icethetics.

-The Hockey News is holding a tournament involving the logos of seemingly any organized hockey team in existence. The Penguins aren't doing too well in the first round. You can vote here. (Kudos to EN Reader Jennifer Nelson of Virginia for the find.)

-Tiger Woods? Roger Federer? Brett Favre? They're only half as good as Janne Pesonen.

-Former Penguins goaltender Paul Harrison was awarded with a Commissioner's Comendation from the Ontario Provincial Police.

-EN Reader Jarrett Rathke of Milwaukee noticed something rather... um... unoriginal... about the logo of HC Slovan Bratislava a team in the Slovak Extraliga, Slovakia's highest professional hockey league:

 

That use to the Capitals' shade of blue is a complete rip off.

Atlantic Division

-Former Flyers forward Eric Lindros explained why he won't be attending a puppy-drowning ceremony at the Spectrum.

Northeast Division

-The Senators signed former Canucks forward Brad Isbister to a one-year two-way deal.

-Apparently, Empty Netters is a good source for amateur hockey news in Western New York.

Southeast Division

-The Thrashers signed 2008 first-round pick Zach Bogosian.

-The Hurricanes will unveil their third jersey next week.

-Forward Jeff O'Neill isn't exactly a lock to make the Hurricanes roster this season.

-The Lightning's season ticket sales are down this year.

Central Division

-The Blues signed 2008 first-round pick Alex Pietrangelo. He is a cousin of former Penguins goaltender Frank Pietrangelo.

-Red Wings coach Mike Babcock isn't planning on playing forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the same line together.

-Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard got to spend a day with the Stanley Cup.

Northwest Division

-The Canucks will retire the jersey of former captain Trevor Linden.

-New Canucks enforcer Darcy Hordichuk spent some time with mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell.

-Former Wild forward Mark Parrish is still looking for work.

Pacific Division

-The Kings signed restricted free agent forward Jarett Stoll to a four-year deal worth $14.4 million. Stoll's rights were acquired from Edmonton in a June trade.

-New Sharks defenseman Rob Blake wishes he were five years younger.

Norris Division

-The KHL is mad at the NHL again.

-Remember when the NHL cited rising ticket prices a reason for staging the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season? We don't either.

Rob Ray vs. Josef Melichar

It actually happened.

 
This fight took place early in the 2001-02 season according to Hockeyfights.com.

We don't know what's more pathetic; Melichar's fighting ability or those hideous red Sabres jerseys.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Penguins' Web site has some schedule wallpapers available. (Kudos to The Sidney Crosby Show for spotting that.)

Atlantic Division

-Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro sounds like he's ready for a new season.

-Today's NHL owner with some legal issues is the Islanders' Charles Wang.

-In case you missed out on Ben Roethlisberger's Denali, Devils forward Zach Parise has an old Tahoe up for sale.

Northeast Division

-Former Flames forward Stephane Yelle signed with the Bruins.

-The Canadiens are investigating playing an outdoor game in 2009.

-The Sabres added two minority owners.

-Former Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin will not make up his mind on coming back to a NHL injury list in 2008-09 until after the season starts.

Southeast Division

-Capitals prospect Chris Bourque, the son of NHL hall-of-famer Ray Bourque, is determined to play in the NHL this season.

-Former Lightning goaltender Pat Jablonski suffered a back injury while body surfing. By the sounds of things, Jablonski was surfing off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico the same day Hurricane Gustav was doing its thing. Charles Darwin not available for comment.

Central Division

-The Predators will only have 55 games on local television next season.

-Here's another reason to love the Stanley Cup: It gives you an excuse to skip school.

Northwest Division

-The NHL ruled Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe did not tamper with Ducks forward Corey Perry.

-Canucks enforcer Darcy Hordichuk won't be hanging out with Michael Vick anytime soon.

Pacific Division

-If the Ducks want to bring back Teemu Selanne, they need to clear some room under the salary cap.

-The Coyotes will only have 61 games on local television next season. If the NHL wants to help some of its struggling teams in non-traditional markets like Phoenix, Nashville, Miami or Raleigh, it might want to figure out a way to get more games on local television. Having fewer than 75 games available on a local affiliate is sad. Could you imagine the Penguins or the Wild or any Canadian team not having a game available on television in some fashion?

Adams Division

-It didn't take former Islanders goon Chris Simon long to show off his "talents" in the KHL:



-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Darcy Verot displayed some of his abilities too:

 

-Former Hurricanes forward Jeff Hamilton signed with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

Youth hockey association buys the Ice Bowl, literally

Many hockey fans dream of skating on the same rink as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or any other professional hockey player. The youth of East Aurora, N.Y. will acutally get to do it.

According to EastAurora.org the Aurora Ice Association has purchased the rink used on that snowy day in Orchard Park, N.Y.

"The Aurora Ice Association has obtained possesion (SIC) of the actual rink and that was used for the Winter Classic event held at Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1st, 2008 between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Specifically, they have purchased the same tubing that was used for the game and are looking at other items to purchase through the same vendor including the chiller, dasherboards, glass and zamboni."

The article goes on to explain that the AIA hopes to open the outdoor rink in November and keep it going through March and it plans on using it for open skating, skate and shoot sessions and practice for local hockey teams.

So basically, you can skate on the thing too if you feeling like making the three and half hour trek from Pittsburgh to East Aurora.

No word yet if NHL ice guru Dan Craig is included in the purchase.

(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Pittsburgh Puck Talk wonders what the best throwback Penguins jersey is.

-The Wheeling Nailers signed former Ferris State defenseman Jeremy Scherlinck.

-The Pensblog scored a photo of would-be vice president Sarah Palin sporting a Penguins jersey. We're so not voting for John McCain knowing his running mate supports the Reebok Edge-Super-Duper-Mega-Ultra-Awesome-Humungo-Women-Will-Want-You Uniform System jerseys.

Atlantic Division

-Eric Lindros pretty much gave the Flyers the middle finger in response to their request he be involved in a puppy-drowning ceremony to honor the Spectrum.

Southeast Division

-The Panthers officially traded defenseman Mike Van Ryn and a draft pick to the Maple Leafs for defenseman Bryan McCabe.

-The Capitals will retire the jersey of former forward Mike Gartner.

-Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour is back.

 Central Division

-The Predators have suspended forward Alexander Radulov indefinitely for signing with a team in the KHL.

-With former Penguin Ty Conklin expected to be the Red Wings' back up next season, Jimmy Howard will probably spend the season with Detroit's AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.

-Former Penguins forward Marian Hossa is looking to get an early start on his Red Wings career.

 Northwest Division

-The Canucks traded forward Ryan Shannon to the Senators in exchange for defenseman Lawrence Nycholat. The balance of power in the NHL has clearly shifted now.

Pacific Division

-The Stars put together a nice tribute video to former forward and former Penguin Stu Barnes.

-Former Sharks goaltender Wade Flaherty will play in China next season.

Smythe Division

-Jeff Z. Klein of The New York Times has a pretty good preview of the KHL's season.

-Someone put together a nice map of every KHL franchise. (Kudos to Rangers Pundit for the find.)

-Former Winnipeg Jets star Thomas Steen is running for office in Canada as a Conservative.

-Does wearing black make you a more aggressive player?

Sarah Palin cares not for thuggish left wingers

We've finally uncovered Sarah Palin's dirty secret. She hated the Minnesota North Stars.

Deadspin unearthed this gem of Palin, then known as Sarah Heath, doing the sports report for KTUU-TV in Anchorage, Alaska. If you forward to the 2:09 mark of the video, Palin unloads into the North Stars who were the NHL's worst team in 1987-88 but were one of the league's most penalized squads:

So with all her other issues that have been brought up, Palin now must accept the nomination as the Republic Party's candidate with her intolerance for rough and tumble left winger Basil McRae in front of a hostile group of Minnesota hockey fans in Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

We can't help but wonder if her anti-Richard Zemlak stance was fully disclosed to John McCain's people when they initially approached her for the position.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Penguins' roster on their Web site has a few changes to some jersey numbers. Mark Eaton is now No. 7 instead of No. 3. Jeff Taffe is now No. 22 instead of No. 38. And Alex Goligoski is now No. 13 instead of No. 67.

-Are the Penguins in a better position now than they were last summer?

-Someone with the NHL cares not for Penguins-themed lamps.

-The Confluence of the Three Rivers asked some questions. We (and some others) answered them.

Northeast Division

-New Canadiens forward Alex Tanguay is happy to be a Hab.

Southeast Division

-The Panthers are expected to trade defenseman Mike Van Ryn to the Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Bryan McCabe today.

-Kevin Allen of USA Today thinks the Lightning overpaid for defenseman Andrej Meszaros.

Pacific Division

-Forward Teemu Selanne says he wants to play for the Ducks again. 

Meszaros joins Tampa Bay

 

The Senators traded the rights of restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defensemen Filip Kuba, Alex Picard and a 2009 first-round draft pick originally obtained from the Sharks earlier this offseason in a deal that sent Dan Boyle to San Jose.

EN Says: While it's nice to see the Lightning finally address its needs on defense, Tampa Bay gave up a bit too much. Additionally, the Bolts gave up two players at a position they were short at to begin with.

Meszaros is a solid, well-rounded player who has the potential to be a No. 2 defenseman. But he's not worth what the Senators got for him.

The Senators made the best out of a bad situation and in the process filled a few holes on their blue line after having lost Wade Redden, Mike Commodore and now Meszaros in the offseason. That said, their blueline is a lot worse off than it was at the end of the season.

First-round draft picks, regardless of where they fall, are always good to stockpile.

(Photo: Tom Hanson/The Canadiens Press)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Apparently Penguins general manager Ray Shero held things up for Tampa Bay in the Meszaros deal.

Atlantic Division

-The Flyers have approached former captain Eric Lindros about a puppy-drowning ceremony in honor of the Spectrum.

Northeast Division

-La Press is reporting the Canadiens will retire the jersey of former goaltender Patrick Roy.

Southeast Division

-Excluding any national appearances, the Hurricanes will only have 65 games shown locally on television. And this was your Stanley Cup champion two years ago. Could you imagine... oh say... the Hartford Whalers.... (just off the top of our heads)... only having 65 games on television?

-Another day, another Capitals blogger not feeling too much love for us. 

Central Division

-Former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin skated with some of his new Red Wings teammates.

Adams Division

-With Stars forward Stu Barnes retiring, there are only seven former Winnipeg Jets still in the NHL.

-Alaska governor Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, is a hockey mom.

-The Dayton Bombers of the ECHL got some good publicity out of Palin's announcement yesterday.

Lucky 13

Without question, the Penguins' most successful decade on the ice was the 1990s. It saw two Stanley Cup wins, a Presidents' Trophy win, a streak of playoff appearances that began in 1991 and extended until 2001, Peter Ahola, and numerous personal accomplishments from the likes of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and others. If 90210, gangsta rap, NAFTA and the Penguins were your thing, the 1990s were a happy time for you.

When Stars forward Stu Barnes announced his retirement yesterday, a little bit of that era died because Barnes was one of the few still-active players in the NHL who wore the Penguins' jersey in the 1990s.

With Barnes hanging up his skates and Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka taking their games to Europe, the number of former 1990's Penguins still in the league has dropped to 13. And that includes folks such as Glen Murray and Jean-Sebastien Aubin who are currently unrestricted free agents.

A look at those 13 still left from the Penguins' greatest decade:

 

Player, Position	Current team	Status
Jean-Sebastien Aubin, G	Free Agent	Spent time with the Kings and Ducks last season.
Andrew Ference, D	Bruins	Played in only 59 games last season due to injuries.
Alex Kovalev, RW	Canadiens	Led Montreal in scoring last season with 35 goals and 84 points
Patrick Lalime, G	Sabres	After splitting time in Chicago with Nikolai Khabibulin in 2007-08, Lalime joined Buffalo in the offseason as a free agent.
Robert Lang, C	Blackhawks	Has reached the 20-goal mark four of the last five seasons.
Glen Murray, RW	Free Agent	The Bruins bought out his bloated contract this offseason.
Markus Naslund, LW	Rangers	Naslund joined the Rangers this offseason after spending 12 seasons in Vancouver. He is the Canucks' career leader in points (756) and goals (346).
Petr Nedved, C	Rangers	After playing in the Czech Republic last season, Nedved will go to camp with the Rangers on a tryout basis.
Richard Park, RW	Islanders	The second Korean-born player in NHL history, Park is one of the Islanders' best penalty killers.
Mark Recchi, RW	Lightning	After spending time with the Penguins and Thrashers last season, Recchi signed with the Lightning in the offseason. He is the only member of either of the Penguins' Cup-winning teams still in the NHL.
Michal Rozsival, D	Rangers	Since he joined the Rangers in 2005, Rozsival's 108 points are fourth-most with the Blueshirts.
Bryan Smolinski, C	Free Agent	After spending last season in Montreal, Smolinski remains a free agent this offseason.
Sergei Zubov, D	Stars	Zubov is still one of the league's most talented defenseman. He played in only 46 games due to injury last season.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed forward Bryan Ewing and defensemen Elgin Reid and Brock Sheahan.

Northeast Division

-The Hockey News is reporting restricted free agent Senators defenseman Andrej Meszaros has signed an offer sheet with an unidentified team.

-Bruins forward Milan Lucic is a fan of Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

-Former Flyers defenseman Eric Weinrich will join the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, as an assistant coach.

Southeast Division

-Only 65 of the Panthers' games next season will be shown on local television next season. Florida might seriously be the most dysfunctional team in the NHL.

-The Panthers haven't won a single playoff game since they traded Stu Barnes to the Penguins in 1996.

-Capitals owner Ted Leonsis did not care for our criticism of his team's fans.

Central Division

-Former Penguins forward Tim Brent signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks.

-Red Wings and former Penguins forward Marian Hossa is expected to skate on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom next season.

-Defenseman Chris Chelios and forward Darren McCarty will officially return to Detroit next season.

-The Blue Jackets will bring in former Hurricanes forward Shane Willis on a tryout basis.

Northwest Division

-Canucks goaltender Curtis Sanford picked 10 finalists in a contest to design his mask.

-The Oilers would've committed salary cap suicide if they signed former Penguins goon Georges Laraque.

-Need help paying those student loans in this wintry economic climate? Good with kids? Have skating ability? The Minnesota Wild might have a job for you.

Pacific Division

-The Kings signed 2008 first-round pick Colten Teubert to an entry-level deal.

-Former Penguins defenseman Gord Dineen says Ducks forward Bobby Ryan is ready for the NHL. Ryan was the second overall pick in the 2005 draft after Sidney Crosby.

-Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick is the fourth greatest video game athlete of all time.

Norris Division

-Could the KHL be a bigger threat to the AHL than the NHL?

See ya Stu

 

Former Penguins forward Stu Barnes ended his 16-year NHL career today as he announced his retirement. He will become an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars, a team he has played for since the 2002-03 season. Barnes had dealt with concussion problems last season.

Barnes was a solid, responsible two-way player who had a fairly productive, but short career with the Penguins. After being acquired along with defenseman Jason Woolley from the Panthers in exchange for former first-round bust Chris Wells, he punched in 17 goals and 22 assists in 1996-97 during Mario Lemieux's first "final" season. His most productive season in the NHL came with the Penguins in 1997-98 (the first season of the Kevin Constantine regime) as he hit career highs in goals (30) and points (65). Only Jaromir Jagr (102) and Ron Francis (87) had more points with the Penguins that season.

After hitting the 20-goal mark in 64 games the next season, the Penguins dealt him to the Sabres in exchange for antagonist Matthew Barnaby.

While with the Sabres, Barnes scored a pretty dramatic overtime goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Penguins.

Barnes' 136 career points with the Penguins are the 55th most in franchise history.

(Photo: BBC Sports)

Stay off the Island

To say the least, the Penguins have had simply awful luck against the Islanders in the postseason.

At least once in the past three decades, the Penguins' season has come to a heartbreaking end at the hands of the Islanders.

We're all familiar with the most recent defeat. David &$@#! Volek and the 1992-93 Islanders pulled off perhaps the NHL's biggest upset when they beat the President Trophy-winning Penguins in a seven-game series in 1993.

And lots of us are familiar with the 1974-75 Islanders who came back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Penguins. Anytime a team takes a 3-0 lead in a playoff series, the announcers seemingly have an obligation to say, "Well you know, the last time a team came back from a 3-0 deficit..."

But not a lot of Penguins fans are all that familiar with the 1982 Islanders.

Having won the Stanley Cup the previous two springs, the Islanders were in the midst of their dynasty. They had supplanted the Canadiens as the best team in the league. A preliminary series against the lowly Penguins was surely a mere bump in the road right?

After the first two games of the series, it sure seemed so. The Islanders out-scored the Penguins 15-3 in the first two contests of a five-games series. A win in Game Three seemed like a mere formality.

The Penguins managed to pull out a 2-1 overtime win in Game 3 (thanks to Rick Kehoe's overtime goal) and evened things up in Game 4 with a 5-2 win.

With 5:27 remaining in Game 5, the Penguins owned a 3-1 lead over the powerful Islanders. Then everything pretty much caved in. A goal by Mike McEwen made it 3-2. Then with 2:21 left, Tonelli kept the Islanders' hope for a three-peat alive by tying the game.

At 6:19 in overtime, Tonelli broke all sorts of hearts in Pittsburgh:

The Islanders would go on to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup title and the Penguins wouldn't reach the postseason again until 1989.

So with only one playoff left this decade, we assume the Penguins will meet the Islanders in the spring of 2009 in order to keep this "one-playoff-defeat-a-decade" thing going. And we also assume the series will go the distance. Game 7 will come to an end on a goal by Sean Bergenheim. Mark it down.

(If you're wondering why we're writing about an old Islanders postseason win in August, this video just happened to be posted recently on YouTube. We spotted it and went with it.)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-2K Sports, the creator of NHL 2K9, isn't wasting too much time worrying about Sidney Crosby's playoff beard.

-Janne Pesonen bleeds black and gold.

Atlantic Division

-Mark Messier's son, Lyon, was invited to the Rangers' rookie camp.

Central Division

-The Blue Jackets will honor their late owner, John H. McConnell, with a commemorative patch next season.

-Blues forward Brad Boyes had 43 goals last season, but no one noticed.

Northwest Division

-New Flames forward Todd Bertuzzi complained about the lack of ice time he got with the Ducks last season. Apparently the Ducks have this crazy idea that overrated, lazy, broken down, pieces of trash aren't supposed to get 20 minutes or more a game.

-Avalanche captain Joe Sakic still wants to play.

-In a shocking bit of news, Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg is still having issues with his feet.

Pacific Division

-The Sharks signed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to a four-year contract extenstion.

-San Jose will bring former forward Jeff Friesen in on a tryout basis.

-The Ducks signed former Blue Jackets forward Joakim Lindstrom to a one-year deal.

Adams Division

-Apparently, not everyone in Canada is crazy about watching hockey fights on television.

-James Mirtle examines the best NHL players by jersey numbers.

-Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies scored an interview with the Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik.

Sakic returns

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic announced today he will return for his 20th NHL season. He signed a one-year deal worth $6 million with the only NHL franchise he's dressed for. After playing in only 44 games last season, Sakic had been pondering retirement.

EN Says: This is great news. Joe Sakic is a pure joy to watch for a hockey fan. Even at 39, he's still a threat to hit the 100-point mark in the "new" NHL. (He reached that total in 2006-07). He's still capable of averaging a point per game. Assuming he stays healthy, he has an outside shot at surpassing Mario Lemieux for seventh place among the NHL's all-time scoring leaders.


If you aren't joyous over this news, your not a hockey fan. (Or you're a Canucks fan.)

(Photo: The Quebec Nordiques Unofficial Home Page)

 

Capitals eager for your business

As reported by Sean's Ramblings, by way of Greg Wyshynski, the Capitals are now charging $15 extra for their two "home" games against the Penguins at the Verizon Center next season.

To clarify things, according to Sean's Ramblings, should you buy individual tickets to this game directly from the team, it will cost you $15 more because it's considered a "premium" game. If you have season tickets with the Capitals, you get to keep your $15 which will allow you to get two burritos at that Chipotle inside the "phone booth."

Having been to three of the last four Penguins' "home" games in Washington the past two seasons, we understand why the Capitals are doing this. The amount of Penguins fans in the arena for all of those games was staggering. And we have to assume it had to somewhat embarrassing for Capitals fans and officials.

The straw that probably broke the camel's back was the March 9 contest between the two teams that lots of folks remember best for Nicklas Backstrom's "goal:"

If there was a time for the Capitals to show they were playing in a real hockey town, this was it. A high profile rival was in town. The game was nationally televised on NBC. The Capitals were making a desperate push to reach the postseason. And they had the best player in the sport scoring goals at a pace the league hasn't seen in over 10 years. This was their moment to shine.

And Penguins fans, from Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., took it away from them.

They didn't exactly take control of the Verizon Center, but we'd estimate at least 40 percent of those in attendance that day would back Sidney Crosby in the seemingly endless Crosby-Ovechkin (or is it Ovechkin-Crosby?) debate.

The Capitals claim they're doing this to keep those ugly purple seats filled with red jerseys. Seeing how involved the team's owner Ted Leonsis is with operating his team, we can believe that motivation somewhat. But let's get real.

Leonis didn't become rich by thinking solely with his heart. He's a businessman. The Capitals have increased ticket sales for the upcoming season, but these two games against the Penguins will be one of the few occasions a Capitals game will be the event in a busy city. He's going to strike when the iron's hot.

So yeah, getting those tickets might be a little tougher than they have been the past three seasons. But considering how many tickets were available on StubHub and other ticket broker sites for the March 9 game, Capitals season ticket holders will probably be more than willing to help you again in 2008-09.

Considering how loyal some of their "fans" are, you can't blame the Capitals for going down this path. Other teams like the Sabres have already taken this route. And before you point a finger at the Capitals in scorn, ask Red Wings fans about how tough it was getting tickets for Stanley Cup final games at Mellon Arena.

(Photo: Gary Cameron/Reuters)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Penguins prospect Robert Bortuzzo will be out at least a month due to a shoulder injury.

-The Penguins will hold a prospect camp beginning Sept. 9 in Kitchener, Ontario.

-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice takes a look at the camp's roster.

-The Wheeling Nailers acquired defenseman Elgin Reid from the Elmira Jackals in exchange for forward Steve McJannet.

-Penguins prospect Casey Pierro-Zabotel (that name will be fun to live blog if he ever makes the team) is one of four players vying for three "over-aged" rosters spots with his junior team, the Vancouver Giants.

-Eddy Spaghetti is wondering if wearing a Jaromir Jagr jersey is officially considered a throwback.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers forward Simon Gagne is ready to play and drown puppies after suffering from concussion problems last s