Empty Netters

Where have you gone Jay McKee? - 02-09-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:55:00 GMT

When the Penguins lost Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi in the offseason, one of Ray Shero's first priorities was to find a way to replace what they lost on defense. In Gill, he lost a towering physical presence. In Scuderi, he lost a positionally-sound shot blocker.

It was going to be tough to replace just one of those players let alone two.

Then came a long something of a hybrid in the two in the form of Jay McKee.

A veteran of many NHL battles, McKee offered combination of textbook fundamental defense, a willingness to block shots and some physical play too. He wasn't going to replace both players, but he brought elements Gill and Scuderi each possessed.

Early on in the season, McKee made Shero look brilliant once again. Teamed with the somewhat green Alex Goligoski, McKee was everything as advertised. He was one of the league leaders in blocked shots and he wasn't afraid to get his nose dirty in the high traffic areas. The bright spot of the season for McKee might've been in a 4-1 home win against Tampa Bay in which he blocked seven shots, several of which came with the game in hand. McKee's efforts led Dan Bylsma to seek him out in the locker room after the game and offer enthusiastic congratulation in front of his teammates and the media.

Roughly a month later, McKee was sidelined with a finger infection that caused him to miss six games. Since he came back to the lineup, McKee simply hasn't been as effective of a player. And the numbers back that claim up:

	Before Injury	After Injury
Games Played	21	30
Goals	1	0
Assists	4	5
Points	5	5
Plus/Minus	+5	+3
Shifts	440	621
Shifts Per Game	20.9	20.7
Average Time on Ice	16:32	15:33
Blocked Shots	68	59
Blocked Shots Per Game	3.24	1.97
Goals Allowed	19	29
Goals Allowed Per Game	0.90	0.97

Notes:

-The "goals allowed" statistics indicate how many opponents' goals McKee has been on the ice for in all situations, even-strength, power-play, shorthanded.

-Before his injury, McKee blocked four or more shots, eight times.

-Since his come back, McKee has not blocked more than three in a game.

-In each of the 21 games before his injury, McKee recorded at least one blocked shot.

-Since coming back, McKee has been "shut out" in blocked shots four times. In those games, the Penguins are 1-3-0.

The purpose of this post isn't to pin the Penguins' recent decline on defense on McKee soley. He's not the only one. It's fair to say everyone down from a certain hall-of-famer in Sergei Gonchar to journeyman Martin Skoula has seen a decline as the season has worn on.

But defense is pretty much the only element to McKee's game. And his game is slipping.

(Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Empty Netter Assists - 02-09-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:46:00 GMT

Penguins

-Speaking of missing defensemen, where have you gone Alex Goligoski (above)?

-PensBurgh wonders if there's something wrong on the blue line as well.

-What is the Penguins' biggest problem?

-Sunday's Penguins/Capitals game did a 1.3 overnight rating.

-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau suggested his team was at a disadvantage because it wasn't the one that had to fly to Newark and ride several hours through a blizzard to Washington D.C. Said Boudreau, "A bus ride has never hurt anybody."

-Boudreau is apparently not familiar with the 1986-87 Swift Current Broncos, the 2007-08 Elmira Jackals or the 2008-09 Albany River Rats.

-Mark Letestu doesn't mind the constant shuffling between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is dealing with a cut forearm.

-Happy 28th birthday to former Penguins forward Nathan Smith. A free agent signing in the 2007 offseason, Smith suited up for 13 games with the Penguins in 2007-08 before leaving in the following offseason. He is currently with the Houston Aeros, the Wild's AHL affiliate.

Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Chris Pronger had two assists for the Flyers who held off the Devils, 3-2. Michael Leighton (above, with teammate Lukas Krajicek) made 28 saves in the win. The Devils, who have lost four out of their past five games, are in second place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Atlantic Division with 74 points, two more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second place respectively.

-Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela scored a brilliant shorthanded goal then got demolished by Flyers forward Jeff Carter:

-Looked like a clean shoulder-on-shoulder hit to us. It looked like the real damage was done when Salmela's head hit the ice.

-Salmela claimed he doesn't remember anything about the goal.

-The Devils have lost five consecutive road games.

-New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire has pretty much given forward Ilya Kovalchuk (right) a green light to stay on the ice as long as he wants on power plays.

-Flyers goaltender Ray Emery might need surgery on his wonky hip.

-The Flyers want to host an All-Star Lame Game.

-The Islanders recalled forwards Jesse Joensuu and Matt Martin from Bridgeport of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-Bob Gainey (right) resigned as the Canadiens' general manager. Assistant general manager Pierre Gauthier, previously the general manager in Ottawa and Anaheim will take over for Gainey.

-The Canadiens recalled forward Tom Pyatt from Hamilton of the AHL and demoted forwards/Penguin killers Brock Trotter and Ryan White.

-With forwards Christian Hanson and Fredrik Sjostrom both dealing with an illness, the Maple Leafs recalled forward Nazem Kadri, their first-round pick in last year's draft, from London of the OHL, on an emergency basis and forward Andre Deveaux.

Southeast Division

-Hurricanes forward Tuomo Ruutu is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing 15 games due to an "upper-body" injury.

-The Lightning recalled defenseman David Hale from Norfolk of the AHL.

-Tampa Bay put forward Mark Parrish on recall waivers with the hopes of recalling him from Norfolk.

-The Capitals want to poke you on Facebook.

Central Division

-Detroit forward Johan Franzen (knee) is expected to return to the lineup tonight. He has been sidelined since Oct. 8.

-The Red Wings demoted defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen to Grand Rapids of the AHL.

Northwest Division

-Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists for the Avalanche in a 5-2 defeat of the Blues. Brandon Yip (above) scored two goals for Colorado while teammate Paul Stastny contributed a goal and an assist. Craig Anderson made 32 saves in the win.

-The Canucks recalled forward Jannik Hansen from Manitoba of the AHL.

-Vancouver's Sedin twins are in a "slump" having gone two games without a point.

-Canucks forward Pavol Demitra has left the team to attend to a personal matter.

Pacific Division

-Devin Setoguchi (above) had two assists and helped the Sharks edge the Maple Leafs, 3-2. Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves in the win which was San Jose's third in a row. Phil Kessel led Toronto with a goal and an assist.

-Check out the pass by Kessel to set up Tyler Bozak:

-Toronto's Colton Orr and San Jose's Jody Shelley had issues:

-Shelley's face appears to be having issues of its own:

-Matthew Lombardi had two goals and three assists and led the Coyotes to a 6-1 rout of the Oilers. Former Penguin Robert Lang added a goal and two assists while teammate James Vandermeer had a goal and an assist. Fire Craig Patrick. Ilya Brzygalov made 33 saves in the victory.

-Coyotes forward and former Penguin Paul Bissonnette went at it with Edmonton's Jason Strudwick:

-Cool Photo of the Night: Phoenix's Radim Vrbata beating Edmonton's Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers:

-Happy times for Lang and Ed Jovanovski:

-Awkward Photo of the Night: Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano taking a spill into the net:

-Edmonton's Mike Comrie had issues with Phoenix's Petr Prucha:

(Boy is that an odd fight.)

-Embarrassed times for Oilers fans:

-Corey Perry had a goal and two assists and led the Ducks to a 4-2 win against the rival Kings. Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an assist for Anaheim while former Penguin Ryan Whitney added two assists. Fire Ray Shero. The Kings had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

-Today in Bad Officating: Somehow, this wasn't a goal:

-Linesman Lonnie Cameron had to settle issues between Anaheim's Sheldon Brookbank and Los Angeles' Wayne Simmonds:

-Kings defenseman and former Penguin Rob Scuderi left the game due to an illness.

-"I think we were tired of losing to them." - Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer on beating the Kings for the first time in six games.

-Jordan Staal Olympic Watch: Ducks forward and Team Canada member Ryan Getzlaf suffered a left ankle sprain.

-The Stars officially activated forward Mike Ribeiro (throat) from injured reserve and recalled forwards Raymond Sawada and Francis Wathier from Texas of the AHL.

-Dallas forward Steve Ott (appendectomy) and defenseman Mark Fistric (knee) are expected to be sidelined through the Olympic break.

-"Hopefully soon ... so I can wash that blue and white out of my gear." - New Ducks goaltender Vesa Toskala on changing his Maple Leafs-themed equipment.

-The Kings activated Davis Drewiske (shoulder) from injured reserve. He had been sidelined since Jan. 4.

Norris Division

-"He couldn't cut it as a referee." - NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell on former NHL official Dean Warren. Warren, who was fired by the NHL in 2008, is suing the league to get his job back and is claiming he was fired for his work with the officials' union. Campbell, who was speaking publically on the issues, apparently didn't watch Sunday's Penguins-Capitals game.

-Boston College beat Boston University, 4-3, to claim the Beanpot Championship.

-Today would've been the 121sth birthday of Skene Ronan a defenseman/forward with the Pittsburgh Bankers of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League.

(Photos: Goligoski-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Devils/Flyers-Michael Perez/Associated Press; Gainey-eBay; Blues/Avalance-Jack Dempsey/Associated Press; Sharks/Maple Leafs-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Oilers/Coyotes-Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press; Kings/Ducks-Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)

Penguins demote Letestu - 02-08-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:02:00 GMT

The Penguins have once again demoted forward Mark Letestu (right) to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Letestu has been recalled and demoted several times this season to fill in for injuries on the NHL roster.

In seven NHL games this season, Letestu has one goal. In 37 AHL games this season, he has 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists).

EN Says: The Penguins probably won't know the status of Maxime Talbot's groin injury until tomorrow until the earliest. In the mean time, there's no sense in having Letestu on the NHL roster so he was demoted for salary cap purposes. If they need him for Wednesday's game against the Islanders, he'll just have to make that boring drive on the Turnpike once again.

Empty Netter Assists - 02-08-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:35:00 GMT

Penguins

-Shelly Anderson's recap from yesterday's game. "The kid's a baby. He does it all game long. I've got zero respect for the kid." - Brooks Orpik on Capitals forward Alexander Semin who Orpik hit with a high stick in overtime.

-The Washington Post's recap. As hard as it might be to believe, Alex Ovechkin (above, with Orpik) had the Capitals' first hat trick of the season.

-The Associated Press' recap. The Capitals' winning streak of 14 games is now tied for third-longest in NHL history.

-NHL.com's recap. "This is what hockey is all about." - Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau.

-Mike Lange's goal calls.

-Highlights courtesy of EN contributor Ghostwalker40:

-Dan Bylsma refused to blame his team's travel issues for anything.

-Capitals fans struggled to get to the Verizon Center.

-Washington general manager George McPhee had to take the Metro to work yesterday.

-Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said the NHL made the right call in not rescheduling the game.

-Hats galore for Ovechkin:

-Is Ruslan Fedotenko still cutting it as a top six forward (PG+)?

-Do the Penguins need to alter their defense?

-The new "Defy Ordinary" commercial:

-Meh.

-Inside Penguins Hockey with Mark Eaton and Craig Adams. Part 1:

-Part 2:

-Tim Wallace was officially demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

-Chris Conner and Nick Johnson each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who had their own 5-4 comeback loss to the Hershey Bears, Washington's AHL affiliate.

-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Andre Roy. A free agent signing following the 2004-05 lockout, Roy, worked as the Penguins' primary enforcer for parts of two seasons. In 2005-06, he appeared in 42 games recording three points and 116 penalty minutes. Roy would appear in five games in 2006-07 before being put on waivers and claimed by his former team, the Lightning.

-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Kelly Pratt. A free agent signing in the 1974 offseason, Pratt's NHL career amounted to 22 games with the 1974-75 Penguins. He recorded six points.

Atlantic Division

-This is a few days old, but check out this save Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made on New Jersey's Mike Mottau Saturday:

Northeast Division

-Tuukka Rask (above, with former Penguin Mark Recchi) made 36 saves and led the Bruins to a 3-0 shutout of the rival Canadiens. Marco Sturm had two goals for Boston while teammate Patrice Bergeron had two assists. Boston snapped a 10-game losing streak.

-Boston's Adam McQuaid scored his first career NHL goal off the stick of Montreal's Ryan White:

-Boston's Matt Hunwick absolutely clobbered Montreal's Brian Gionta with a clean hit:

-Prett good photo of the hit:

-Bruins forward and former Penguin Miroslav Satan kept his eye on this puck:

-Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk was officially diagnosed with a fractured orbital bone.

-The Maple Leafs recalled forward Viktor Stalberg from their AHL affiliate, also in Toronto, and demoted forward Jay Rosehill.

Southeast Division

-The Thrashers recalled goaltender Kari Lehtonen from a conditioning assignment with Chicago of the AHL.

-Considering you can probably walk into the NHL's offices with a garbage bag full of Monopoly money and own a team, it's pretty bad when Gary Bettman calls out an ownership group. That's what he did with the Thrashers owners.

-The Panthers demoted defenseman Keaton Ellerby and forward Michal Repik to Rochester of the AHL.

-Antero Niittymaki has emerged as the Lightning's top goaltender.

Central Division

-Do the Blackhawks have a goaltending controversy between Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi (right)?

Northwest Division

-Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard is still dealing with concussion issues.

Pacific Division

-That long-rumored Niclas Wallin trade was apparently back on. The Hurricanes traded Wallin a 2010 fifth-round draft pick for a 2010 second-round draft pick.

-The Stars demoted forward Warren Peters to Texas of the AHL.

-Stars forward Mike Ribeiro is still sidelined by a throat injury suffered at Madison Square Garden, Jan. 6.

-New Ducks goatlender Vesa Toskala still wants to be a starter.

Smythe Division

-Wisconsin hosted its own outdoor game against Michigan at Camp Randall Stadium. And as is tradition during the football games there, they had their own rendition of House of Pain's "Jump Around:"

-Today would've been the 105th birthday of former Pittsburgh Hornets forward Larry Aurie.

(Photos: Penguins/Capitals-Luis M. Alvarez/Associated Press; Bruins/Canadiens-Canadian Press; Niemi-Elsa/Getty Images)

Penguins at Capitals - 02-07-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:03:00 GMT

PREGAME

-Hey, guess where we aren't:

-Safe and sound on our couch here in cold and snowed in Pittsburgh. In place of on the spot coverage, we offer this. A Grant Fuhr Oilers McFarlane figurine and a big pile of white powder:

-Make your own joke.

-EN reader C.J. Perego sends us a picture of warm ups:

-Another reader, Lowell Murray, spotted a jersey foul. A Peter Bondra jersey in the team's current style:

-Chris Kunitz is back in the lineup. It looks like Tim Wallace was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins' scratches are Maxime Talbot, Eric Godard and the not so great Martin Skoula.

-THe Capitals' scratches are John Erskine and Quintin Laing.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and Jose Theodore are your starting goaltenders.

-We don't know what the conditions are like in D.C. today, but it's pretty clear that the only reasons this game is being played today is for NBC. If this wasn't a national game, the league would've pushed it back a day or two. Both teams have off days and the Verizon Center is open for the next two nights. But like a 39-year-old unmarried woman, the NHL will do anything for something that doesn't truly love it.

-We're not sure where Dick Ebersol lives, but it wouldn't shock us to see Gary Bettman shoveling his driveway this morning.

FIRST PERIOD

20:00: It looks like the "old" combinations are back together on the top three lines:

Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin

Fedotenko-Malkin-Dupuis

Cooke-Staal-Kennedy

Rupp-Letestu-Adams

19:50: As we get an early first stoppage, Mike Emrick tells us a story about the Penguins eating at a Burger King on their way down from Newark. And apparently Ed Olczyk isn't available to tell us about when he used to coach the Penguins:

19:20: Kunitz snaps off a wrister from the

19:09: Kunitz drives a big slapper from the left point. It gets deflected in on net by the shaft of Guerin's stick. Theodore is able to hug the puck and make the save.

18:26: Brooks Laich coasts up the left wing and fires slapper. Sergei Gonchar appears to deflect that out of play.

18:20: "Pierre" McGuire mentions that Dana Heinze and the rest of the equipment guys actually slept at the Verizon Center after they got at

17:49: Alex Goligoski drives a slapper from the top of the slot. It gets blocked in front.

17:00ish: McGuire manages to mention himself four times while talking about Ray Shero's 14-year-old kid being born. Because it's always about "Pierre."

16:45: Crosby carries the puck up the right wing to boos.

15:55: Alex Ovechkin snaps off a wrister from the slot that gets deflected out of play by Brooks Orpik.

15:38: Letang drives a slapper from the right point. Theodore fights it off.

15:14: Evgeni Malkin picks up a loose puck in the slot, gets a step on Tom Poti, drives by the defenseman who stretches out attempting a poke check and moves in on net. Malkin attempts to go to the backhand on Theodore but loses his balance and the puck. What an effort by Malkin. He had Theodore beat but couldn't hang on the puck on long enough

15:00ish: Our power goes out for a moment and DirecTV tend to take a while to power back on:

13:01: And during the power outage, apparently Sidney Crosby scored a backhander. We're glad we were late in paying our Allegheny Power bill last month. The goal is unassisted. Penguins 1-0.

10:55: Laich is nabbed for interference. Crosby, Malkin, Guerin, Alex Goligoski and Sergei GOnchar take the ice.

10:01: Crosby scores another goal. Thanks Allegheny Power. Malkin and Goligoski get the assists. Penguins 2-0.

9:05: Kunitz is nabbed for interference against Theodore. Still no television. Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal, Mark Eaton and Jay McKee take the ice.

7:05: The Kunitz penalty is killed.

6:01: Eaton is called for holding Jason Chimera.

5:06: Eric Fehr controls the puck in the corner on the left wing and distributes to Mike Green sneaking in from the right point. Green rips a wrister wich Fleury deflects out of play.

4:13: Adams drops Ovechkin just inside the Penguins blue line. Ovechkin is slow to get up.

4:09: Play is halted as Adams and Mike Knuble fight at center ice. NBC's too busy showing Ovechkin to show the fight. All wee see is Adams and Knuble wrestling on the ice. The replay of the hit shows Ovechkin getting a slight elbow to the back. That should probably be penalty to Adams. It's a one of those borderline dirty hits but it's hard to feel compassion for Ovechkin given his hisotry. As it is, Adams escapes. Adams and Knuble each get fighting majors. And Knuble gets an instigating minor and a major. Dang. Big break there for the Penguins.

4:01: The Eaton penalty ends. The Penguins will have 1:52 of power play time.

2:58: Gonchar tosses a wrister on net that goes wide of the cage.

2:01: The Penguins' power play ends. Not a lot going on there.

1:49: Alexander Semin is denied in tight by Fleury.

0:02: Off a cycle in the corner, a backhander by Laich from the corner is held out by Fleury.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Capitals 0d. .

FIRST INTERMISSION

-We'd tell you what we thought of that period, but we saw like 43 percent of it.

-We guess the special teams are doing better than they were yesterday. The Penguins have one power play and killed off the Capitals' two power play chances. Big improvement after yesterday.

-Don't think this lead is safe against the Capitals.

-The Capitals have a 15-9 lead in shots.

-Green and Crosby each lead the game with four shots.

-Gonchar leads the game with 9:27 of ice time.

-Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 9:12.

-Faceoffs are tied 11-11 (50 percent).

-Crosby was 6 for 9 (67 percent).

-Laich is 2 for 2 (100 percent).

-Poti leads the game with thre blocked shots.

-Adams and Orpik each lead the Penguisn with two blocked shots.

-Anton Apollo Ohno Marc-Andre Fleury is apparently going to be speedskating for the United States in Vancouver:

-McGurie and Mike Milbury man the giant Lite Brite set for the the intermission:

-Milbury acts his caveman routine perfectly while STILL complaining about Ulf Samuelsson and Cam Neely.

-NBC manages to promo Crosby-Ovechkin twice during the intermission:

-In case you were wondering, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are playing today. As well as 18 other guys. Maybe. OVECHKIN AND CROSBY!!!!!!

-And our power and DirecTV have returned. It's been a trying experience. Thank you for your prayers.

-And as NBC showed with two promos, apparently Ovechkin hit Cooke on a borderline hit from behind while our power was out. Cooke's hardly a sympathetic figure as well, but we're guess the Capitals weren't up in arms over that one they way the were over Adams'.

-EN reader Jennie Karalewich sends us a shot of the stands today:

-More than a few empty seats but that's understandable. Too bad Penguins fans aren't allowed to buy those seats.

-In all seriousness, the NHL should've postponed this game for the ticket-buying fans. No other league relies on ticket sales quite like the NHL. Instead, the league did what NBC wanted and screwed over its fans.

-Crosby has now tied his career high in goals with 39.

SECOND PERIOD

19:20: NBC manages to promo CROSBY-OVECHKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! again:

19:03: Gonchar is nabbed for holding as he sent Brooks Liach into the boards behind the Penguins net. That's two minutes. Can't keep putting the Capitals on the power play. Staal, Cooke, McKee and Eaton take the ice.

18:31: Ovechkin tries to calm down a boucing puck but Cooke is able to snap it down ice to kill time and get a change.

17:10: McGuire mentions himself twice while talking about Bruce Boudreau's minor league days.

17:03: Goligoski chips the puck down ice and kills off the rest of Gonchar's penalty. Nice effort. The Capitals didn't generate much there.

16:39: Kennedy smacks a slapper from the right circle which Brian Pothier blocks.

16:11: Pothier pins Crosby against the boards and prevents him from getting to a loose puck. No call.

16:06: Kennedy tries to line up Brendan Morrison in front of the Capitals' bench. Morrison braces of th

15:58: The Penguins put a interesting combination out on the ice with Mike Rupp, Malkin and Guerin.

15:27: Orf a give and go with Guerin, Rupp whips a backhander on net form the right wing. Theodore fights it off.

15:12: Rupp barges his way out of the corner on the right wing and can't jam it by Theodore.

14:29: Pothier controls a puck at the left point, turns and whips a wrister wide to the far side.

13:58: Semin is nabbed for holding Letang. Crosby, Malkin, Goligoski, Gonchar and Guerin take the ice.

13:38: David Steckel whips a loose puck down ice to kill time.

13:30: Gonchar picks up the puck in his zone and carries it up ice to "whoop, whoop, whoop" calls from his former fans.

12:37: Malkin leaves a drop pass at the right point for Goligoski. The only problem is that Goligoski went to the bench and was replaced by Letang. So the puck clears the zone.

12:17: Tyler Sloan steals the puck of Staal on the right wing and whips it down ice.

12:08: Ruslan Fedotenko tries to jam one in tight. Theodore covers it up.

11:58: Semin's penalty is killed. The Capitals didn't allow much to the Penguins there.

11:20: Orpik blocks a wrister by Ovechkin the slot.

11:10: Mark Letestu is on the ice with Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis.

10:59: Yeah... don't give Ovechkin breakaways. After Eaton has a wrister from the left point blocked, Jeff Schultz zips it up the center of the ice to Oveckhin. Gonchar and Eaton fail to account for the NHL's two-time MVP and that allows Ovechkin a breakaway. Ovechkin bears down on Fleury and there's not miraculous save this time. He blows it through Fleury's five hole and blows up one of the cameras in the net. Schultz gets the only assist. Penguins 2-1.

-Oh wait, that's the trailer to a mindless noisy Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Not the Capitals goal horn. Easy mistake. Here:

10:04: Eric Fehr coasts up the right wing and whips a wrister wide in the near side.

9:48: Coming back from a television time out, McGuire talks to Dan Bylsma:

8:51: Rupp takes a pass in the right circle, turns and rips a wrister which is deflected out of play.

8:17: Brooks Orpik sneaks up the right wing and is dumped on a nice hip check by Pothier. Orpik still manages to sneak the puck up the boards. Cooke takes int in the corner and works it around to Kennedy to the left of the cage. Kennedy sneaks a pass into Staal in the slot. Staal then one-touches it though Theodore's five hole. Cooke, Kennedy and Staal all celebrate then all heck breaks out as a big scrum develops.Ovechkin pounces on top of Letang. Backstron and Letang start to drop the gloves but nothing develops. The Capitals were way too loose in the own end on that one. The "old" third line still has its chemistry. Letang and Backstrom each get roughing minors. Backstrom and Kennedy each get 10-minute misconducts. The Penguins will take that trade off. Two third-liners for two first-liners. McGuire makes the bold statement that everyteam would love to have Ovechkin. Really!?!! Thanks "Pierre." Four-on-four for two minutes. Penguins 3-1.

8:05: McGuire talks about himself three times while talking about Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard.

6:53: Malkin and Staal hook up again. Tom Poti has a brutal turnover at his own blue line. Malkin takes it, kicks it to his stick, moves up the right wing and chips a pas into the slot for Staal. Staal takes it and lifts it by Theodore on the glove side. The Capitals defense has been exposed big-time on these past two goals. Malkin gets the only assist. Poti deserves one. Penguins 4-1.

5:53: Green taps a feed to the slot. Boyd GOrdson is there but can't get his stick on it. If the timing on that play is right, that's a goal.

4:59: The Pengins somehow create the least likeliest of two-on-one combinations as Rupp and Adams challenge Mike Green. As it is, Rupp centers the puck to no one.

2:48: What an individual effort! Fehr moves up the left wing against McKee and flicks a backhander on net. Fleury gives up a bad rebound. McKee fails to account for Fehr's pursuite of the rebound. Fehr jumps on it and punches it by Fleur on the far side. Great effort by Fehr but horrible plays by McKee and Fleury. Shaone Morrisonn gets the only assist. McKee or Fleury could share one. Penguins 4-2.

1:50ish: Off a faceoff, Crosby goes to the bench with an apparent injury.

1:23: Semin tries to deke by Gonchar in the corner but gets him with a high stick. That's two minutes. Crosby's hunched over the bench in discomfort. Note quite sure what happened to him there. He had the faceoff and just kind of starting hurting. He skated to the bench after that. There wasn't really any contact on it. NBC shows him giving a bitter beer face:

-Crosby takes the ice along with Malkin, Guerin, Gonchar and Goligosk

0:52: Crosby battles down low by with Morrisonn and loses his lid.

0:38: Sloan mashes Crosby into the boards. Guerin gives Sloan some grief for the hit.

0:23: Poti is nabbed for interference against Guerin. The Penguins will have 58 seconds of a two main advantage. A goal here is a must. Staal, Malkin, Crosby, Guerin and Gonchar take the ice. NBC shows a replay of Morrisonn breaking his stick across Crosby's back and pinning him to the ice with his knee. McGuire says there's nothing wrong there.

0:09: Crosby smacks a one-timer from the left of the cage. Theodore dives over and kicks it out with his feet. Big-time save.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 4, Capitals 2.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-What a period. It was probably a little too sloppy for both coaches but wow.

-Jordan Staal is playing fantastic hockey right now. He's dominating defensemen in physical battles and he's finding the net. He's rediscovered his finishing touch.

-The Penguins have kind of shaken up their top two defensive pairing Eaton is with Gonchar and Orpik is with Letang. We're not a fan of it.

-We're having some issues with the NHL's web page so no stats. Sorry.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 37 seconds of a two-man advantage. Crosby, Guerin, Staal, Malkin and Gonchar take the ice.

19:37: Malkin throws a wrister on net from the top of the slot. It goes wide.

19:28: A slapper by Malkin from the right point is blocked by Steckel.

19:23: Just as the Semin minor is killed, Steckel blocks another slapper by Malkin. The Penguins still have 1:01 of power play time.

19:02: Green chips the puck down ice to kill time.

18:22: The Capitals kill off the Poti penalty. Marvelous effort by the Capitals.

18:04: Semin gets a one-on-one chance with Fleury from the right circle. Semin dekes to his backhand but Fleury's right foot denies him.

17:58: A slapper by Pothier from the right point is eaten up by Fleury.

16:02: Kennedy has a wrister in the slot blocked by Sloan.

15:48: NBC shows a replay of Cooke giving Ovechking a cross check into the left ribs. No call.

15:33: BIG SAVE! Eaton pinches in at the neutral zone. Fehr gets by him and creates a two-on-one with Jason Chimera against Gonchar. Fehr gets teh puck to Chimera on the left wing. Chimera cuts to the goal and tries to carry the puck with him on his forehand but Fleury's left foot boots it away. Huge save. Eaton owes Fleury a beer.

14:34: Green lugs the puck into the offensive zone an just inside the blue line, he blasts a slapper which Fleury eats up.

14:01: Kennedy puts a slapper o nnet from the left wing. Theodore fights it off.

13:39: Laich centers a backhanded pass to Laich in the slot. Laich carries it on net. Fleury denies him twice including once with a fine right leg save. All kind of bodies crash in but Fleury is able to cover to freeze play. Fleury's stepped it up here this period.

13:09: That was only a matter of time. Poti whips a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury makes the save but the rebound hops out to Ovechkin the slot. Ovechkin swats a backhander on net which beats Fleury through the five hole. Bad rebound by Fleury there. Although he was probably screened on it. Poti and Backstrom get assists. THe Penguins need to button up their defense. Penguins 4, Capitals 3.

10:12: Malkin swats a loose puck at the cage that gets deflected out of play.

10:03: McKee blocks a slapper by Fehr. McKee is hobbled a bit.

9:17: Off a faceoff win, Semin has a wrister blocked out of play.

8:57: MIke Milbury calls Cooke's hit to Ovechkin's ribs "innocent."

8:54: And just like that, we have a tie game.Backstrom beats Crosby off the faceoff. Knuble taps a little pass to Ovechkin who releases his shot so quickly that Fleury had no chance. It beats Fleury on the blocker side. Hats litter the ice. We assume Crosby won't complain this time. Knuble and Backstrom get assists. Capitals 4, Penguins 4.

8:49: Off the ensuing faceoff, Steckel gets Malkin with a high stick. No call.

8:22: Goligoski steps up and blasts a slapper through traffic on net. Thedores manages to glove it. Big save.

8:19: McGuire manages to mention Malkin is sitting two feet away from him. Thanks "Pierre."

6:47: Semin spins ans whips a wild wrister from the right half wall. Fleury hangs on for the save.

6:08: Malkin has a wrister in tight blocked

5:44: Adams sneask a little wrister on net from the righ wing. Theodore makes the save but has a little trouble with the rebound. Fedotenko crashes in but can't finish.

4:51: Letang sneaks a wrister on net from the left point. Theodore is manages to boot it out with his left foot.

4:36: The Capitals call a time out after icing the puck. Good move. The Penguins were really controlling play the last minute or so.

4:24: A slapper by Letang from the left poitn deflects wide.

4:08: Cooke tries to play a puck from the corner but his stick breaks. Schultz is called for slashing. Horrible call. HORRIBLE. Huge break for the Penguins pardon the pun. Big two minutes here. Crosby, Malkin, Guerin, Goligoski and Gonchar take the ice. Coming back from commercial, we get a promo for whatever golf tournament NBC is carrying after the game. Steve Stricker's vest is almost as intense as the third period:

3:31: Malkin ahs a chance in thes lot blocked by Poti.

2:25: Gonchar tosses a wrister on net from the left point. Theodore gloves it.

2:09: The Schultz "penalty" is killed. Huge effort once again by the Capitals.

2:01: Letang sneaks up the right wing and snaps off a wrister. Theodore gloves it.

1:45: Gonchar drives a one-timer from the slot. It gets deflected on net and Theodore fights it off.

0:25: Semin rips a wrister from the left circle. Letang flops down to block it.

0:00: End of period. Whew. Capitals 4, Penguins 4.

OVERTIME

4:30: From the right circle, Crosby snaps off a wrister that sails wide to the far side.

4:19: Laich drives a slapper from the right point. Fleury boots it out.

2:48: Pothier lifts a one-timer from the right point. FLeury fights it off.

2:34: Ugh. Orpik is called for high sticking Semin. The call is legit. Guerin appears to give Semin some grief for perhaps embellishing it. Adams, Staal and Gonchar.

2:27: Eaton blocks a big onetier by Ovechkin at the left point.

2:11: Green moves the puck to Ovechkin at the left point. Ovechkin blasts a one-timer. It hits off the far post and deflects under Fleury. Who else but Knuble would be in front? He stabs at the puck and puts it behind Fleury. Ovechkin and Green get assists. End of game. Capitals 5, Penguins 4.

POSTGAME

-Are the Capitals just that good on offense or were the Penguins just that bad on defense? We think it's a bit of both. This was the same defense that allowed the Canadiens with a bunch of AHL players to score five goals the day before.

-EIther way, the Penguins have some significant deficiencies on defense and they need addressed. Four unanswered goals, against any team, not just the Capitals, is inexcusable.

-That all said, that was some great hockey. Very entertaining.

-Jay McKee has not been the same player since he came back from his finger injury.

-The thing that really stood out to us was the fact that the Penguins didn't really regress into a defensive shell late. They kept on pressing the issue on offense. They just couldn't finish.

-We know he had two assists, but a bigger contribution from Malkin could've been helpful.

-The power play really killed the Penguins today. But give the Capitals' penalty killers credit. They were outstanding today.

-Eric Fehr's individual effort on his goal really made a difference today. It got the Capitals back into it and really created some momentum for them.

-The officiating was horrible today. But it didnt' cost the Penguins this game. If anything, they probably benefited from the bulk of bad calls and non-calls.

-Ovechkin? He's good.

-Fleury had another less than stellar effort for the second consecutive game. But in all reality, his defense really let him down.

-The Penguins had a 35-34 edge in shots.

-Crosby led the game with seven.

-Ovechkin led the Capitals with six.

-Gonchar led the game with 28:29.

-Green led the Capitals with 27:09.

-The Penguins led in faceoffs, 39-34 (53 percent).

-Laich was 3 for 4 (75 percent).

-Crosby was 16 for 27 (59 percent).

-Orpik led the game with six blocked shots.

-Poti led the Capitals with five.

-Malkin passed up Greg Malone on the team's all-time scoring list. Malkin has 366 point to Malone's 365.

-Kennedy broke back into the team's top 100 career scorers. He passed up Darryl Edestrand, Kip Miller, Brooks Orpik, Mark Taylor and Bryan Trottier. All six players have 72 points, but Kennedy (37) has more goals than the other five.

-There still seemed to be lots of cheers for the Penguins anytime they scored. Unless Ted Leonsis sits at the door with a gun, he's never going to keep Penguins fans out of that building.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights.

Empty Netter Assists - 02-07-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:35:00 GMT

Note: Another barebones version of Empty Netter Assists. Stupid snow.

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from yesterday's game. "We weren't sharp." - Matt Cooke.

-The Montreal Gazette's recap. The Canadiens' lineup had six players who started the season in the AHL.

-The Associated Press' recap. Dan Bylsma downplayed his team's four-day break.

-NHL.com's recap. "I don't think we played a very good game today as a team." - Bylsma.

-Highlights courtesy of EN contributor GhostWalker 40:

-Sidney Crosby and Matt Cooke speak:

-Crosby is kind of big in Canada.

-EN cohort Dejan Kovacevic kick starts our Olympics blog.

-Is Tom Barrasso a hall-of-famer?

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' game in Hershey was postponed until 1 p.m. today.

-T.J. Fox had two goals and five assists for the Wheeling Nailers in a 10-1 rout of the Kalamazoo Wings.

-Happy 63rd birthday to former Penguins forward Ross Lonsberry.

-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Alexandre Daigle.

-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins defenseman John Slaney.

Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Ryan Callahan had a goal and an assist for the Rangers who beat the rival Devils, 3-1. Henrik Lundqvist made a whopping 41 saves in the win. The Devils are in second place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Atlantic Division with 74 points, three more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second place respectively.

-It didn't take New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk to figure out this Devils-Rangers rivalry thing:

-Lundqvist broke his own personal six-game losing streak.

-Devils forward Patrik Elias (concussion) played his first game since Jan. 16.

-Flyers goaltender Ray Emery is dealing with a hip ailment.

-Boy, all the talent is coming to the Atlantic Division. The Flyers acquired forward Ville Leino from the Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a fifth-round pick in 2011. The Red Wing are expected to draft a Conn Smyth Trophy winner with that pick.

-Islanders forward John Tavares has two goals in his last 27 games.

-This is from Friday, but check out the Devils' three goals in the final 3:04 in their stunning 4-3 comeback win against the Maple Leafs:

Northeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Jean-Sebastien Giguere has not given up a goal so far with the Maple Leafs. GIguere made 30 saves to record his second shutout in as many games with Toronto, a 5-0 win against the rival Senators. Luke Schenn and Phil Kessel each had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs while teammate Tyler Bozak added a goal and an assist. The Senators had an 11-game winning streak snapped. The Senators are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 70 points, one less than the fourth-place Penguins.

-Toronto's Colton Orr pretty much knocked out Ottawa's Matt Carkner:

-"I’m just proud of the team that they didn’t allow this to be a distraction, they really focused and we really wanted to win this for Brendan, for Brian and the whole Burke family." - Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson on the family of team president and general manager Brian Burke. Burke's son, Brendan, was killed in a automobile accident in Indiana Friday.

-Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk went to the hospital after being hit in the head with a puck yesterday.

-The Bruins activated former Penguins defenseman Andrew Ference (groin) from injured reserve and placed defenseman Mark Stuart (finger) on injured reserve.

-Sabres goaltender and former Penguin Patrick Lalime is stuck on 199 career wins.

-Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson is dealing with a shoulder injury.

-The Canadiens demoted defenseman Yannick Weber to Hamilton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Nik Antropov had three assists and led the Thrashers to a 4-2 win against the Panthers. Pavel Kubina added two assists for Atlanta while former Penguin Johan Hedberg made 26 saves in the win. Fire Craig Patrick. Radek Dvorak led Florida with two goals.

-If the Thrashers can do it, the Penguins can. After playing in Washington Friday, the Thrashers were marooned at the airport overnight. The drove to Richmond, Va. through the snow, got into an accident, finally got in the air and got to Atlanta at 5:45 p.m. The game at Philips Arena was pushed back nearly an hour.

-Joni Pitkanen had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes who beat the Islanders, 3-1. In his NHL debut, Justin Peters made 34 saves in the win. The Islanders have lost seven consecutive games.

-Andrej Meszaros' overtime goal gave the Lightning a 2-1 win against the Flames. Antero Niittymaki made 25 saves in the win which was the third in a row for Tampa Bay.

-The Lightning was sold for $170 million to Jeff Vinnik. The previous owners, Oren Koules and former Penguins forward Len Barrie bought it for $207 million.

-Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward's wonky back is flaring up again.

-With forward Stephen Weiss dealing with a "lower-body" injury, the Panthers recalled forward Keaton Ellerby from Rochester of the AHL.

-Check out the lid Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun, a member of the Czech Olympic team, has made up for the Games:

Central Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Steve Mason made 28 saves and led the Blue Jackets to a 4-0 shutout of the Sabres. Jakub Voracek led Columbus with three assists while teammate Anton Stralman added a goal and an assist. The Blue Jackets are 2-0-0 under interim coach Claude Noel. The Sabres have lost four consecutive games. The Sabres are in third place in the Eastern Conference, just as many as the fourth-place Penguins. Buffalo is ahead of the Penguins on account of being in first place in the Northeast Division.

-Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks who edged the rival Blues, 2-1. Antti Niemi made 34 saves in the win which snapped a three-game losing streak for Chicago.

-Blue Jackets goaltender Fedor Tyutin is dealing with a knee injury.

-The Red Wings traded Ville Leino to make room for Johan Frazen under the salary cap.

Northwest Division

-Pavol Demitra's shootout goal gave the Canucks a 3-2 win at Boston. Roberto Luongo made a whopping 41 saves in the win. Marc Savard had two assists for the Bruins who have lost 10 consecutive games.

-Anton Khudobin made 38 saves for the Wild who edged the Flyers, 2-1. Minnesota has won eight out its past nine games. The Flyers have lost three out of their past five games.

-"You're in front of your fans, 18,000, screaming. I said, 'OK, just stop the first shot, the second shot, the third shot.'" - Khudobin on making his first career NHL start.

-Craig Anderson made 20 saves and led the Avalanche to a 3-0 shutout of the Oilers. It was Anderson's sixth shutout of the season. Adam Foote led Colorado with two assists.

Pacific Division

-Michal Handzus had two goals and an assist for the Kings in a wild 4-3 win against the Red Wings. Alexander Frolov added a goal and an assist for Los Angeles while teammate Scott Parse had two assists. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in the win which was the Kings' ninth in a row. Henrik Zetterberg led Detroit with two goals.

-"I know the [NHL's] undefeated record is 35 games. So we'll see." - Kings coach Terry Murry joking about his team's winning streak.

-Red Wings forwards Drew Miller, Patrick Eaves and Tomas Holmstrom all suffered injuries yesterday .

-Dany Heatley had two goals and an assist for the Sharks who edged the Predators, 4-3. Teammates Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton each contributed two assists while Evgeni Nabokov made 35 saves in the win. J.P. Dumont led Nashville with two goals.

-"We don't like those guys at all." - Dumont on the Sharks.

-Marty Turco made 34 saves and led the Stars to a 4-0 shutout of the Coyotes. Jamie Benn scored two goals while teammates Loui Eriksson and James Neal each had a goal and an assist.

-Coyotes forward and former Penguin Paul Bissonnette fought Dallas' Krys Barch:

-With new goaltender Vesa Toskala finally able to get some immigration issues settled, the Ducks demoted goaltender Justin Pogge to San Antonio of the AHL.

-"(For) the NHL, at least at this stage, there is no tangible financial benefit." - Coyotes general manage Don Maloney.

Adams Division

-The Mercyhurst men's team lost at Colorado College, 5-3.

-Jess Jones had two goals and an assist for the Mercyhurst women's team in a 9-2 rout of Robert Morris.

About the Capitals - 02-07-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:54:00 GMT

A preview of the Capitals.

When and where: Noon, Verizon Center.

TV: The worst network on earth NBC.

Record: 40-12-6, 86 points. The Capitals are in first place in the Eastern Conference and Southeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Alex Ovechkin (right), 82 points (39 goals, 43 assists).

Last Game: 5-2 home win against the Thrashers, Friday. Ovechkkin, NIcklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin each had a goal and an assist.

Last Game against the Penguins: 6-3 home win, Jan. 21. Ovechkin had two goals and an assist.

Capitals Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Ovechkin. We really don't need any stats to validate that selection.

Ex-Penguins on the Capitals: Matt Bradley, RW.

Ex-Capitals on the Penguins: Matt Cooke, LW; Sergei Gonchar, D; Brent Johnson, G.

Useless Capitals Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The Capitals are the only teams from the old Patrick Division which has never won the Stanley Cup. The Islanders and Rangers each have four titles. The Devils and Penguins each have three. The Flyers have two. The Flames have one.

Best Capitals YouTube Video We Could Find: A brawl between the Penguins and Capitals from Nov. 25, 1989:

Notes:

-Marc-Andre Fleury (28-16-1, 2.63 GAA, .907 SV%) and Jose Theodore (19-7-4, 2.84 GAA, .909 SV%) are youre expected starters in net.

-For the Penguins, forwards Eric Godard (groin) and Maxim Talbot (groin) are out. Forward Chris Kunitz (abdominal) remains on injured reserve as of 8 a.m.

-For the Capitals, Bruce Boudreau got frostbite on his bald head from shoveling snow. We think. Aside from that, they are not reporting any injuries.

-Sidney Crosby is scoring more these days.

-Sergei Gonchar has 299 career goals.

-The Capitals enter the game on a 13-game winning streak, tied for the fourth-longest in NHL history:

17 Games –Pittsburgh Penguins, 3/9 –4/10/93
15 Games –New York Islanders, 1/21 –2/20/82
14 Games –Boston Bruins, 12/3/29 –1/9/30
13 Games –Washington Capitals, 1/13/10 –present (others tied at 13 games)

-The Penguins didn't get into Washington until 2:15 a.m. this morning.

-The Capitals are kind of popular.

-Our live blog, direct from our couch (stupid weather), begins at approximately noon (stupid NBC). Please tune in.

(Photo: Nick Wass/Associated Press)

Penguins mush to Washington - 02-06-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:37:00 GMT

The Penguins plan on flying into Newark, N.J. this evening and taking a bus to Washinton tonight in order to play tomorrow's game against the Capitals at the Verizon Center (above). As bad as we got it today, the folks in the beltway got it worse.

Note: EN co-worker Colin Dunlap was in Washington today to cover the Duquesne-George Washington game and reported seeing half as many cross-country skiers (one) as cars (two) on the road.

Note Two: The Thrashers played in Washington last night and got stuck at the airport overnight. Their home game at Philip Arena against the Panthers was pushed from a 7 p.m. start to 7:53. They didn't get to Philip Arena until roughly 6:10 p.m. Yeesh.

(Photo: Shelly Anderson/Post-Gazette)

Penguins at Canadiens - 02-06-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:07:00 GMT

PREGAME

This is a barebones pregame. We trudged into the office since we have not power/satellite/Internet/heat/etc. at home.

This is what it looked like downtown on Commonwealth Place at 4 a.m.:

-This is the same road at roughly 2 p.m.:

-EN Reader Maria Boggia is in Montreal and is doing a wonderful job sending in photos. Montreal:

-Ticket:

-The Penguins' scratches are Maxime Talbot, Eric Godard, and the less than great Martin Skoula.

-Montreal's scratches are Georges Laraque, who's not really a member of the team, and Matt D'Agostini.

-Marc-Andre Fleury and Jaroslav Halak are your starting goaltenders.

FIRST PERIOD

19:40: Ruslan Fedotenko rattles Jaroslav Halak behind the Canadiens' net with a hit.

19:31: Oh dear Pat Riggin was that? Fleury plays a puck dumped behind the net by Sergei Kostitsyn. Before he can play it, Mathieu Darche knocks Fleury down from behind. The puck comes around the boards to xxx on the left wing. Tomas Plekanec picks it up and whips it into the empty cage with Fleury scrambling to his feet. Fleury and teammates protest the goal. As they should. Darche should've been penalized. The officials gave the Habs a gift there. Darche and Kostitsyn get assists. The officials should get one. Canadiens 1-0.

18:58: And the Penguins' get it right back. Jordan Staal rushes the upuk up ice. going against Ryan O'Byrne. O'Byrne falls backwards on his butt. Staal gets by Andrei Markov and goes to his forehand and is denied by Halak's left foot. Dupuis beats a Markov to the puck and pushes it into the cage. Officials review the goal for a good bit before confirming the call on the ice. Staal gets the only assist. O'Byrne deserves one. He looked terrible on that play. Canadiens 1, Penguins 1.

17:36: Brock Trotter (What a name.) flicks a backhander on net from the right circle. Fleury fights it off.

17:05: Off a turnover, Darche moves in from the left wing and snaps off a wrister going give hole.

16:43: Darche takes a pass on the left wing, cuts to the slot going backhand. Fleury slide out of position but is able to poke it away with his stick. What an effort by Fleury. He was beaten there but he was able to poke it away. Darche crashes into the cage dislodging it.

16:00: These essentially are the lines:

Fedotenko-Crosby-Guerin

Dupuis-Staal-Malkin

Cooke-Letestu-Kennedy

Rupp-Adams-Wallace

15:01: Ben Maxwell is nabbed for hooking Dupuis. Sidney Crosby, Eveni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang take the ice. We like seeing Letang out there a lot.

14:51: Play is halted as Josh Gorges' stick gets stuck in the glass.

13:36: A one-timer by Fedotneko from the left half wall is deflected high.

13:10: Scott Gomez air-mails a slapper from the neutral zone. That provides Bob Errey a chance to remind us there are two Alaskans in this game, Gomez and Tim Wallace.

13:01: As the Maxwell penalty expires, Fedotenko chops a slapper from the slot that gets blocked.

11:45: Hal Gill used to be a Penguin:

11:16: Gill sneaks a wrister on net through traffic from the left point. Fleury makes the save. A scrum ensues.

10:08: Dupuis blocks

10:01: Off a drop pass by Malkin, Dupuis cranks a slapper from the left half wall. Halak fights it off.

9:55: Dupus attempts a re-direct off a shot by Malkin from the right wing. Halak fights off.

9:46: Fleury gloves a sneaky wrister from the left circle by Brian Gionta.

9:33: Malkin rushes up ice cutting through a few defenders and snaps of a quick wrister which Halak boots out.

8:05: Letang cranks a one-timer off a drop pass from the right point over the cage.

7:11: Markov whips a wild wrister from the left point that juuuuuuust goes wide to the far side.

5:57: Plekanec winds up and cranks a slapper high of the cage from the right half wall.

4:32: Travis Moen tries to jam in a few chances in tight. Fleury holds them out.

3:00: Letang whips a wrister on net from the right point. Halak traps it against his chest.

2:25: Craig Adams is nabbed fortripping up Trotter. As scrum develops in front of the Penguins' bench with Gill in the middle of it. It looks like he was having words with another big man, Mike Rupp. Staal, Matt Cooke, Goncharand Brooks Oprik take the ice.

0:25: The Penguins kill of the Adams penalty. The Canadiens had nothing going on.

0:04: Pekanec is called for slashing Adams. Crosby, Malkin, Dupuis, Letang and Alex Goligoski take the ice.

0:02: Crosby wins the faceoff to Letang at the left point. Letang moves it to Goligoski at the top of the slot. Goligoski releases a one-timer that goes wide.

0:00: End of period. Canadiens 1, Penguins 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-Boy was that a strange period. Two goals in the first 62 seconds and then things kind of closed up. After the two goals, there were chances for each team, but as the period wore one, they became fewer and fewer.

-All in all, it was a really good period for the Penguins. If not for a botched goaltender interference call by the officials, the Penguins probably have a 1-0 lead.

-The Malkin-Staal-Dupuis line is playing outstanding. It's like the old Staal-Malkin-Michel Ouellet line. Except the French Canadian on the line actually has speed and can score some goals here and there.

-Staal's game have been elevated with Malkin on his line. It's amazing to watch.

-The thing that really stands out with Staal is how physical he's been the past week or so. He's finally starting to realize his potential in that regard.

-The Crosby-Fedotenko-Guerin line was okay but nothing great. Fedotenko seems to have a little bit more jump playing on that line.

-Both goaltenders have been solid.

-Mathieu Darche is playing the game of his life. Legal or not, he helped set up the first goal, and he's created a few chances.

-The Canadiens have an 11-7 lead in shots.

-Dupuis leads the game with three.

-Moen, GIll and Gomez each lead the game with two. Fire Ray Shero.

-Gonchar leads the game with 8:51 of ice time.

-Markov leads the Canadiens with 7:54.

-The Canadiens have an 11-8 lead in shots (58 percent).

-Gomez is 5 for 7 (71 percent).

-Letestu is 2 for 2 (100 percent).

-Gonchar and Orpik each lead the game with two blocked shots.

-Maria sends a shot of a Crosby fan with a warm head:

SECOND PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 1:56 of ice time on fresh ice.

19:27: A slapper by Gonchar is blocked by Gomez

19:18: Gill blocks a wrister by Guerin.

18:31: Fleury fights off a wrister by Roman Hamrlik from the slot.

18:04: As Plekanec's penalty is killed, Markov puts a wrister on net. Fleury makes the save.

14:15: After about four minutes of nothing, Hamrlik cracks a slapper at the cage from the left wing. Fleury fights it off despite traffic.

13:06: Moen puts a quick wrister on net. Fleury fights it off.

12:36: Kennedy makes a nifty move by Glen Metropolit in the left circle in the Canadiens' zone and pushes a puck into the slot. Letestu is there but can't get a shot off. Moen is nabbed for hooking Letestu. GOnchar, Goligoski, Malkin, Gueirn and Crosby take the ice.

11:56: Guerin chops a bouncing puck from the slot on net. Halak holds it out.

10:57: Goligoski pokes the puck out of play while trying to gain the zone.

10:28: Cooke cuts from the left wing and pushes a backhander on net from the slot. Halak boots it out with a fine save with his left foot.

10:22: Hamrlik collects the rebound and pushes it up ice to Halak with a backhanded breakout pass. Gionta flies in on net with a breakaway. Fleury slides to his side attempting poke check. GIonta is able to push the just over Fleury's and into the net with a backhander. Fleury's stick trips up Gionta who crashes into the boards back-first. He's in some discomfort but eventually recovers to his feet. What an effort by Gionta. Hamrlik gets the only assist. He deserves two for having the patience to move that puck up. Canadiens 2-1.

9:51: Orpik is called for interference against Ryan White. Staal, Cooke, Mark Eaton and Jay McKee take the ice.

9:39: And the Canadiens cash in right away. Fleury stops a wrister by Gionta on the left wing with his glove hand. The rebound bounces around. Gomez is snooping around and punches it into the cage by a helpless Fleury on the glove side. Gionta gets the only assist. It's tough to give Fleury any grief for the rebound. It looked like he had a heavy screen in front to deal with. Canadiens 3-1.

9:09: And the Penguins are in a rough spot. Fleury covers a loose puck int ehs lot. Gonchar is called for interference

8:50: Play is halted as Mrkov crashes into the boards awkwards while getting shoved by Matt Cooke. He's in a bad way. After a few moment, Markov eventually recovers to his feed. Markov seems pretty mad and he's eyeing Cooke. Markov even gestures that he was cross checked by Cooke. Cooke probably could've been called for somethign there. The Penguins dodged one there.

7:13: Trotter has a chance on a mini version of the "Whitney Play." He gets the pass on the back door but punches it wide.

6:36: Spacek swats a half slapper on net from the left point. Fleury makes the save and catches the rebound which popped up into the air.

6:03: An the Penguins get back into this thing. Crosby gains the offensive zone but loses the puck when Hamrlik pokes it away. Guerin is trailing. He steps up, picks up the puck and snaps a wrister which kind of clunks off Halak's glove. Not a good goal to give up. Crosby gets the only assist. It's his 300th career assist. Canadiens 3-2.

5:46: Halk boots out a wrister by Rupp from the left circle.

5:03: Letestu snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Halak fights it off.

3:56: Markov drives a slappe ron net from the left point. Fleury eats it up.

3:54: Off a faceoff win, Spacek droves slapper from the left point wide.

2:40: Staal pushes a wrister from the slot wide.

2:28: Goligoski sneaks in from the right point and puts a shot on net. Halak makes the save.

1:45: Cooke snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Halak boots it to the corner.

1:35: Halak stops Letestu and Cooke twice in tight.

0:57: Bob Errey mentions Crosby appears to have a bit of a equipment issue. That "forces" Dan Byslma to switch up lines and use Crosby, Maklin and Staal. Yeesh.

0:30: Kostitsyn has a wrister from htleft point blocked by Gonchar.

0:00: End of period. Canadiens 3, Penguins 2.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was a pretty even period outside of a dreadful one and a half minute period midway through. It was a pretty tightly checked period until that surge by the Canadiens.

-Faceoffs appear to be a bit of an issues for the Penguins. The Canadiens only are up 21-17 (55 percent), but they're winning key faceoffs in important situations.

-The Canadiens are doing a good job of blocking a lot of shots or passes by the Penguins.

-The Penguins' power play has been really stagnant today.

-The Malkin-Dupuis-Staal line came back to earth.

-The Canadiens have a 23-16 lead in shots.

-Markov leads the game with four blocked shots.

-Dupuis, Cooke and Letestu each lead the Penguins with three.

-Gonchar leads the game with 17:08 of ice time.

-Gorges leads the Canadiens with 14:09.

-Gomez is 10 for 17 in faceoffs (59 percent).

-Letestu is 2 for 3 (67 percent).

-Eaton, Gonchar and Hamrlik each lead the game with three blocked shots.

-More from Maria. A thirsty Sidney Crosby fan:

-These kids are executing better power plays than the Penguins:

-We think.

-The Zamboni looks like a bit power cord:

-T-shirt gun:

-Did anyone else notice the Captain America Shield behind the Penguins' net in the second period?

THIRD PERIOD

19:04: Tyler Kennedy lifts a backhander on net from the slot. Halak fights it off.

18:44: Letang sneaks a wrister though to the cage from the right wing that goes wide to the far side.

17:20: Off a turnover by Staal in the neutral zone, Plekanec whips a wrister from the slot wide of the cage.

16:35: Off a give and go in the offensive zone with Metropolit, Maxim Lapierre rips a wrister from the left circle. Fleury gloves it.

15:08: Fedotenko plasters Hamrlik into the boards behind the Penguins' net. He might've gotten away with some interfernce.

15:01: Gonchar spills Plekanec into the boards as Fleury covers a puck. Darches gives Gonchar the business. Orpik trips up Darche. Malkin reaches down and gives a facewash to Plekanec.

13:18: Fleury fights off a re-direction by Trotter in tight.

12:56: Gill gets bodied off the puck by Crosby. Geez

12:45: And that was crucial. Darche moves up the left wing, gains the blue line and cranks a slapper. It hits off the blade of Gonchar's stick and flutters by Fleury over the blocker side. That slight re-direction appeared to fool Fleury. Plekanec and Spacek get assists. Fleury is pulled for Brent Johnson. As Errey and Steigerwald suggest, that seems to signify Fleury will get the start in Washington tomorrow. Why not just start Johnson today then? Canadiens 4-2.

12:30: Canadiens fans begin the "Ole, ole, ole" chant.

11:57: Letestu is denied in tight by Halak.

10:48: Markov snaps off a wrsiter from the left poitn that misses the mark and hits off the back boards. As Steigerwald points out, Markov was probably trying to create a bounce there and hoping for a teammate to get a bounce.

9:38: Malkin forces the puck up the right wing, gets a step on Hamrlik and pushes a backhanded pass to Fedotenko in the slot. Fedotenko gets just a piece of the puck and pushes it off the right post.

9:13: The Canadiens just out-work the Penguins down low and cash in. Johnson collects a puck behind the net and distributes to Letang in the corner. GOmez pressures Letang. Letang gives it up. Gomez takes the puck and gets to Moen. Moen and Crosby battle down low. The puck comes to Gionta. From his knees Gionta is able to flick the puck over Johnson who took a tumble down low. Letang was horrible on that play. He turned the puck over and failed to accout for Gionta. Johnson's a little slow to recover as he appeared to get tripped up by Eaton. Moen and Gomez get assists. Canadiens 5-2.

8:48: Adams is called for cross checking Trotter.

6:50: Just as the Adams penalty expires, Trotter gets denied down low by Johnson. Staal, Cooke, Eaton and McKee take the ice.

6:02: With Trotter and other just cycling the puck through hard work for ate least a minute, Canadiens fans begin the "Hey, hey, hey, Good Bye" chant. Apparently it's a playoff game.

5:25: White tries to line up Malkin with a big hit along the boards. White even kind of jumped up a bit to deliver that hit. Guerin takes exception, grabs White by the collar and drops the glove. They mostly wrestle around while landing a few rabbit punches. It end when White falls on top of Guerin. Is anyone else sick of this stupid McDOnalds commercial where all those McDonald workers are ready to feed all those workers at the factory? Guerin and White each get fighting majors. Guerin also gets an instigating minor. Malkin will serve the minor.

4:56: And the Penguins are melting down here a bit in terms of discipline. Orpik is called for roughing Plekanec. Five on three for 1:31. Staal, Adams and Eaton take the ice.

4:18: A shot/pass by Spacek from the right half wall that gets deflected into the corner.

4:10: Adams blocks a slapper by Spacek from the right point.

3:46: Staal pushes the puck up the ice to kill time.

3:25: The Guerin minor expires. Montreal still has power play for 30 seconds.

3:16: McKee banks a shot up the boards for Malkin who leaves the box. Malkin is set loose on a breakaway. He moves in on net and rips a wrister under Halak's glove. That wasn't fair. McKee gets the assist. Heck of a play by him. The Canadiens still have a one-man advantage for 20 seconds. McKee and Gonchar get assists. Canadiens 5, Penguins 3.

2:32: Letang drives a slapper on net from the left point. Halak makes the save. Fedotneko is there and snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Halak is able to slide to his left and fight if ott. HUGE save.

2:23: Malkin gets selfish and gets the stick up into Hamrlik's face. That kills any hopes the Penguins had of a come back..

0:23: Malkin's penalty is killed.

0:00: End of game. Canadiens 5, Penguins 3.

-Well that was ugly. We're not sure if the Penguins were looking ahead towards tomorrow's game or if they were thrown off by the long break, but they were just off today. Hopefully, they'll have time to re-focuse for Washigton, assuming they get there tomorrow.

-What might've been the most disappointing thing for the Penguins was how they were out-worked down all over the ice. From the first to the fourth line, the Penguins just didn't compete as hard as the Canadiens.

-It's amazing what the Canadiens' call-ups from their AHL affiliate contributed today. The Penguins just didnt' get those contributions from their call-ups today.

-Letang wasn't articularly good today. He needs to rebound for tomorrow.

-Despite only being 5-foot-7, 175 pounds, Gionta is so tough in he high-traffic areas.

-The Malkin-Staal-Dupuis line really tailed off after the first period.

-Fedotenko just doesn't have it right now in regards to finishing plays.

-Outside of the first Gionta goal, it's hard to blame Fleury for the goals he gave up. The first one was a terrible non-call. The second one, he took a gamble and lost. The third one, he just did what he could with the Canadiens crashing the net. And the fourth one, it just took a bad bounce of Gonchar's stick.

-Halak made the save he had to in key times. He had a game "Fleuryian" game today.

-The shorthanded goal notwithstanding, special teams were a bit of an issue for the Penguins today. They need to improve in those areas for tomorrow's game.

-The Canadiens had a 32-21 lead in shots.

-Trotter led the game with five. Geez.

-Dupuis, Guerin, Cooke and Letestu each had three.

-Crosby failed to record a shot. That can't happen.

-Markov led the game with 25:11 of ice time.

-Gonchar led the Penguins with 24:11.

-The Canadiens had a 31-24 lead in faceoffs (57 percent).

-Gomez was 15 for 25 (60 percent).

-Letestu was 3 for 5 (60 percent).

-Eaton led the game with five blocked shots.

-Gill led the Canadiens with four. Fire Ray Shero.

-Staal passed up Tomas Sandstrom for 48th place on the team's all-time scoring list. Both players have 155 points but Staal (77) has more goals than Sandstrom (71).

-Orpik broke back into the team's top 100 scorers with 72 points. He passed up Tyler Kennedy who has 71 points.

-Dupuis passed up Bryan Watson and Michal Rozsival for 109 the place. All three have 65 points, but Dupuis (27) has more goals than Watson (8) and Rozsival (18).

-Guerin passed up Hans Jonsson and Janne Laukkanen for 145th place. All three have 48 points but Guerin (21) and more goals than Jonsson (11) and Laukkanen (10).

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights.

Empty Netter Assists - 02-06-10

Seth Rorabaugh — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:22:00 GMT

Note: This is a very barebones version of Empty Netter Assists. We don't have any power due to the lovely weather out so we're offering you the Food Club version this morning. Stay warm.

Penguins

-John Curry made 17 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who lost to the Syracuse Crunch, 4-1.

-Michael-Lee Teslak made 23 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-1 loss to the Elimira Jackals.

-Happy 43rd birthday to former Penguins forward Mike Hudson.

-Happy 29th birthday to former Penguins forward Andy Hilbert.

Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: The Ilya Kovalchuk era got off to a rousing start in New Jersey. The Devils scored two goals in the final 44 seconds, including the game-winner with 19 seconds left, to pull off a stunning 4-3 win against the Maple Leafs. Dean McAmmond led New Jersey with a goal and an assist. Kovalchuk had two assists. Martin Brodeur made 17 saves in the win. New Jersey is in second place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Atlantic Division with 74 points, three more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second place respectively.

Northeast Division

-Brendan Burke, the son of Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke, was killed in a car crash in Indiana. Brendan Burke made headlines in November when he revealed he was openly gay.

Southeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals who beat the Thrashers, 5-2. Michal Neuvirth made 43 saves in the win which was Washington's 13th in a row. Washington's Mike Green scored a goal in his first game back from suspension. The Capitals are in first place in the Eastern Conference with 86 points, 15 more than the Penguins.

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes who won at Buffalo, 4-3. Manny Legace made 28 saves in the win. The Sabres are in third place with 71 points, just as many as the fourth-place Penguins. The Sabres are ahead of the Penguins on account of leading the Northeast Division.

-The Hurricanes put forward Chad LaRose on injured reserve and recalled goaltender Justin Peters and forward Zach Boychuk from Albany of the AHL.

-Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward is dealing with an "upper-body" injury.

-The long rumored trade of Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin has fallen through.

-The Capitals recalled Neuvirth from Hershey of the AHL and demoted goaltender Braden Holtby.

-The Lightning demoted forward Paul Szczechura to Norfolk of the AHL.

-Boston hedge-fun manager Jeff Vinik signed a purchase agreement to buy the Lightning.

Central Division

-The Predators signed forward Jordin Tootoo to a two-year contract extension worth $2 million.

-Red Wings forward Niklas Kronwall is not expected to play to day due to a knee injury.

Northwest Division

-Miikka Kiprusoff made all of 12 saves for the Flames who beat the Panthers, 2-1.

Pacific Division

-Shootout goals by former Penguin Robert Lang and Adrian Aucoin gave the Coyotes a 2-1 win against the Blackhawks.