User Rating: / 1
PoorBest 

Penguins

-Happy 40th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Pat Neaton (right). A seventh-round pick in 1990, Neaton's entire NHL career amounted to nine games and two points with the 1993-94 Penguins. After that season, he moved on to the San Diego Gulls of the IHL.

-Happy 42nd birthday to former Penguins forward Reid Simpson. A free agent signing in the 2003 offseason, Simpson's Penguins career amounted to two games, no points and 17 penalty minutes in 2003-04. He was released in the 2004 offseason.

IIHF World Championships

-A goal by Evgeni Malkin helped Russia rout Slovakia, 6-2, in the gold medal match. Malkin led the tournament with 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 10 games and won tournament MVP.

-Malkin's goal:

-Pass of the Day: Check out this pass from Capitals/Russia forward Alexander Semin to set up Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk:

-Check out the passing on this play which led to a goal by Russia forward and former Stars prospect Alexei Tereshenko:

-Team Russia accepting its gold medals:

-Malkin got a hug from Team Russia president and Soviet Union goaltending legend Vladislav Tretiak:

-Happy times for Malkin:

-Happy times for Russia:

-Slovakia defenseman and Bruins captain Zdeno Chara wore the jersey of former teammate Pavol Demitra when he accepted the silver medal. Demitra was killed in the Sept. 7 plane crash involving the the KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl franchise:

-The handshake line:

-“He’s like our Messi, our answer to him." - Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko comparing Malkin to Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi.

-Two assists by Oilers forward Ales Hemsky recorded two assists for the Czech Republic which edged Finland, 3-2, for  the bronze medal.

-Goal of the Day: Check out this effort by Finland forward and former Flyer Mika Pyorala:

-Check out this snipe of a goal by Finland/Hurricanes forward Jussi Jokinen:

-Happy times for Czech Republic forward and former Penguin Petr Nedved:

-Happy times for the Czech Republic:

Playoff Stuff

Rangers - Devils

-Rangers forward Brandon Prust was suspended one game for hitting Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov in the head with an elbow in Game 3.

-The explanation:

-EN Says: This is pretty cut and dry. It's an elbow to the head. It's clearly an act which earns a suspension. Ideally, it would merit a longer suspension, but with the NHL, they consider several factors such as Prust's clean history, the lack of an injury to Volchenkov and other factors when making a decision.

-“Prust has played probably 300-plus games without any hearing, anything going on with him. (Prust’s) probably one of the most honest players. I look at (Dainius) Zubrus’ elbow to (Anton) Stralman. I look at (Zach) Parise launching himself at (Michael) Del Zotto. Maybe if our players stayed down on the ice, we’ll get something. We tell our players don’t stay down on the ice, get up. I’ll leave it at that.” - Rangers coach John Tortorella.

-“Comical." - Devils coach Peter DeBoer.

-“I’m not sure what that is. Was there even a hit on Stralman?. I don’t know what (Tortorella’s) thought process is, what he’s thinking." - Zubrus.

Coyotes - Kings

-Mike Smith  made 36 saves for the Coyotes in a 2-0 shutout of the Kings in Game 4. Captain Shane Doan scored both of Phoenix's goals. Los Angeles has a 3-1 series lead.

-Save of the Day: Smith on Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar:

-A good look at the save:

-Happy times for Phoenix's Jason LaBarbera and Keith Yandle:

-Cool Photo of the Day: The Kings taking the ice:

-Funny Face of the Day: Kopitar:

-Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an undisclosed injury.

-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage:

Non-Playoff Stuff

Smythe Division

-Former Devils/Blues forward Mike Danton joined Coventry Blaze of the United Kingdom's EIHL. While with the Blues, Danton was arrested in 2004 for attempting to hire a hit man to murder his agent David Frost.

-Former Kings forward Esa Pirnes joined AIK of Sweden's Elitserien.

(Photos: Neaton-Penguins Hockey Cards; IIHF World Championships-Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press, Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/GettyImages and Alexander Nemenov/AFP/GettyImages; Coyotes/Kings-Harry How/Getty Images and Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

User Rating: / 1
PoorBest 

Russia defeated Slovakia, 6-2, today to claim the IIHF World Championships in Helsinki. Evgeni Malkin helped secure the win with an impressive goal:

Malkin led the tournament in scoring with 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 10 games and was named tournament MVP.

Penguins

-What is the future of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach John Hynes?

-Happy 66th birthday to former Penguins general manager, head coach and Hockey Hall of Fame member Craig Patrick (above). One of the most important figures in the history of the Penguins, Patrick served as the team's general manager from 1989 until 2006. During that time, he directed the club to two Stanley Cup titles, one Presidents' Trophy, five division titles, 11 consecutive playoff appearances and 575 wins. Patrick also had two unsuccessful stints as the team's coach in 1990 and 1997. Overall, his coaching record with the team was 29-36-9. He is currently a senior advisor for hockey operations for the Blue Jackets.

IIHF World Championships

-A hat trick by Evgeni Malkin led Russia to a 6-2 rout of Finland in the semifinal round of the World Championships.

-Malkin's hat trick:

-Russia/Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin ripped a pretty goal:

-Happy times for Malkin:

-Painful times for Malkin:

-"I have never experienced such things. It was fantastic to see.” -  Malkin on fans throwing red hats on the ice to celebrate.

-Former Penguins forward Miroslav Satan scored two goals for Slovakia which defeated the Czech Republic, 3-1. Fire Ray Shero.

-Happy times for Miroslav Satan:

-Russia will face Slovakia for the gold medal today. Finland will take on the Czech Republic for the bronze medal.

Playoff Stuff

Rangers - Devils

-Henrik Lundqvist made 36 saves for the Rangers in a 3-0 shutout of the Devils in Game 3. Captain Ryan Callahan had a goal and an assist for New York which has a 2-1 series lead.

-Rangers forward Brandon Prust will have a disciplinary hearing for a elbow to the head of Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov. Volchenkov was not injured.

-The hit in question:

-“Head hunting plain and simple." - Devils coach Peter DeBoer on the hit.

-Cool Photo of the Day: The Devils warming up:

-Lundqvist denied New Jersey's Adam Henrique here:

-New Jersey's Martin Brodeur poke checked New York's Brad Richards here:

-With his fifth goal, Rangers forward Chris Kreider set a record for most goals by a player in the postseason who has never played in a regular season game.

-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage:

Coyotes - Kings

-If the Kings win today, they will advance to Stanley Cup Final in just 13 games. That would break the 2008 Penguins' record of 14 games for fewest games to reach the Final since the NHL expanded to best-of-seven series for all four rounds in 1987.

-Kings forward Colin Fraser will return to the lineup after missing one game to attend to a family illness.

-Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal will return to the lineup today after serving a one-game suspension.

Non-Playoff Stuff

Atlantic Division

-Flyers forwards Claude Giroux (wrist), Wayne Simmonds (finger), James van Riemsdyk (hip), defensemen Matt Carle (stomach) and Kimmo Timonen (back) underwent surgery or will undergo surgery.

Adams Division

-Former Sabres/Rangers/Whalers forward Paul Cyr passed away at the age of 48.

(Photos: Patrick-Andy Marlin/Getty Images; Rangers/Devils-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images and Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; IIHF World Championships-Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press, Kimmo Mantyla/Lehtikuva/Associated Press and Alexander Nemenov/AFP/GettyImages)

User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2011-12 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1991-92 season which led to the second Stanley Cup title in franchise history. We will look back on games on a particular date and catch up with former players, coaches, executives and media members who were a part or around that team.

Today, we look at the Penguins' 5-1 win against the Rangers in Game 2 of the Prince of Wales Conference final series, May 19, 1992.

---

The Penguins took a 2-0 series lead at the Civic Arena. Just 59 seconds into the game, rookie right winger Glen Murray gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a goal against goatlender Tom Barrasso. Center Adam Oates recorded the only assist.

At 6:02 of the first period, the Penguins tied the game, 1-1, when left winger Troy Loney scored against goaltender Andy Moog. Assists went to defenseman Paul Stanton and right winger Jaromir Jagr.

Just over 11 minutes late at the 17:07 mark, Jagr scored to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. Center Ron Francis and Loney were credited with assists.

Right winger Rick Tocchet scored the eventual game-winning goal at 11:35 of the second period on a power play. Center Mario Lemieux and left winger Kevin Stevens had assists.

A power-play goal by Oates at 9:43 of the third period made it a 3-2 game. Center Ted Donato and defenseman Ray Bourque had assists.

The Penguins went up 4-2 when Lemieux scored a power play goal at 12:47 off assists from Stevens and defenseman Larry Murphy.

An empty-net goal on a power-play by Lemieux at 19:59 secured the win. Assists went to Jagr and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson.

Notes:

-Barrasso made 18 saves in the win.

-The three stars were 1.) Lemieux 2.) Jagr 3.) Loney.

-Lemieux returned to the lineup after missing five games due to a broken left wrist.

-The Penguins tied a franchise record with their fifth consecutive postseason win.

Postseason statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Mario Lemieux, C	9	9	13	22
Ron Francis, C	15	7	14	21
Kevin Stevens, LW	15	7	12	19
Jaromir Jagr, RW	15	8	10	18
Larry Murphy, D	15	5	8	13
Rick Tocchet, RW	8	4	4	8
Troy Loney, LW	15	4	3	7
Bryan Trottier, C	15	3	3	6
Shawn McEachern, C	13	2	4	6
Phil Bourque, LW	15	2	4	6
Paul Stanton, D	15	0	5	5
Joe Mullen, RW	9	3	1	4
Jock Callender, RW	6	1	1	2
Kjell Samuelsson, D	9	0	2	2
Bob Errey, LW	11	2	0	2
Gordie Roberts, D	12	0	2	2
Ulf Samuelsson, D	15	0	2	2
Mike Needham, RW	5	1	0	1
Dave Michayluk, LW	4	0	1	1
Jim Paek, D	13	0	1	1
Jiri Hrdina, C	15	0	1	1
Jay Caufield, LW	9	0	0	0
Grant Jennings, D	10	0	0	0

Also in the news that day:

-Catcher Don Slaught went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Pirates in a 7-2 loss to the Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards; Video: Jay Korber)