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Tuesday, 01 February 2011 09:15

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Above, you are looking at the Steelers logo the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are painting at Center Ice in Mohegan Sun Arena.

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Evgeni Malkin speaks:

-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored two goals for the Eastern Conference in an 11-8 win in the AHL All-Star Game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Eric Tangradi added an assist while teammate John Curry made 27 saves and recorded the win.

-Happy 43th birthday to former Penguins all-star forward Mark Recchi (right). A fourth-round pick in 1988, Recchi spent parts of seven seasons with the Penguins over three different stints. As a rookie in 1988-89, Recchi appreared in 15 games and recorded two points. He followed that up in 1989-90 by playing in 74 games and recording 67 points. In 1990-91, Recchi saw action in 78 games and led the team with 40 goals and 113 points. During that spring's postseason, Recchi played in all 24 of the team's games and scored 34 points while helping the franchise claim the Stanley Cup for the first time. After 58 games and 70 games in 1991-92, Recchi was traded to the Flyers along with Brian Benning and a draft pick in exchange for Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and a draft pick. After several seasons with the Flyers and Canadiens, Recchi returned to the Penguins as a free agent in the 2004 offseason. Following the 2004-05 lockout, Recchi played in 63 games and scored 57 points in 2005-06 before being traded to the Hurricanes at the trade deadline in exchange for Niklas Nordgren, Krys Kolanos and a draft pick. Recchi returned to the Penguins yet again as a free agent in the 2006 offseason. In 2006-07, he played in all 82 games and scored 68 points. During the 2007 postseason, he appeared in five games and recorded four assists. After 18 games and eight points in 2007-08, Recchi was claimed off waivers by the Thrashers. He currently plays for the Bruins. In 389 regular season games with the Penguins, Recchi scored 385 points, 13th-most in franchise history. In 29 playoff games, he scored 38 points, 10th-most in franchise history.

--Happy 72nd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Bob Blackburn. Claimed from the Rangers in an intra-league draft during the 1969 offseason, Blackburn spent two seasons with the Penguins. In 1969-70, he appeared in 60 games and scored 11 points. He appeared in six games that postseason and failed to record a point. During 1970-69, Blackburn saw action in 64 games and scored nine points. Just prior to 1971-72, he was traded to Vancouver of the WHL in exchange for cash. In 124 games with the Penguins, he scored 20 points.

Atlantic Division

-The Islanders recalled defensemen Dylan Reese (right), Ty Wishart and goaltender Kevin Poulin from Bridgeport of the AHL.

-The Devils recalled forwards Nick Palmieri, Vladimir Zharkov, Mattias Tedenby and defenseman Mark Fraser from Albany of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-“You think anybody in management cares about a poll like this?” - Maple Leafs overlord Brian Burke in response to a poll of NHLPA members where 35 percent of those asked said they would not want to play for Toronto coach Ron Wilson.

-The Senators recalled forward Colin Greening and goaltender Robin Lehner from Binghamton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-The Lightning unveiled some new blue jerseys which will be put into use next season:

-Thinking Out Loud: It's not a bad jersey. In fact, it's an upgrade over the death ninja attack squad jerseys they have now. But it's another blue jersey. Over a third of the league has some sort of blue jersey. Eventually the NHL will have to become the Smurf Hockey League.

-Tampa Bay signed forward Nate Thompson to a two-year contract extension worth $1.8 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $900,000.

-The Lightning recalled goaltender Mike Smith from Norfolk of the AHL.

-Panthers forward Shawn Matthias will be sidelined six to eight weeks due to a broken ankle.

Central Division

-Predators forward Jordin Tootoo (right) was given clearance to return to practice after admitting himself to the NHL/NHLPA substance-abuse program Dec. 27.

-The Predators recalled forwards Chris Mueller and Matt Halischuk from Milwaukee of the AHL.

-The Blackhawks recalled defenseman Nick Leddy from Rockford of the AHL.

-The Blue Jackets recalled forward Matt Calvert from Springfield of the AHL.

-The Blues recalled forward Philip McRae and defenseman Nikita Nikitin from Peoria of the AHL and demoted Stefan Della Rovere to Peoria.

-Blues defenseman Erik Johnson lost some teeth in practice yesterday.

Northwest Division

-Wild foward Andrew Brunette (right) is expected to appear in his 1,000th career game tonight.

-The Canucks recalled forward Cody Hodgson from Manitoba of the AHL.

-Avalanche forward David Jones is sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

Pacific Division

-The Ducks recalled forward Dan Sexton from Syracuse of the AHL.

-The Stars recalled forwards Aaron Gagnon and Travis Morin from Texas of the AHL.

-The Coyotes recalled forwards Mikkel Boedker and Andrew Ebbett from San Antonio of the AHL.

(Photos: Recchi-Penguins Hockey Cards; Reese and Tootoo-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Brunette-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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