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Tuesday, 15 March 2011 23:32

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "We put ourselves in a position right now and still think we can get to Philadelphia." - Dan Bylsma.

-The Ottawa Citizen's recap. "It’s a normal thing when you get traded away from a place." - Alex Kovalev on being booed by his former fans in Ottawa.

-The Associated Press' recap. "Tonight Pittsburgh played their system to a tee and they capitalized on our mistakes.” - Senators goaltender Craig Anderson.

-NHL.com's recap. "We're playing the way the Penguins play. We're doing all the right things in the system." - Jordan Staal.

-Mike Lange's goal calls.

-Highlights:

-Deryk Engelland versus Ottawa's Chris Neil:

-Neil was apparently happy after the fight:

-So was Spartacat:

-Brent Johnson kept his eyes on this puck:

-Johnson and Corey Potter having a moment:

-Anderson didn't appear to be too crazy about the placement of Mike Rupp's butt:

-Ben Lovejoy teeing one up:

-Matt Cooke > Ottawa's Sergei Gonchar:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-The NHL will not adopt an overall ban on headshots regardless of intent.

-Sidney Crosby skated for a second consecutive day (PG+). He did not suffer any concussion-like symptoms following his skate Monday

-"Concussions are the funniest injury in the world because you can look fine, act fine, feel like crap. That's the honest to God's truth. We just had a conversation about how his emotions are doing and I told him to stay upbeat, don't get discouraged and that it will come around. It's a matter of time and he'll know when he's ready." - Sabres defenseman and former Penguin Jordan Leopold (right) on advice he gave to Crosby.

-John Curry made 23 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 2-0 shutout of the Manitoba Moose.

-The funeral for former Penguins forward Nick Harbaruk will be held today in Toronto.

-Happy 56th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Gord Laxton. The club's first round pick in 1975, Laxton spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1975-76, Laxton appeared in eight games, went 3-4-0 with a 4.49 goals against average. In 1976-77, he played in six games and went 1-3-0 with a 6.17 goals against average. In 1977-78, he was limited to two games, a 0-1-0 record and 7.40 goals against average. Laxton's final NHL season was 1977-78. He played in one game, went 0-1-0 with a goals against average of 8.00. After spending the next five seasons in the IHL or AHL, Laxton was released in the 1983 offseason. In 17 games with the Penguins, Laxton was 4-9-0 with a 5.55 goals against average.

-Happy 40th birthday to former Penguins forward Greg Johnson (right). Acquired midway through the 1996-97 season in a deal that sent Tomas Sandstrom to the Red Wings, Johnson spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. He finished 1996-97 by playing in 32 games for the Penguins and scoring 16 points. During the 1997 postseason, he played five games and scored one goal. After five games and one goal in 1997-98, Johnson was traded to the Blackhawks in exchange for Tuomas Gronman. In 37 regular season games with the Penguins, he had 17 points.

-Happy 60th birthday to former Penguins forward Brian McKenzie. A second round pick in 1971, McKenzie's entire NHL career amounted to six games with the 1971-72 Penguins in which he recorded two points. The following offseason, he was traded to the Atlanta Flames for cash.

Atlantic Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Two goals by Jeff Carter led the Flyers to a 3-2 win at Florida. Brian Boucher made 20 saves for the Flyers. Sergei Samsonov recorded two assists for the Panthers. The Flyers are in first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with 93 points, three more than the Penguins who are in fourth and second places respectively.

-Two goals by Marian Gaborik led the Rangers to a 6-3 win against the rival Islanders. Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen and Bryan McCabe each added a goal and an assist for the Rangers while Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves in the victory. John Tavares and Matt Moulson each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders. There's a couple ex-Penguins in there there somewhere. Fire Ray Shero.

-Check out this pass by Tavares and the ability of teammate P.A. Parenteau to knock it out of the air and into the cage:

-Another night. Another dirty hit. Rangers forward Sean Avery dropped Islanders forward Micheal Haley from behind into the boards:

-The Devils will not quit. Martin Brodeur made 18 saves for the Devils in a 4-2 defeat of the Thrashers. New Jersey, 23-3-2, in its past 18 games, moved into 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 70 points, six out of eighth place.

-Goal of the Night: Check out this bline pass by Atlanta's Evander Kane to set up teammate Tim Stapleton:

-Happy times for the Thrashers. Not so much for Brodeur:

-Intense Face of the Night: Kane:

-Bright times for Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec:

-A would-be game-tying goal by Kane with 37.4 seconds left in regulation was waved off on account of a high stick.

-"It’s pretty amazing what we’ve accomplished. I think we’ve gotten ourselves in a fun situation where every game counts now. Thirty or 40 games ago, it was, ‘How are we going to play the second half? Are we going to just kill time and finish the season?'" - Brodeur.

-The Flyers signed defenseman Oliver Lauridsen, a seventh-round pick in 2009, to a three-year entry-level contract.

Northeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Tyler Seguin's shootout goal gave the Bruins a 3-2 win at Columbus. Tuukka Rask made 34 saves in the victory. The Bruins are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 87 points, three fewer than the Penguins.

-Check out the effort on this shorthanded goal by Boston's Rich Peverley:

-Check out this "save" by Boston's Tomas Kaberle:

-Bruins forward Brad Marchand tagged Columbus' R.J. Umberber with an ugly elbow to the back of the head:

-Rask kept his eyes on this puck:

-Kaberle and Rask having a moment:

-Funny Face of the Night: Columbus' Sami Lepisto defending Boston's Daniel Paille:

-Bruins forward Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch and had a consecutive games streak of 172 snapped.

-The Maple Leafs recalled forward Nazem Kadri and defenseman Matt Lashoff from Toronto of the AHL.

-The Maple Leafs signed defenseman Jake Gardiner to a three-year entry level contract. A first-round pick of the Ducks in 2008, Gardiner's rights were acquired earlier this season in a trade which sent Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim.

-After fearing he may have lost his eye Sunday, Maple Leafs forward and former Penguin Tim Brent has begun wearing a visor.

-"A season like this, I didn't expect it. I don't think anybody expected it. It's a little tougher for me, but it's part of life, so you have to deal with it and move forward." - Senators defenseman former Penguin Sergei Gonchar (right) on his difficult first season in Ottawa.

-Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty proclaimed himself free of concussion symptoms.

Southeast Division

-Scoreboard Watch for the Penguins: Two goals by Marcus Johansson led the Capitals to a 4-2 win at Montreal. Braden Holtby made 24 saves in the victory. Washington has won nine consecutive games. The Capitals are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 92 points, two more than the Penguins.

-Save of the Night: Montreal's Carey Price on Washington's Eric Fehr:

-Cam Ward made 40 saves for the Hurricanes in a 1-0 shutout of the Sabres. Carolina is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 74 points, two fewer than the eighth-place Sabres.

-Hockey players AND referees are tough. Refreer Kelly Sutherlund was cut open by the stick of Buffalo's Mike Weber but didn't miss a beat:

-Carolina captain Eric Staal jumped up in front Buffalo's Ryan Miller:

-Capitals forward Jason Arnott is sidelined due to an undisclosed injury.

-“You don’t like it, don’t come to the games. I think the players realize that they could get hurt. They don’t want to do it, but unless you’ve played and see what goes on at the speed of the game, you’re not going to be able to argue with it. Listen, I don’t want to get into any controversy. But if that was Hal Gill that hit David Krejci, I don’t think there’d be a protest going on here tonight.” - Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau ripping Canadiens fans who staged a rally last night to eliminate violence from the game in the wake of Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara injuring Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty with a hit into the boards last week.

-Thinking Out Loud: Boudreau was sining a much different tune when Alex Ovechkin was kneed by Matt Cooke Feb. 6.

Central Division

-Is Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (right) a legit candidate for the Hart Trophy?

-Predators forward Joel Ward missed last night's game against the Kings due to a "lower-body" injury.

-The Blues recalled defenseman Nathan Oystrick from Peoria of the AHL.

Northwest Division

-Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester set the NHL record for consecutive games played with 495 in last night's game against the Coyotes.

-Calgary forward David Moss will be sidelined indefinitely due to a "lower-body" injury.

-With defenseman Sami Salo dealing with an apparent arm injury, the Canucks recalled defenseman Yann Sauve from Manitoba of the AHL.

-The Wild recalled defenseman Marco Scandella from Houston of the AHL.

-Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles (leg) and forward Paul Stastny (back) are expected to return to the lineup after missing a handful of games due to injuries.

-Shoulder surgery will sideline Oilers forward Ales Hemsky (right) for the rest of the season.

Pacific Division

-Dany Heatley and captain Joe Thornton each had two goals for the Sharks in a 6-3 defeat of the Stars. Joe Pavelski added four assists for San Jose while teammate Patrick Marleau recorded two assists. Antti Niemi made 34 saves in the victory. Jamie Benn led Dallas with a goal and two assists.

-It wasn't all bad for the Stars. Check out this goal by Dallas' Mike Riberio:

-There were three bad hits in this game. This shaky video is the best we could find. First, Dallas' Jamie Langenbrunner smacked San Jose's Niclas Wallin from behind into the boards (0:06) mark. Second, San Jose's Douglas Murray hits Dallas Loui Eriksson high (1:45) and Eriksson stumbles off the ice.:

-There was a second hit by Murray on Stars forward Tomas Vincour and an elbow by Dany Heatly to the face of Dallas' Steve Ott but we can't find a video of.

-Eriksson left the game due to an "upper-body" injury after the hit by Murray.

-"Colin Campbell has his hands full that’s for sure. The Loui Eriksson hit, I think that is prototypical. He’s reaching for the hit. The big guy knows what he is doing. He’s bearing down and finishing the check. He did it again on [Tomas] Vincour and elbowed him right in the face. My head is killing me from the light right now from Dany Heatley’s little cheap shot. If this doesn’t get looked at, I don’t know. I guess when you’re used to being on the other end and being suspended like I have in the past, it’s pretty evident where this stuff should go in a hurry. I don’t care if Heatley makes $10 million or if Murray makes this, it’s time to get this out of the game as fast as we can and protect guys. We’ve got guys in there that are going to be icing heads. You only have one brain, so let’s honestly start figuring something out." - Stars forward Steve Ott.

-Dallas' Jamie Benn missed on this hit against San Jose's Marc-Edouard Vlasic:

-Niemi reached out for this puck:

-Ilya Bryzgalov made 34 saves for the Coyotes in a 4-3 defeat of the Flames. Vernon Fiddler recorded two assists for Phoenix. Rene Bourque had two assists for Calgary.

-Captain Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar each had a goal and an assist for the Kings in a 4-2 win at Nashville. Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves in the victory.

-Los Angeles Jarrett Stoll didn't appear ready for this shot by Nashville's Jonathan Blum:

(Photos: Penguins/Senators-Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images and Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press; Leopold-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Johnson-Penguins Hockey Cards; Thrashers/Devils and Gonchar-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Bruins/Blue Jackets-John Grieshop/Getty Images; Hurricanes/Sabres-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Toews-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Hemsky-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Sharks/Stars-Ronald Martinez/Getty Images; Kings/Predators-Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

Comments (9)

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written by Luiz Mello, March 16, 2011 - 09:48 AM

You know what would be funny? The Devils manage to earn a seemingly impossible playoff spot and then go on to eliminated top-seeded Philadelphia or Washington in the first round.

Either situation, besides fun, would get extra poetic points because the Devils would be smiting Evil.

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written by eman41, March 16, 2011 - 11:04 AM

The Capitals should be very afraid of the possibility of facing NJ in the first round. Nobody is more patient than the devils. And nobody is more impatient than the Capitals.

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written by NC Dave, March 16, 2011 - 01:02 PM

The heck with Crosby, the Pens need to trade Malkin and get some scoring wingers for Zbynek Michalek.

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written by Luiz Mello, March 16, 2011 - 01:45 PM

From today's PPG piece on the GM's meetings:

'"Right now around the league I don't think there's [sufficient support] for a blanket policy for head shots," Shero said. "There's a gray area in some of these hits.'

Now, this is something I just don't understand (honestly). What gray area? Just ban head shots, period. How does the IIHF does it? Just do it the same way. Why is it so important for the NHL powers that be to leave the door open (even if it's just a little open) for dangerous, health-threatening hits?

And now they say they have data proving most concussions do not result from legal or accidental hits to the head. Who cares? If a just a single concussion have resulted from such hits, it would be enough reason to ban them. One less concussion could mean protecting the health/life of one human being. Why would anyone be opposed to that?

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written by Luiz Mello, March 16, 2011 - 01:47 PM

By the way, I know Ray Shero is on record defending a blanket police for head shots. I didn't intend to make it look like he's one of those who are too concern about a supposed "grey area".

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written by eman41, March 16, 2011 - 02:55 PM

Now, this is something I just don't understand (honestly). What gray area? Just ban head shots, period. How does the IIHF does it?

I think you misunderstood the quote. He pointing out the gray area in rules as it relates to head hits, which is why he is in support of a headshot ban.

If you leave the NHL rope, they will hang themselves every time.

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written by Disgruntled Goat, March 16, 2011 - 03:06 PM

Colin Campbell is walking evidence of what happens to a player who has taken too many head shots. I don't know how to explain Gary Bettman though.

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written by Luiz Mello, March 16, 2011 - 04:16 PM

I think you misunderstood the quote. He pointing out the gray area in rules as it relates to head hits, which is why he is in support of a headshot ban.

It's possible I've misunderstood, thanks for pointing that out.

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written by jms44, March 16, 2011 - 05:35 PM

Are the people who are complaining about making immediate rule changes in the NHL, the same ones who were angry at Goodell half way through the NFL year? I would prefer the league moves cautiously to implement a rule change that could affect one of the cores of the game: hitting. I understand the harsh penalties and zero tolerance of stick infractions, but the difference is that the rules prohibit ever putting a stick on someone, where as contact is permitted. If James Harrison complains that adjusting his technique in mid-chaos on a football field is difficult-to-impossible to do, then the same is true in hockey. And concussion numbers shouldn't be thrown around, they are up because the detection of concussions has improved (and admittedly not perfected). The league's study says 78% of concussions, this season, were due to accidents, legal hits, and fighting. 17% of concussions that are from illegal hits is down from 26% a year ago, lets see if the number gets even smaller, next year, with increased penalties/suspensions on illegal hits, before we start trying to change everything.

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