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Thursday, 14 April 2011 03:50

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

(Note: Empty Netters and several of the Post-Gazette's blogs were down much of the day due to technical issues. Our apologies.)

Playoff Stuff

Penguins - Lightning

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "That's the way he's played now for three months. He's consistently excellent. And he was nothing short of awesome tonight." - Penguins forward Mark Letestu on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (above).

-The St. Petersburg Time's recap. Lightning forward Martin St. Louis needed a double root canal after the game after taking an unpenalized high stick to the mouth from Zbynek Michalek.

-The Tampa Tribune's recap. The Lightning was shutout for the sixth time in its postseason history.

-The Globe and Mail's recap. - “I keep repeating over and over how good he is. He keeps us in games.” - Alex Kovalev on Fleury.

-The Toronto Star's recap. "It’s one game, not the end of the world.” - Lightning forward Steven Stamkos.

-NHL.com's recap. "I just saw the replay and I can't believe some of the saves he made." - Lightning coach Guy Boucher on Fleury.

-Mike Lange's goal calls.

-Highlights:

-Brooks Orpik's hit on Steven Stamkos deserves its own clip:

-The play where St. Louis damaged his teeth:

-White times at Consol Energy Center:

-Kovalev leading a rush up ice:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Fleury speaks:

-Kovalev speaks:

-The pregame montage in the arena last night:

-Last night's national anthem:

-"I'm just here to stop pucks." - Fleury.

-"I'm getting a little old, but it's always nice to score on your birthday." - Arron Asham.

-Sidney Crosby spent the night in the team's management booth wearing a head set communicating with the bench. (PG+)

-Local police were able to collect $15,560 from fans last night for the benefit of wounded Clairton police officer James Kuzak.

-Consol Energy Center's ice has improved as the season wore on.

-Today's heartwaming story of Sidney Crosby meeting a young fan? Right here.

Capitals - Rangers

-An overtime goal and an assist by Alexander Semin led the Capitals to a 2-1 win against the Rangers in Game 1. Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves in the victory. Washington has a 1-0 series lead.

-Semin's goal:

-Happy times for Semin:

-A good look at the goal:

-New York's Mats Zuccarello got planted into the boards courtesy of Washington's Jeff Schultz:

-“This is only the beginning. My biggest moment will be when we win the series.” - Semin (through an interpreter).

-Capitals defenseman Mike Green returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion Feb. 25.

Flyers - Sabres

-Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger will miss tonight's Game 1 due to a hand injury.

-"I'm 36. I don't know how many years I can keep going. I don't know how many years I have in these stumpy little legs. We'll see. I hope it's this year. Once you get older, once you get more experience, you realize time is closing in. You've got to take advantage every time you have a chance."- Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen (right) on potentially winning the Stanley Cup.

-“I have no idea. The fact that he may not know may be a good thing.” - Flyers backup goaltender Brian Boucher on if starter Sergei Bobrovsky is aware of the franchise's 36-year Stanley Cup drought.

-With forward Mike Grier (knee) returning to the lineup, the Sabres demoted forward Matt Ellis to Portland of the AHL.

Bruins - Canadiens

-Is this a make or break postseason for Bruins coach Claude Julien?

Canucks - Blackhawks

-Roberto Luongo made 32 saves for the Canucks in a 2-0 shutout of the Blackhawks in Game 1. It was Luongo's second career postseason shutout. Vancover has a 1-0 series lead.

-Save of the Night: Luongo on Chicago's Brian Campbell:

-Luongo kept his eyes on this puck:

-Vancouver's Ballard got high here on Chicago's Tomas Kopecky:

-"For me, those are not shots on goal. It's not part of a net, it's not a shot on goal." - Luongo on the Blackhawks hitting the post four times.

-Kopecky left the game after four shifts due to an "upper-body" injury.

-Hockey Night in Canada's pregame montage was solid:

-“We know they’re going to come back stronger next game. They’re the Stanley Cup champs, and they know what to do.” - Luongo on the Blackhawks.

Sharks - Kings

"We know that if we make a mistake, he'll bail us out." - Sharks forward Patrick Marleau on goaltender Antti Niemi.

"Every team that's ever won the Stanley Cup has always had a goalie who's either been great all season or turned it on in the postseason, and he'll have to be our best player." - Kings defenseman and former Penguin Rob Scuderi on Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick.

-Kings forward Justin Williams (shoulder) is expected to play in Game 1.

Red Wings - Coyotes

-Johan Franzen had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 4-2 defeat of the Coyotes in Game 1. Jimmy Howard made 26 saves in the victory. Detroit has a 1-0 series lead.

-Check out this goal by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk:

-Happy times for Datsyuk:

-Red Wings forward Mike Modano was a healthy scratch for Game 1.

-Franzen entered the postseason with only two goals in his previous 27 games.

-Were you frustrated with the Penguins' power play last night? The Coyotes went 0 for 6 with the man advantage.

-The Coyotes recalled forwards Mathieu Beaudoin, Dane Byers, Bracken Kearns, Alexandre Picard, Viktor Tikhonov, defenseman Maxim Goncharov, Brandon Gormley, Garrett Stafford, Chris Summers and goaltender Matt Climie from San Antonio of the AHL.

Ducks - Predators

-Mike Fisher had a goal and an assist for the Predators in a 4-1 defeat of the Ducks. Pekka Rinne made 27 saves in the victory. Nashville leads the series, 1-0.

-Rinne and teammate Patric Hornqvist having a moment:

-They gave out orange towels in Anaheim last night:

-After missing roughly a week due to a "lower-body" injury, Ducks backup goaltender Ray Emery returned to the lineup when he replaced starter Dan Ellis.

-"We didn't play even close to what we are capable of." - Ducks defenseman Toni Lydman.

-The Ducks recalled defenseman Matt Clark, Nate Guenin, forwards Nicolas Deschamps, Josh Green, Peter Holland, Patrick Maroon, Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Igor Bobkov from Syracuse of the AHL.

Non-Playoff Stuff

Atlantic Division

-Devils defenseman Mark Fayne and forward Nick Palmieri will play for Team USA in the upcoming IIHF World Championships.

-Devils teammate Travis Zajac (right) will suit up for Team Canada.

-Islanders forward John Tavares will play for Team Canada in the tournament.

Southeast Division

-Panthers forward Jack Skille will play for Team USA in the IIHF World Championships.

Central Division

-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Dave Rook will not return next season.

Northwest Division

-The Avalanche signed forward Brad Malone, a fourth-round pick in 2007, to an entry-level contract.

-Avalanche forward Matt Duchene (right) will play for Canada in the IIHF World Championships.

-Joining him on Team Canada will be Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk and forward Jordan Eberle.

Pacific Division

-The NHL shot down the lastest report that the Coyotes return to Winnipeg was imminent.

(Photos: Lightning/Penguins-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images and Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Rangers/Capitals-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Timonen-Mike Stobe/Getty Images; Coyotes/Red Wings-Dave Sandford/Getty Images; Blackhawks/Canucks-Rich Lam/Getty Images; Predators/Ducks- Jeff Gross/Getty Images; Zajac-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Duchene-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Comments (1)

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written by NC Dave, April 14, 2011 - 07:16 PM

Looks like there were plenty of good seats available in "Hockey Town".

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