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Wednesday, 04 May 2011 23:37

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-"I thought maybe it would be a month, tops. I would never have thought he would be out as long as he has." - Tyler Kennedy (above) on Sidney Crosby's concussion.

-Brad Thiessen made 31 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 1-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers in Game 4 of their Eastern Division final series. Charlotte leads the series, 3-1.

-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins goaltender Johan Hedberg (right). Acquired at the 2001 trade deadline along with Bobby Dollas in exchange for Jeff Norton, "The Moose" spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins. After finishing the 2000-01 season with a 7-1-1 record, 2.64 goals against average and .905 save percentage in nine games, Hedberg emerged as a suprise playoff starter for the Penguins. In 18 postseason games that spring, Hedberg was 9-9 with a 2.30 goals against average, .911 save percentage and two shutouts. In 2001-02, Hedberg appeared in 66 games and had a 25-34-7 record with a 2.75 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and six shutouts. His loss total led the NHL and remains a franchise record. During 2002-03, he saw action in 41 games and went 14-22-4 with a 3.14 goals against average .895 save percentage and one shutout. The following offseason, Hedberg was traded to the Canucks for a draft pick. In 116 games with the Penguins, Hedberg went 46-57-12 with a 2.88 goals against average, .901 save percentage and seven shutouts. His wins (eighth) and shutouts (fourth) are among the 10 best totals in franchise history. He is currently a member of the Devils.

-Happy 46th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Grant Jennings. The least celebrated player acquired in the Penguins legendary 1991 trade deadline deal which brought him to Pittsburgh along with Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson in exchange for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski, Jennings spent parts of five seasons with the Penguins. Hardly an offensive dynamo, Jennings (right) recorded four points in 13 games for the Penguins down the stretch of the 1990-91 season and recorded two points in 13 postseason games that spring as the Penguins won their first Stanley Cup title. Jennings' first full season in Pittsburgh was 1991-92 and he appeared in 53 games while scoring nine points. He appeared in 10 postseason games that spring and failed to record a point but helped the team defend successfully defend the Cup. In 1992-93, Jennings saw action in 58 games and recorded five assists. He played in 12 postseason games that spring and did not record a point. During 1993-94, Jennings played in 61 games and scored six points. He was limited to three postseason games that season and failed to record a point. After 25 games and four assists in 1994-95, Jennings was dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Drake Berehowsky at the trade deadline. In 210 regular season games with the Penguins, Jennings recorded 28 points. In 38 postseason games, he scored two points.

-Happy 60th birthday to former Penguins forward Willy Lindstrom. Claimed off waivers from the Oilers prior to the start of the 1985-86 season, "The Wisp" spent parts of two seasons and was the first player in NHL history to play with both Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. His first season in Pittsburgh saw him play in 71 games and record 31 points. He spent one more campaign in the NHL with the Penguins and recorded 23 points in 60 games. After leaving the sport for one season entirely, Lindstrom joined Brynas IF Gavle in Sweden for the 1988-89 season.

Happy 39th birthday to former Penguins forward Zigmund Palffy. A free agent signing in the 2005 offseason, Palffy spent part of one season with the Penguins and recorded 42 points in 42 games in 2005-06. Midway through that campaign, Palffy announced his retirement and left the NHL. His biggest claim to fame with the Penguins was that he scored the 10,000th goal in franchise history in the second period of a 6-3 home loss to the Flyers, Nov. 19.

-Happy 45th birthday to former Penguins forward Mike Stapleton. A free agent signing in the 1992 offseason, Stapleton spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. In 78 games in the 1992-93 campaign, Stapleton recorded 13 points and helped the Penguins win their first Presidents' Trophy. He appeared in four postseason game that spring and did not record a point. The following seasons saw him appear in 58 games and record 11 points. Midway through that season, he was claimed off waivers by the Oilers. In 136 games with the Penguins, Stapleton recorded 24 points.

Capitals - Lightning

-Two goals by Sean Bergenheim led the Lightning to a series-clinching 5-3 win against the Capitals in Game 4. Martin St. Louis added a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay while teammates Steve Downie, Dominic Moore and Teddy Purcell each recorded two assists. Dwayne Roloson made 33 saves for Tampa Bay which swept the series, 4-0. Jason Arnott recorded two assists for Washington.

-Postgame:

-Happy times for Bergenheim:

-Happy toothless times for Tampa Bay's Steve Downie:

-Happy times for the Lightning:

-Not so much for the Capitals:

-Intense Face of the Night: Roloson:

-Lightning forward and Ryan Malone was apparently trying to be seductive here:

-We think.

-Washington's Marco Sturm and Roloson had issues here:

-So did Tampa Bay's Nate Thompson and Washington's Michal Neuvirth:

-Lightning fans were looking for a sweep:

-The Lightning outshot the Capitals, 37-36. It was the first time all playoffs it won the shot battle in a game during the postseason.

-Tampa Bay is 7-0 since Marc-Andre Begeron was added to the lineup.

-“I don’t want to answer that. Stupid question.” - Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau when asked if he was concerned about his future.

-The Capitals are now 17-20 in postseason games under Boudreau.

Flyers - Bruins

-Captain Zdeno Chara had two goals and an assist for the Bruins in a 5-1 rout of the Flyers in Game 3. David Krejci added a goal and two assists for Boston while teammate Nathan Horton contributed a goal and an assist. Tim Thomas made 37 saves for Boston which leads the series, 3-0.

-Check out this hit by Boston's Daniel Paille on Philadelphia's Kris Versteeg:

-A good look at the hit:

-Bright times for the Bruins:

-Chara and Thomas having a moment:

-The Flyers once again yanked starting goaltender Brian Boucher in place of back up Sergei Bobrovsky.

-The obligatory "The Bruins had a 3-0 series lead last year and lost" comment is brought to you by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

-The Bruins scored their first power-play goal of the postseason after 30 attempts.

-Flyers forward Jeff Carter returned to the lineup after missing five games due to a knee injury.

Canucks - Predators

-Predators coach Barry Trotz accused the Canucks of embellishing calls.

-The Predators' camera guy didn't embellish this hit before Game 3:

Sharks - Red Wings

-A hat trick, including an overtime goal, by Devin Setoguchi gave the Sharks a 4-3 win against the Red Wings in Game 3. Dan Boyle added a goal and an assist for San Jose while captain Joe Thornton contributed three assists. Antti Niemi made 38 saves for San Jose which leads the series, 3-0. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom had a goal and an assist for Detroit.

-Setoguchi's hat trick:

-Detroit's Niklas Kronwall tagged San Jose's Dany Heatley with a big hit:

-Thinking Out Loud: Is that charging?

-Cool Photo of the Night: Niemi stopped this puck:

-Detroit's Jimmy Howard had issues with this puck:

-Happy times for the Red Wings. Not so much for San Jose's Dan Boyle:

-The Sharks have seven wins in these playoffs. Five have come in overtime.

IIHF World Championships

-Former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr had a goal for the Czech Republic in a 2-1 win against Finland.

-Jagr's goal:

-Blues forward Patrik Berglund had two goals for Sweden in a 6-2 rout of the United States.

-United States and Islanders goaltender Al Montoya had issues with this puck:

-Mads Christensen's hat trick led Denmark to a 3-2 defeat of Latvia.

-Lars Haugen made 25 saves for Norway in a 5-0 shutout of Austria.

-Happy times for Norway:

-Polar bear head gear times for this Norwegian fan:

Non-Playoff Stuff

Northeast Division

-The Bruins signed defenseman Ryan Button, a third-round pick in 2009, to an entry-level contract.

Central Division

-Blackhawks defenseman Chris Campoli will undergo knee surgery.

(Photos: Kennedy and Crosby-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Hedberg-Gary Tramontina/Associated Press; Jennings-Penguins Hockey Cards; Capitals/Lightning-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, Chris O'Meara/Associated Press and John Raoux/Associated Press; Flyers/Bruins-Elise Amendola/Associated Press; Sharks/Red Wings-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images and Paul Sancya/Associated Press; IIHF World Championships-Petr David Josek/Associated Press, Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images and Samuel Kubani/AFP/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by PensFanInPhilly, May 05, 2011 - 09:35 AM

Random Thoughts:
- I hate him, but for the most part, Ovie played his tail off against Tampa - where on earth were the rest of the Caps??
- When Washington & Philly realize that a strong goalie is a key to playoff success, the East will be much more frightening - that being said, I suspect Philly won't EVER realize that...
- Sorry, I went to bad last night: has anyone gotten the puck into the Tampa offensive zone yet?
- What is that gagging noise coming from S Philly?

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written by Bones, May 05, 2011 - 11:41 AM

Always love seeing Hedberg in that blue mask. That was a really fun time to be a Penguin fan. Devils trap ruined everything. How awesome would a Mario vs. Ray Bourque in the finals storyline have been? How many times would we have seen the highlight of Mario's first goal in that series?

I think last year's Cup finals led teams to believe that you don't need a big name goalie to make a legit run. Obviously it worked, but I still think it was an anomaly. Really surprised that the Caps didn't make a major overhaul last year. Should have moved Green and tried to get a legit playoff goalie, but I don't know how much value that guy has anymore.

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written by JBM425, May 05, 2011 - 10:38 PM

Re: Willy Lindstrom, let's not forget the WHA years. Throw those into the mix, and he was THE ONLY player to have played with Gretzky, Lemieux, and Bobby Hull with the Winnipeg Jets. Not bad company, huh?

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written by Luiz Mello, May 05, 2011 - 11:32 PM

The reason why the caps didn't make a major overhaul last season is because they are the most spectacular team to ever have graced the NHL, and they have been so since they *arrived*.

I do hope reality never catches up with that organization. They make my post-seasons way more fun.

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