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Friday, 23 September 2011 00:12

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Shelly Anderson's recap from last night's game. Jordan Staal (above) found the net.

-NHL.com's recap. "Cookie was glad to be back." - Staal on Matt Cooke.

-Highlights.

-Happy times for the Penguins:

-Brent Johnson stretching things out:

-Anthem time:

-Chicago's Alexander Salak alone in the dark:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Cooke speaks:

-Jason Williams is dealing with a wonky groin. (PG+)

-"He's a guy who can play in our league." - Tony Granato on Nick Johnson.

-"Right now, getting him down to Wilkes-Barre and getting starting in pro hockey is the best thing right now for his development." - Bylsma on Simon Despres who was demoted to the AHL yesterday. (PG+)

-"I’m not sure Eric has pushed himself to the top of that group just yet." - Bylsma on Eric Tangradi. (PG+)

-“I have a pretty good grip of what it’s like to be an NHL player.” - Brian Strait.

-Welcome back to Pittsburgh Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers forward Jody Shelley was slammed with a 10-game suspension (five preseason, five regular season) for this dangerous boarding hit on Maple Leafs forward Darryl Boyce Wednesday:

-As you can tell, new NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan provided a thorough video explanation of his decision.

-EN Says: What a refreshing change to see someone in Shanahan's office act with some guts. Shelley's play was incredibly stupid and dangerous. This is a stiff punishment and well deserved. The one thing we would question is the fact that half of the suspension is composed of preseason games. If this occurred in the, would Shelley get 10 as well?

-EN Also Says: Shanahan offering a video explanation of the hit is simply brilliant. He's providing transparency to a position which had absolutely none of it when Colin Campbell held it.

-Ugly story here. Someone threw a banana at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds during the team's game last night in London, Ont. against the Red Wings. Simmonds is black.

-The Flyers assigned forward Tomas Hyka to Gatineau of the QMJHL.

-The Winter Classic is expected to be announced Monday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia Monday.

-Devils forward Dainius Zubrus (right) is dealing with a "lower-body" injury.

-"You can't just take a year off in the NHL and think it'll be a piece of cake." - Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador who missed all of 2010-11 due to a concussion.

-Islanders forwards Brian Rolston (groin) and Kirill Kabanov (wrist) are dinged up.

Northeast Division

-The Senators assigned forward Shane Prince to Ottawa of the OHL.

-Sabres forward Jochen Hecht (right) is dealing with facial injuries.

-The Maple Leafs assigned forwards Sam Carrick (Brampton - OHL) David Broll (Sault Ste. Marie - OHL), Andrew Crescenzi (Kitchener - OHL), Josh Leivo (Sudbury - OHL), Josh Nicholls (Saskatoon - WHL), Sondre Olden (Erie - OHL), Brad Ross (Portland -WHL), defenseman Stuart Percy (Mississauga - OHL) and goaltender Garret Sparks (Guelph - OHL) to their junior teams. Forwards forwards Brayden Irwin, Will Acton, Kelsey Wilson, Matt Caruana, Tyler Brenner, Jamie Devane, Kyle Neuber, defensemen Dave Cowan, Denny Urban and Josh Engel were assigned to Toronto of the AHL. Defencemen Matt Stanisz, Garrett Clarke, Mike Schwindt and forward Mitchell Heard were released.

Southeast Division

-Carolina demoted defenseman Brett Bellemore, Kyle Lawson, Chris Murray, forwards Matt Pistilli, Justin Soryal and goaltender John Muse to Charlotte of the AHL.

-The Hurricanes signed general manager and former Penguins goaltender Jim Rutherford (right) to a four-year contract extension through the 2015-16 season.

-“It’s been a tough road. I think it’s made me a better person. To have both surgeries back-to-back, you know that really slowed down my progression. I missed about a year and a half, almost two years of hockey. That would hurt anyone. I’m back to where I want to be physically and mentally and feel good. I’m happy I get this new opportunity.” - Panthers forward prospect and former Penguins first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito.

-The Jets assigned forwards Austen Brassard (Bellville - OHL), Ivan Telegin (Barrie - OHL), Adam Lowry (Swift Current - WHL), defensemen Kendal McFaull (Moose Jaw - WHL), Sebastian Owuya (Medicine - WHL) and Zach Yuen (Tri-City - WHL) to their junior teams. Forward Mike Kirkpatrick was demoted to St. John's of the AHL while forward Levko Koper was released.

-The Capitals are going to give new forward Joel Ward a chance on a line with captain Alex Ovechkin and Marcus Johansson.

Central Division

-Ian White's shootout goal gave the Red Wings a 4-3 win against the Flyers in London, Ont.

-Predators forward Blake Geoffrion (right) is dealing with a lacerated wrist.

-The Blue Jackets assigned forward Petr Straka to Rimouski of the QMJHL.

-The Blues assigned forward Cody Beach (Moose Jaw - WHL), defenseman Brock Beukeboom (Niagara - OHL) and goaltender Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound - OHL) to their junior teams.

Northwest Division

-Warren Peters's goal gave the Wild a 1-0 win against the Blues.

-St. Louis' Jaroslav Halak kept his eyes on this puck:

-Goals by Owen Nolan and Mike Duco led the Canucks to a 2-1 win against the Oilers.

-Nolan's goal came off a nifty re-direction:

-Funny Face of the Night: Edmonton's Darcy Hordichuk about to fight Vancouver's Todd Fedoruk:

-Flames forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond was suspended five games (four preseason, one regular season) for a dangerous boarding hit on Canucks forward Matt Clackson. Once again, Brendan Shanahan provided an explanation:

-Remember how Canucks forward Mason Raymond broke his back in the Stanley Cup Final? He's still recovering from that injury.

Pacific Division

-Two goals by Colton Sceviour led the Stars to a 5-2 win against the Avalanche.

-The Stars signed retiring former captain Mike Modano (right) to a one-day contract worth $999,999 in honor of his No. 9. Modano will file retirement paperwork today so the contract will not technically count towards the team's records.

-Sharks goaltender Antero Nittymaki is expected to miss 12 weeks following hip surgery.

-The Sharks demoted defenseman Sena Acolaste, forward Curt Gogol, and former Penguins forward prospect Nathan Moon to Worcester of the AHL. Additionally, forwards Freddie Hamilton (Niagara - OHL), Michael Sgarbossa (Subury - OHL) and goaltender J.P. Anderson (Mississauga - OHL) were assigned to their junior teams.

-The Coyotes demoted defensemen Mathieu Brodeur, Nick Ross, Garrett Stafford, Michael Stone, forwards Mathieu Beaudoin, Spencer Bennett, Evan Bloodoff, Alexandre Bolduc, Darian Dziurzynski, Brett Hextall, Ryan Hollweg, Colin Long, Donny Maloney, Brendan Shinnimin, Jordan Szwarz, Matt Watkins, Ethan Werek and goaltender Marc Cheverie to Portland of the AHL. Goaltenders Mark Visentin (Niagara - OHL), Louis Dominque (Quebec - QMJHL) and forward Kale Kessy (Medicine Hat - WHL) were returned to their junior teams.

(Photos: Blackhawks/Penguins-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Zubrus-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Hecht and Modano-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Rutherford-Post-Gazette archives; Geoffrion-Joel Auerbach/Getty Images; Wild/Blues-Tom Gannam; Canucks/Oilers-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

Comments (4)

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written by Bones, September 23, 2011 - 07:33 AM

Shanahan is off to a great start. Not only does he provide disclosure, it has to be embarrassing and humbling to have video of an NHL legend calling a player out floating around the internet. Hope he makes this the standard way of announcing suspensions.

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written by jameshutton, September 23, 2011 - 07:40 AM

Hmmm. Despres to WBS already (don't remember seeing him hit the ice in either of the first two games, but I didn't see much of last night's game), but Morrow surviving to play another game. Interesting.

Seth, you might want to change that Coyote reference above.

Thanks for all your work and photos!

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written by jameshutton, September 23, 2011 - 07:42 AM

Ah - Seth a thousand apologies. In my early morning fog, I mixed up Coyotes and Thrashers - a big -1 for me.

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written by bastage42, September 23, 2011 - 09:58 AM

I love the explanation from Shanahan as much as the tougher suspension. I think it's great both from a fan's perspective and from a player's perspective -- tell us specifically what not to do, no grey areas, no inconsistency, and we'll figure out how to follow the rules. I mean players hate it if the refs are inconsistent with tripping or holding, so I'd imagine inconsistent suspensions that cost them time and money on infractions that they don't fully understand must drive them crazy. Let's hope the bar stays high for these types of needless and dangerous transgressions.

Props to Wayne Simmonds for taking the high road, and for those around the league having his back.

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