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Thursday, 10 November 2011 06:35

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-James Neal (above) has the green light to shoot.

-Sidney Crosby takes a good deal of contact in practice.

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-The Penguins are good people:

-Two goals by Eric Tangradi led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-2 defeat of the Norfolk Admirals. Ben Street added a goal and two assists for the Penguins while teammate Simon Despres netted a goal and an assist. Brad Thiessen made 25 saves in the victory.

-Chris Barton scored the Wheeling Nailers' only goal in a 4-1 loss to the Florida Everblades.

-"Are we surprised by 20 games? Not by OHL standards." - Ray Shero on the 20-game suspension by the OHL for Penguins forward prospect Tom Kuhnhackl. Kuhnhackl, a forward with the Niagara IceDogs, was punished for a dangerous hit on Kitchener Rangers defenseman Ryan Murphy. (PG+)

-Today would've been the 66th birthday of former Penguins goaltender Al Smith (right). Claimed from the Maple Leafs in the 1969 offseason in an intra-league draft, Smith spent two seasons with the Penguins. As the team's primary starter in 1969-70, Smith appeared in 46 games, had a 15-20-8 records, a 3.03 goals against average and two shutouts. In the 1970 postseason, Smith saw action in three games and went 1-2 with a 3.33 goals against average. Smith once against played in 46 games in 1970-71. His record was 9-22-9, with a 3.11 goals against average and two shutouts.  During that season, he set a franchise mark with 15 consecutive games without a win. In the 1971 offseason, the Red Wings claimed him in an intra-league draft. In 92 regular season games with the Penguins, Smith, the first player in franchise history to wear No. 29, was 24-42-17 with a 3.07 goals against average and four shutouts. He holds the Penguins' unofficial record for fights by a goaltender with five. Smith passed away Aug. 7, 2002.

-Happy 61st birthday to former Penguins defenseman Bob Stewart. Acquired early in the 1979-80 season in a deal which sent Blair Chapman to the Blues, Stewart's Penguins' career amounted to 65 games and 10 points that campaign. In the 1980 postseason, Stewart appeared in five games and recorded two points. He retired in the following offseason.

Atlantic Division

-Two goals by Marian Gaborik led the Rangers to a 3-2 win against the Senators. Derek Stepan added a goal and two assists for New York while teammate Artem Anisimov recorded two assists. Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves in the victory.

-Here's a match made in heaven. Ottawa's Zenon Konopka versus New York's Sean Avery:

-Rangers forward Mike Rupp will be sidelined four to six weeks after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

-Philadelphia captain Chris Pronger retunred to the lineup after missing six games due to an eye injury. He wore a visor.

-Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn agreed to a four-year contract extension worth a total of $18 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $4.5 million. Coburn has one year left on a contract with a salary cap hit of $3.2 million.

Northeast Division

-Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson (right) resumed skating for the first time since suffering a concussion Oct. 29.

-“I don’t give a crap what Zenon said, or whatever his name is said." - Rangers coach John Tortorella on Ottawa's Zenon Konopka who complained about a hit by New York's Wojtek Wolski which injured Alfredsson.

-Bruins forward Daniel Paille underwent surgery to repair a fractured nose.

-The Bruins recalled forward Zach Hamill from Providence of the AHL.

-The Canadiens recalled forward Aaron Palushaj from Hamilton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-An overtime goal by Brett Connolly gave the Lightning a 2-1 win against the Flyers. Dwayne Roloson made 14 saves in the victory.

-The Flyers implemented a bizarre "four corners" offensive strategy to combat the Lightning's renown 1-3-1 forecheck:

-"It's not hockey in my book. But whatever. The league is letting them do it. Would you pay money to watch that?" - Pronger on the Lightning's 1-3-1.

-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau went all  Herb Brooks on his team in practice yesterday.

-The Hurricanes visited the World Trade Center:

Central Division

-Two goals and an assist by Craig Smith led the Predators to a 4-2 win against the Ducks. Colin Wilson added a goal and an assist for Nashville while teammate Patric Hornqvist recorded three assists. Pekka Rinne made 31 saves in the victory. Anaheim has lost six consecutive games.

-Happy times for Rinne and Patric Hornqvist:

-Predators forward David Legwand is sidelined due to an "upper-body" injury.

-"I’m coming to a place where I expect to do well and I’m going to play a lot more than I did." - Blue Jackets forward Mark Letestu on Tuesday's grade from the Penguins.

-The Blue Jackets activated goaltender Mark Dekanich (high ankle sprain) off injured reserve and assigned him to Springfield of the AHL along with forward Cam Atkinson.

Northwest Division

-Wild forward and former Penguin Nick Johnson will not be suspended for head butting Flames captain Jarome Iginla in a fight Wednesday.

-The Flames placed defenseman Anton Babchuk (hand) on injured reserve and recalled defenseman T.J. Brodie from Abbotsford of the AHL.

Pacific Division

-Stars forward Steve Ott (right) is sidelined due to a hip pointer.

-The Kings placed forward Scott Parse ("lower body") on injured reserve.

Patrick Division

-Former Red Wings/Lightning forward Mattias Ritola has joined MODO of the Elitserien in Sweden.

-Former Canadiens/Predators forward Oleg Petrov has joined Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.

(Photos: Neal-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Smith-Penguins Hockey Cards; Alfredsson-Photobucket; Predators/Kings and Ott-Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Comments (1)

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written by jameshutton, November 10, 2011 - 09:17 AM

Re ex-Pens - The alleged Johnson head butt was a joke.

Good luck to Letestu, especially after watching a little of the Flyer/Blue Jacket game the other night. If there were a 66 to be drafted next year, you'd think the Blue Jackets were playing that angle already. Columbus is the closest NHL market to me, but it's hard to justify paying NHL ticket prices to watch that team - and I thought they'd be more watchable after Hitchcock left.

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