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Wednesday, 14 December 2011 04:57

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap fom last night's game. "We felt pretty good about our game until maybe they got their first goal." - Matt Niskanen.

-The Detroit News' recap. "He really turned his game up and that's what he tends to do in the bigger moments." - Red Wings coach Mike Babcock on forward Pavel Datsyuk.

-The Detroit Free Press' recap. "He does everything so well, whether it's playing defensively, trying to be a shut-down guy. And then he also generates offense for us." - Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard on Datsyuk.

-MLive.com's recap. "I think I was a little fortunate tonight." - Howard on Evgeni Malkin putting two shots off posts (above).

-The Associated Press' recap. The Penguins are 12-8-3 when Sidney Crosby doesn't play.

-NHL.com's recap. "Every single time he touched the puck, it seemed like something was happening." - Howard on Malkin.

-Highlights:

-"Crazy Eyes" Brooks Orpik used the "no eyes" defense on Detroit's Johan Franzen:

-Red times for Detroit's Darren Helm:

-Howard got down low for this puck:

-Happy times for the Red Wings:

-Dan Bylsma speaks:

-Evgeni Malkin speaks:

-Welcome Craig Adams to the 700-game club.

-"It feels good to get a win in a game like this." - Red Wings forward and former Penguin Chris Conner.

-The elbowing major Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic received Saturday against Brooks Orpik was rescinded by the NHL.

-"I try to learn something from everybody and I learned from Mike Babcock as a coach. I still watch their team and watch what they do to see if there's something there (to learn)." - Bylsma on Babcock. Bylmsa played for Babcock in Anaheim.

-"It’s a milestone that back in the day, I probably didn’t think it would happen." -Deryk Engelland on playing in 100 career games. (PG+)

-“Concussion, concussion-like symptoms — anything to do with your head it’s (awful). It’s honestly the worst injury on earth because there’s nothing you can do for it. You feel pretty helpless. You feel bad for him and at the same time you feel bad for the game too because he’s arguably the best player in the league." - Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer on Sidney Crosby's head injury. Reimer missed six games this season due to a concussion.

-Two goals by Colin McDonald led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-2 win against the Binghamton Senators. Carl Sneep recorded two assists for the Penguins while teammate Brad Thiessen made 22 saves in the victory.

-Highlights courtesy of The Wilkes-Blog:

-The win moved the Penguins into first place in the Eastern Conference.

-Happy 49th birthday to former Penguins defenseman Chris Dahlquist. A free agent signing the 1985 offseason, Dahlquist spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1985-86, Dahlquist saw action in five games and scored three points. He followed up in 1986-87 by playing in 19 games and recording one assist. In 1987-88, Dahlquist appeared in 44 contests and scored nine points. The 1988-89 campaign saw him play in 43 games and record six points. During that spring's postseason, Dahlquist played in two games and failed to record a point. In 1989-90, Dahlquist saw action in 62 games and scored a career-high 14 points. After 22 games and three points in 1990-91, Dahlquist and Jim Johnson were traded to the North Stars in exchange for Larry Murphy and Peter Taglianetti. In 195 regular season games with the Penguins, Dahlquist scored 36 points.

Atlantic Division

-Ilya Bryzgalov made 31 saves for the Flyers in a 5-1 rout of the rival Capitals. Matt Carle and James van Riemsdyk each recorded two assists for Philadelphia.

-Flyers forward and former Penguin Maxime Talbot scored a clunker of a goal:

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Even the officials are taking out the Flyers. Referee Stephen Walkom knocks over Philadelphia's Kimmo Timonen:

-Happy times for the Flyers. Not so much for Washington captain Alex Ovechkin:

-Grim times for the Capitals' bench:

-Shootout goals by Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias gave the Devils a 3-2 win against the Panthers. Kovalchuk recorded two assists while teammate Martin Brodeur made 24 saves. Kris Versteeg scored both of Florida's regulation goals.

-Defensive Play of the Night: Versteeg with a steal off New Jersey's Henrik Tallinder which led to a shorthanded breakaway goal:

-New Jersey's Cam Janssen and Florida's Krys Barch pounded the tar out of each other:

-The Devils are now 7-1 in shootouts this season.

-Flyers forward Claude Giroux, the league's leading scorer with 39 points, is sidelined indefinitely due to a concussion.

-"We lost the best player in the league. It's not easy to play without him." - Flyers forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr on Giroux.

-Islanders forward prospect Corey Trivino was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a female at Boston University. A second-round pick in 2008, Trivino was dismissed from the school's hockey team.

Northeast Division

-Two goals by Tim Connolly, including one in overtime, gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 win against the Hurricanes. James Reimer made all of 18 saves in the victory.

-Connolly's overtime goal:

-Connolly's first goal came off a nifty re-direction:

-Tuukka Rask made 41 saves for the Bruins in a 3-0 shutout of the Kings. Brad Marchand scored two goals for Boston while teammate Patrice Bergeron recorded two assists. Los Angeles lost in the debut of interim head coach John Stevens.

-Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick had issues with this puck:

-Funny Face of the Night: Marchand:

-A goal and an assist by Petteri Nokelainen led the Canadiens to a 5-3 win against the Islanders. David Desharnais recorded two assists for Montreal while teammate Carey Price made 29 saves. P.A. Parenteau recorded two assists for New York.

-Check out this backhanded goal by New York's Josh Bailey:

-Canadiens defenseman and former Penguin Hal Gill went long distance for his first goal of the season:

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Happy times for the Islanders. Not so much for Montreal's Tomas Plekanec:

-Jared Cowen's overtime goal gave the Senators a 3-2 win against the Islanders. Jason Spezza recorded two assists for Ottawa while teammate Craig Anderson made 27 saves in the victory.

-Cowen's goal:

-Goal of the Night: Buffalo's Tyler Ennis:

-Happy times for the Senators. Not so much for Buffalo's Ryan Miller:

-Cool Photo of the Night: Happy times in Buffalo:

-Sabres defenseman and Cranberry native Mike Weber returned to the lineup after missing 11 games due to a broken rib. Buffalo forward Paul Gaustad also returned after missing three games due to a shoulder ailment.

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

Southeast Division

-Ondrej Pavelec made 34 saves for the Jets in a 2-1 win against the Wild. Minnesota had a seven-game winning streak snapped.

-Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard left the game after suffering facial injuries when he was boarded by Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian. Bogosian was given a game misconduct for the hit:

-Fight of the Night: Winnipeg's Tanner Glass versus Minnesota's Clayton Stoner:

-Can the Jets and Wild be rivals under the new realignment?

-The Jets claimed forward Antti Miettinen off waivers from the Lightning. After signing a two year contract worth a total of $3 million with the Lightning, Miettinen had clear re-entry waivers since he started the season with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.

-Winnipeg activated defenseman Ron Hainsey (ankle) from injured reserve.

-The Panthers demoted forward Tim Kennedy to San Antonio of the AHL.

-The Lightning demoted defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk of the AHL.

Central Division

-Shootout goals by former Penguin Mark Letestu, captain Rick Nash and James Wisniewski gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 win against the Canucks. Fire Ray Shero. Steve Mason made 30 saves in the victory.

-Pekka Rinne made 35 saves for the Predators who beat the Flames, 2-1. Calgary had a six-game winning streak snapped.

-Check out this nifty backhanded goal by Calgary's Curtis Glencross:

-Intense Photo of the Night: Nashville's Mike Fisher and Calgary's Olli Jokinen taking a faceoff:

-The Predators activated forward Blake Geoffrion ("upper body") from injured reserve and demoted him to Milwaukee of the AHL.

-With forward Vladimir Sobotka expected to be sidelined two weeks due to an ankle injury, the Blues recalled forward Evgeny Grachev from Peoria of the AHL.

-Check out this trick shot from the upper level of Bridgestone Arena by Predators captain Shea Weber:

-"I think they might sleep in, like, bunk beds." - Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland on Vancouver's Sedin brothers.

Northwest Division

-Shootout goals by captain Milan Hejduk and Gabriel Landeskog gave the Avalanche a 4-3 win against the Sharks. Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves in the victory. Dan Boyle had a regulation goal and an assist for San Jose.

-We don't want to suggest the Avalanche is having a bad season, but...:

-The Canucks demoted forward Bill Sweatt to Chicago of the AHL.

Pacific Division

-Richard Bachman made 34 saves for the Stars in a 1-0 shutout of the Rangers. It was his first career shutout.

-Rangers forward Carl Hagelin was given a bogus charging penalty when he collided with Bachman:

-The Sharks might not win playoff games, but they sure do make funny videos:

Norris Division

-Former Red Wings/Blue Jackets/Ducks forward Mark Hartigan joined Linköping of the Elitserien in Sweden.

(Photos: Red Wings/Penguins-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images and Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Flyers/Capitals-Greg Fiume/Getty Images and Nick Wass/Associated Press; Kings/Bruins-Elise Amendola/Associated Press; Senators/Sabres-Dave Sandford Getty Images; Islanders/Canadiens-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Flames/Predators-Frederick Breedon/Getty Images; Sharks/Avalanche-Barry Gutierrez/Associated Press)

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