User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

Sunday, 18 December 2011 08:10

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Dave Molinari's recap from last night's game. "My first shot, I scored. Second shot, I score again. It's a lucky day for me." - Evgeni Malkin.

-The Buffalo News' recap. "It was a tough night for Ryan, starting with the first goal." - Sabres coach Lindy Ruff on goaltender Ryan Miller.

-The Associated Press' recap. Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 200th career win.

-NHL.com's recap. Simon Despres joked the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the NHL's 31st team.

-Game highlights:

-Happy times for the Penguins:

-Fleury gloved this puck:

-Fleury kept his eyes on this puck:

-Dan Bylsma was all business:

-A good look at Miller's lid:

-Buffalo's Drew Stafford wasn't digging Malkin's hat trick:

-Kris Letang has not yet resumed skating.

-Is part of Sidney Crosby's legacy awareness for concussions?

-Brad Thiessen made 10 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 loss to the Norfolk Admirals.

-Paul Crowder and Paul Thompson each had a goal and an assist for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-3 loss to the Reading Royals.

-Happy 65th birthday to former Penguins captain and all-star forward Jean Pronovost (right). Acquired during the 1968 offseason in a deal along with John Arbour which sent cash to the Bruins, Pronovost spent 10 seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1968-69, Pronovost appeared in 76 games and scored 41 points. He followed that up in 1969-70 by playing in 72 games and once against scored 41 points. Helping the team reach the postseason for the first time in franchise history, Pronovost scored seven points in 10 contests. In 1970-71, Pronovost appeared in 78 games scored a team-leading 21 goals and recorded 45 points. During 1971-72, Pronovost once again led the team with 30 goals while compiling 53 points. In four postseason games that spring, Pronovost scored two points in four games. The 1972-73 season saw Pronovost get teamed with Syl Apps, Jr. and Lowell MacDonald to form a line which would eventually become known as "The Century Line." Pronovost appeared in 66 games that season and scored 43 points. In 1973-74, Provonost took a big step as he saw action in 70 contests while scoring 40 goals and 72 points. The 1974-75 campaign saw Pronovost play in 78 games, lead the team with 43 goals, score 75 points and be selected to his first all-star game. In the 1975 postseason, he played in 10 games and netted seven points. Pronovost's greatest season was 1975-76 when he set career highs in games (80), goals (52), assists (52) and points (104) while being selected to a second consecutive all-star game. That season also saw him become the first 50-goal scorer in franchise history. During that season's playoffs, he saw action in three games and scored on goal. In 1976-77, Pronovost appeared in 79 games and led the team with 33 goals and 64 points and once again appeared in an all-star game. That spring's postseason saw him play in three games and score three points. His final season in Pittsburgh was 1977-78. Serving as the team's captain, he played in 79 games and once again led the team with 40 goals and 65 points and appeared in his fourth all-star game. In the 1978 offseason, he was traded to the Atlanta Flames in exchange for Gregg Sheppard. One of the most prolific players in franchise history, Pronovost ranks third in games played (603), goals (316), fifth in points (603), third in shorthanded goals (14), fourth in game-winning goals (42). He also led the team in single-season goal-scoring five times. Only Mario Lemieux (10) accomplished that feat more often. In 29 postseason games with the Penguins, Pronovost scored 18 points. In 1992, he was a member of the franchise's hall of fame charter class.

-Happy 40th birthday to former Penguins forward Joe Dziedzic. A third-round pick in 1990, Dziedzic spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1995-96, Dziedzic appeared in 69 games and scored 10 points. During that spring's playoffs, Dziedzic saw action in 16 games and scored recorded three points. In 1996-97, he appeared in 59 games and scored 18 points. During the 1997 playoffs, he recorded one assist in five games. After spending all of 1997-98 with the Penguins' IHL affiliate in Cleveland, Dziedzic joined the Coyotes in the 1998 offseason as a free agent. In 128 regular season games with the Penguins, Dziedzic scored 28 points. In 21 postseason games, he scored three points. He currently runs a hockey school in Minnesota.

Atlantic Division

-Two goals by Patrik Elias led the Devils to a 5-3 win against the Canadiens. Former Penguin Petr Sykora and Dainius Zubrus each had a goal and an assist for New Jersey while teammates Kurtis Foster and Ilya Kovalchuk each recorded two assists. Fire Ray Shero. Former Penguin Hal Gill recorded two assists for Montreal which lost in the debut of interim head coach and former Penguins forward Randy Cunneyworth. Fire Ray Shero.

-Elias scored his 347th and 348th career goals and broke forward John MacLean's franchise record for career goals.

-Elias' record goal came off a nifty pass from Sykora:

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Check out this snipe of a goal by Zubrus:

-Larsson was injured on this hit to the head by Montreal's Erik Cole:

-A goal by Brad Richards with 0.1 left in regulation gave the Rangers a 3-2 win against the Coyotes. Marian Gaborik scored two goals for New York while teammate Martin Biron made 21 saves.

-Richards' goal:

-Cool Photo of the Night: New York captain Ryan Callahan > Phoenix's Oliver Ekman-Larsson:

-Painful times for Rangers forward and former Penguin Ruslan Fedotenko:

-This was a road game for the Rangers:

-Wet and wild times for Phoenix's Mike Smith:

-Rangers forward and former Penguin Mike Rupp returned to the lineup after missing 22 games due to a knee injury.

-Rangers defenseman Steve Eminger left the game due to a shoulder injury.

-Frans Nielsen's shootout goal gave the Islanders a 2-1 win against the Wild. Al Montoya made 20 saves in the victory which snapped a four-game losing streak.

-Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald (leg) and forward Nino Niederreiter (concussion) returned to the lineup.

-The Islanders demoted goaltender Kevin Poulin and defenseman Calvin de Haan to Bridgeport of the AHL.

Northeast Division

-Tim Thomas made 31 saves for the Bruins in a 6-0 shutout of the Flyers. Captain Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin each had a goal and an assist for Boston while teammate Rich Peverly recorded three assists.

-Scary moment here. Flyers forward Sean Couturier left the game in the second period with a head injury after he took a slap shot to the head from teammate Kimmo Timonen:

-Couturier was hospitalized for observation.

-Boston captain Zdeno Chara recorded a "Gordie Howe" hat trick:

-Flyers forward Scott Hartnell had his jersey ripped to shreds during this fight with Boston's Johnny Boychuk:

-Everyone had issues here:

-The Senators acquired forward Kyle Turris from the Coyotes in exchange for defenseman David Rundblad. Turris will be a restricted free agent after 2012-13 and has a salary cap hit of  $1.4 million. In six games this season, Turris has no points. Runblad will also become a free agent after 2012-13 and has a salary cap hit of $1.5 million. In 24 game this season, Rundlbad has four points (one goal, three assists).

-EN Says: The Coyotes dealt away an underachieving former No. 1 overall pick who didn't want to be in Phoenix and got a legit top four defensive prospect. This is a win for Phoenix.

Southeast Division

-A goal and two assists by Zach Bogosian led the Jets to a 5-3 win against the Ducks. Kyle Wellwood added a goal and an assist for Winnipeg while teammate Dustin Byfuglien recorded two assists. Chris Mason made 33 saves in the win. Corey Perry scored two goals for Anaheim.

-Goal of the Night: Check out this snipe by Winnipeg's Alexander Burmistrov:

-Ducks forward and former Jets star Teemu Selanne got a roaring welcome back to Winnipeg last night:

-Selanne being popular:

-"Tonight really make my whole career pretty much. That was something that I am always going to remember. There’s always a big piece of Winnipeg people in my heart.” - Selanne.

-A goal and an assist by Steven Stamkos led the Lightning to a 3-2 win against the Blue Jackets. Former Penguin Mathieu Garon made 26 saves in the victory. Fire Ray Shero. Vaclav Prospal recorded two assists for Columbus.

-Check out this wraparound goal by Blue Jackets forward and Plum product R.J. Umberger:

-Prior to the game, Prospal was honored for appearing in his 1,000th career game:

-Panthers forward Jack Skille is sidelined indefinitely due to a shoulder injury.

-The Panthers recalled forward Greg Rallo from San Antonio of the AHL.

-The Lightning recalled defenseman Evan Oberg from Norfolk of the AHL.

Central Division

-Corey Emmerton had two goals and an assist for the Red Wings in an 8-2 rout of the Kings. Drew Miller added two goals for Detroit while teammate Niklas Kronwall added a goal and two assists. Jimmy Howard made 27 saves in the victory. Dustin Penner and Justin Williams each recorded two assists for Los Angeles.

-Check out the placement on this disgusting backhander by Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg:

-Check out this nifty pass by Detroit's Johan Franzen to set up Pavel Datsyuk for a goal:

-David Legwand's shootout goal gave the Predators a 2-1 win against the Blues. Pekka Rinne made 39 saves for Nashville which has won five consecutive games.

-Pass of the Night: Nashville captain Shea Weber setting up Martin Erat for a backdoor goal:

-The Blackhawks demoted forward Ben Smith to Rockford of the AHL.

Northwest Division

-Alex Burrows and Chris Higgins each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks in a 5-3 win against the Maple Leafs. Roberto Luongo made 26 saves in the victory. Tyler Bozak led Toronto with a goal and two assists.

-Check out this feed from Vancouver's Alex Burrows setting up Daniel Sedin for a goal:

-Check out this individual effort on a goal by Vancouver's Jannik Hansen:

-Burrows had a nice goal of his own:

-Happy times for the Canucks. Not so much for Maple Leafs forward and former Penguin

Colby Armstrong:

-Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 2-1 win against the Capitals. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 25 saves in the victory.

-Check out this fluky goal by Colorado's Cody McLeod:

-McLeod was pretty pumped after this fight with Washington's Matt Hendricks:

Pacific Division

-Antti Niemi made 23 saves for the Sharks in a 3-2 win against the Oilers. Joe Pavelski recorded two assists for San Jose.

-Goal of the Night: Check out this give-and-go between San Jose's Martin Havlat and Michal Handzus:

-Havlat left the game in the third period after taking an awkward tumble of the boards:

-Former Blackhawks/Sharks/Flames coach Darryl Sutter has agreed to take over as the Kings' coach.

-The Sharks demoted defenseman Matt Irwin to Worcester of the AHL.

-The Coyotes recalled goaltender Justin Pogge from Portland of the AHL.

Adams Division

-NBC/CBC broadcaster Mike Milbury offered his side of the story in regards to charges against him that he physically assaulted a 12-year-old boy.

-Former Sharks/Flyers/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Niko Dimitrakos has joined Adler Mannheim of the DEL in Germany.

-Brooks Ostergard made 32 saves for the Robert Morris men's team in a 4-0 shutout of RIT.

(Photos: Sabres/Penguins-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images and Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Pronovost-Penguins Hockey Cards; Devils/Canadiens-Graham Hughes/Canadian Press; Rangers/Coyotes-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Bruins/Flyers-Al Bello/Getty Images; Ducks/Jets-Marianne Helm/Getty Images; Canucks/Maple Leafs-Abelimages/Getty Images; Capitals/Avalanche-Jack Dempsey/Associated Press)

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed