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Thursday, 26 January 2012 08:40

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-The Penguins officially placed Jordan Staal on long-term injured reserve. (PG+)

-The great Joe Vitale (above) is popular in St. Louis.

-Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News re-examines the James Neal/Matt Niskanen-Alex Goligoski deal from the Stars perspective.

-Colin McDonald had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Providence Bruins.

-Patrick Killeen made 28 saves for the Wheeling Nailers in a 5-0 shutout of the Reading Royals. Nick Peterson had a goal and two assists for the Nailers while teammate Denver Manderson scored two goals.

-Today would've been the 62nd birthday of former Penguins coach Ivan Hlinka. Hired in the 2000 offseason, Hlinka spent parts of two seasosn with the Penguins. In 2000-01, he guided the club to a 42-28-12 record as well as a memorable run to the Eastern Conference final during that seasons' playoffs. After four games and a 0-4-0 record in 2001-02, Hlinka was fired and replaced by Rick Kehoe. The only Czech coach in NHL history, his career regular season record with the Penguins was 42-32-12. Hlinka was killed in a 2004 car accident in the Czech Republic.

-Happy 54th birthday to former Penguins forward Mark Taylor (right). Acquired early in the 1983-84 offseason along with Ron Flockhart, Andy Brickley and draft picks in a deal which sent Ron Sutter and draft picks to the Flyers, Taylor spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. he finished 1983-84 by appearing in 59 games for the Penguins and scoring 55 points. After 47 games and 17 points in 1984-85, Taylor was traded to the Capitals in exchange for for Jim McGeough. In 106 games with the Penguins, he scored 72 points.

Atlantic Division

-Eight months ago, Flyers forward Matt Read was finishing his collegiate career in Bemidji State. This weekend, he'll be in the all-star skills competition.

The Flyers demoted forwards Tom Sestito, Ben Holmstrom and Harry Zolnierczyk to Adirondack of the AHL.

-Devils rookie defenseman Adam Larsson (wrist) and forward Adam Henrique (groin) will not participate in the All-Star weekend due to injuries.

Northeast Division

-Two goals and an assist by David Desharnais led the Canadiens to a 7-2 rout of the Red Wings. Erik Cole added a goal and two assists for Montreal while teammate Rene Bourque collected a goal and an assist. Carey Price made 26 saves in the victory. Jiri Hudler scored two goals for Montreal. 

-If you can imagine such a thing, Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom was screening Price:

-The Maple Leafs signed defenseman John-Michael Liles to a four-year contract extension worth a total of $15.5 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3.875 million. In the final year of a contract with a cap hit of $4.2 million, Liles has appeared in 34 games and has scored 21 points (four goals, 17 assists).

-By the sounds of things, goaltender Tim Thomas isn't exactly a universally beloved figure on his team.

-The Senators demoted defenseman Mark Borowiecki and forward Andre Petersson to Binghamton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Lightning forward Dana Tyrell will be sidelined the rest of the season following surgery on his right knee.

-The Lightning demoted forward Mike Angelidis, Trevor Smith, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and defenseman Evan Oberg to Norfolk of the AHL.

-Tampa Bay fired Kelly Frank, who preformed as the team's mascot Thunderbug, two weeks after a video of her being shoved by a Bruins fan went viral. The team claims the incident wasn't the only reason for the dismissal but wouldn't get into specifics.

-The video in question:

-The Capitals demoted forward Cody Eakin to Hershey of the AHL.

-The Jets demoted forwards Patrice Cormier and Aaron Gagnon to St. John's of the AHL.

-The Panthers demoted defenseman Tyson Strachan to San Antonio of the AHL.

Central Divison

-Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom missed last night's game in Montreal due to the flu. It was only the 29th missed game in his 20-year career.

-Via Twitter, Blues forward Andy McDonald (right) called the decision of Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin to skip the All-Star Lame Game "classless."

-The Blues demoted forward Chris Porter to Peoria of the AHL.

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

-The Blue Jackets demoted forward Dane Byers to Springfield of the AHL.

Northwest Division

-The Oilers demoted forwards Magnus Paajarvi Teemu Hartikainen and defenseman Taylor Chorney to Oklahoma City of the AHL.

Pacific Division

-The Sharks placed goaltender Antero Niittymaki on waivers.

-"I don't want to be in this organization at all anymore, nothing wrong with city. Glad they did it, hope somebody picks me up." - Niittymaki.

-The Stars activated forward Jamie Benn (appendectomy) from injured reserve and demoted forwards Matt Fraser, Tomas Vincour and defenseman Philip Larsen to Texas of the AHL.

-The Ducks demoted forward Mark Bell and former Penguins defenseman Nate Guenin (right) to Anaheim of the AHL.

-The Coytoes demoted defensemen Chris Summer, Maxim Goncharov and forward Marc-Antoine Pouliot to Portland of the AHL.

Smythe Division

-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants to have a sit-down with the NHL about the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

-Former Islanders/Panthers forward Juraj Kolnik has joined ZSC of the NLA in Switzerland.

-Former Bruins/Wild forward Peter Kalus has joined MODO of the Elitserien in Sweden.

(Photos: Vitale-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Taylor-Penguins Hockey Cards; Red Wings/Canadiens-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; McDonald-Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images; McDonald-Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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