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Thursday, 09 February 2012 05:29

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Tyler Kennedy (above) is believed to be suffering from an ankle sprain. (PG+)

-What kind of future does Colin McDonald have with the Penguins?

-A Sports Illustrated poll of NHL players revealed Marc-Andre Fleury is the third-toughest goaltender to beat in shootouts after the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist and the Predators' Pekka Rinne.

-Sidney Crosby could cash in a pretty hefty payday from insurance in the event of retirement.

-Crosby's neck injury is pretty complex.

-Happy 30th birthday to former Penguins forward Nathan Smith (right). A free agent signing in the 2007 offseason, Smith suited up for 13 games with the Penguins in 2007-08 before joining the Avalanche as a free agent in the 2008 offseason. He currently plays for the Syracuse Crunch, the Ducks' AHL affiliate.

Atlantic Division

-The Flyers demoted forward Harry Zolnierczyk to Adirondack of the AHL.

-Injured Flyers forward Chris Pronger (concussion) paid a visit to his teammates for the first time in six weeks.

-Rangers forward Brad Richards, the biggest free agent signing this past offseason, is slumping having only scored three points in his past 12 games.

-Don't look now but the Islanders are warming up having gone 7-3-1 in their past 11 games.

Northeast Division

-Ryan Miller made 36 saves for the Sabres in a 6-0 shutout of the Bruins. Captain Jason Pominville scored two goals for Buffalo while teammate Tyler Ennis added a goal and an assist.

-This game took a pretty big turn in the first period when a potential game-tying goal by Boston's Milan Lucic was wiped out on a questionable incidental contact call by Boston's Rich Peverly on Miller:

-Sabres forward/antagonist Patrick Kaleta was effective at getting under the Bruins' skin. He goaded Bruins captain Zdeno Chara into a selfish interference penalty in the second period:

-This game got ugly late:

-After suffering broken ribs in practice Tuesday, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was forced to coach from the press box last night.

-Senators defenseman Chris Phillips is expected to play in his 1,000th career game tonight against the Predators.

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

Southeast Division

-The Panthers demoted goaltender Brian Foster to San Antonio of the AHL.

Central Division

-Joey MacDonald made 15 saves for the Red Wings in a 4-2 defeat of the Oilers. Justin Abdelkader recorded two assists for Detroit which has won 18 consecutive home games. Sam Gagner scored both of Edmonton's goals.

-Check out this backhand deke Gagner used for his first goal:

-Hit of the Night: Detroit's Justin Abdelkader on Edmonton's Taylor Hall:

-Thirsty times for MacDonald:

-Red Wings forward Danny Cleary left the game in the second period due to an ailing left knee.

-The Blue Jackets signed forward Vaclav Prospal to a one-year contract extension worth $2.5 million. The deal includes a no-trade clause. In the final year of a contract with a $1.75 cap hit, Prospal has 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) in 53 games this season.

-The Blues recalled forward Evgeny Grachev from Peoria of the AHL.

-Predators forward Mike Fisher returns to Ottawa for the first time since being traded from the Senators last year.

-The NHL will rent Michigan Stadium for $3 million to hold next season's Winter Classic.

Northwest Division

-A hat trick and an assist by Olli Jokinen led the Flames to a 4-3 win against the Sharks. Captain Jarome Iginla added a goal and an assist for Calgary while teammate Alex Tanguay recorded two assists. Miikka Kiprusoff made 34 saves to record his 300th career win against his former team. Captain Joe Thornton recorded two assists for San Jose.

-Jokinen's hat trick:

-Before the game, former Sharks captain Owen Nolan, fresh of announcing his retirement, dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff between Thornton and Iginla:

-Jokinen (left) and Iginla having a moment:

-Linesman Jay Sharrers had all sorts of issues here:

-San Jose's Antti Niemi was all over this puck:

-The Flames signed defenseman Derek Smith to a two-year contract extension worth a total of $1.55 milion. He will have a salary cap hit of $755,000. In the final year of a contract with a $700,000 cap hit, he has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 32 game this season.

-A right ankle injury is jeopardizing Canucks captain Henrik Sedin's streak of 552 consecutive games played.

-Wild captain Mikko Koivu is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Canucks after being sidelined since Jan. 14 due a left shoulder injury.

-Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has not lived up to expectations thus far in Colorado.

-Oilers coach Tom Renney was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a puck to the head in practice Monday.

Pacific Division

-Corey Perry's overtime goal gave the Ducks a 3-2 win against the Hurricanes. Jonas Hiller made 31 saves in the victory.

-Perry's goal came after a brutal non-call for an apparenty trip by Perry against Carolina's Jussi Jokinen:

-EN Says: The NHL has adopted this "Let 'em play" stance with regards to the rules and officials are putting their whistles away for many penalties, including stick penalties. This is a pretty embarrassing example of that attitude. Slowly but surely, this garage league is regressing to it's clutch and grab pre-lockout days.

-Defensive Play of the Night: Carolina captain Eric Staal stealing a pass off Ducks defenseman Wade Brookbank and converting it into a goal:

-Happy times for Perry:

-Anaheim's Bobby Ryan bent over backwards for this puck:

(Photos: Kennedy-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Smith-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Bruins/Sabres-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Oilers/Red Wings-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images; Flames/Sharks-Tony Avelar/Associated Press; Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images; Hurricanes/Ducks-Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

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