Red White and Blueshirts » Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes 5 Rangers 1

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:25:53 +0000

The Rangers lose their 4th straight game tonight to the Carolina Hurricanes at MSG. There is nothing left to say about how terrible this team is playing right now. It’s obvious no one in that locker room from the head coach on down has a clue how to get this team going offensively and after watching Wade Redden suit up night after night, there is obviously no accountability on this club either.

A delusional John Tortorella thinks all his team needs is a good road trip to get back on track. The problems are much deeper than that coach and if you can’t see that then you have worse eyesight than “Blind Man” Sather.

Practice Notes: Kotalik Back, Power Play Struggles Continue

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:19:45 +0000

After the Rangers failed to score once again during 4 opportunities last night in a 4-2 loss to the Penguins, John Tortorella spent most of practice today working on his beleaguered unit’s need for more motion and creativity while getting bodies to the front of the net. To bolster the attack, Ales Kotalik, who had been a healthy scratch for the last six games, returned to practicing with the first unit and is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Garden.

In other news, Chad Johnson was back at practice today for the Rangers after starting two games and making three appearances for Hartford (AHL) this weekend. Tortorella said he was unsure when Johnson would get another chance to start.

Erik Christensen and Donald Brashear are expected to be healthy scratches tomorrow night.

Hurricanes 2 Rangers 1 (OT)

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:48:29 +0000

Highlights from the Rangers 2-1 OT loss to the Hurricanes at MSG on Saturday.

Rangers 2 Hurricanes 1

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:19:28 +0000

Highlights of the Rangers 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes.

Rangers 3 Hurricanes 1

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:49:09 +0000

Highlights of the Rangers 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Raleigh.

John Tortorella speaks to reporters following the Blueshirts’ third straight win.

2009-10 NHL Predictions

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:57:25 +0000

While we are all waiting for the Rangers to drop the puck tonight in Pittsburgh, I figured I’d try my hand at prognosticating and give you my predictions for the playoffs in each conference and the award winners for the upcoming season.

Eastern Conference Western Conference

1. Boston Bruins 1.Detroit Red Wings

2.Pittsburgh Penguins 2.San Jose Sharks

3.Washington Capitals 3.Calgary Flames

4.New York Rangers 4.Vancouver Canucks

5.Philadelphia Flyers 5.Chicago Blackhawks

6.Carolina Hurricanes 6.Anaheim Ducks

7.Montreal Canadiens 7.Dallas Stars

8.New Jersey Devils 8.St. Louis Blues

Eastern Conference Finals: Hurricanes over Rangers

Western Conference Finals: Red Wings over Flames

Stanley Cup Finals: Red Wings over Hurricanes

Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP)- Cam Ward, Hurricanes

Hart Trophy (MVP)- Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals

Art Ross Trophy (Top Scorer)- Joe Thornton, Sharks

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie)- Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers

Norris Trophy (Best D Man)- Zdeno Chara, Bruins

Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)- Matt Duchene, Avalanche

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach)-John Tortorella, Rangers

Carolina In My Mind

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:07:19 +0000

Most of the news surrounding the Rangers search for a defenseman has centered on Sergei Zubov and Derek Morris but we want to add another possibility to the list. According to reports on ESPN, Carolina Hurricanes RFA Anton Babchuk is at a stalemate with the Canes over his contract and the team’s GM Jim Rutherford has told him “if he finds another team that wants him, they will attempt to trade him”. Enter the Rangers. Babchuck is the type of big bodied (6-5, 214) defenseman the Rangers desperately need but he is not just a big frame as he also has some offensive tools (16 goals and 19 assists and +13 rating last season) as well. More important than either of those things however, is the fact that Babchuk is still young (25) and looks to be coming into the prime of his career while Zubov (who missed all but 10 games last season with injury at age 39) and Morris (who has seen his point totals drop every year for the last 5 years) might be on the backside of their careeers. Babchuk would also give the Rangers another option for next season as both Dan Girardi and Marc Staal will be restricted free agents and one of both could possibly recieve offer sheets leaving Glen Sather to make a very tough decision cap wise. Like Patrick Sharp, who we discussed in this blog yesterday, Babchuk could probably be had for a package of a prospect and a pick and would not fall into that old Rangers tradition of trading prospects for “over the hill ” “Name” players. If the Rangers could get Zubov to come on a one year deal for a discount and hope he’s healthy enough to quarterback the power play and be a mentor to some of our younger D men , i’m all for it but if he wants long term or big coin to come then I think a trade for an up and comer like Babchuk is the smarter move all around.

In other Rangers news, the two year deal signed by Brian Boyle yesterday was worth 525,000 per. Pierre LeBrun at ESPN has updates on Zubov and the Babchuk-Hurricanes stalemate here. Steve Zipay speculates the Rangers may be looking west for a trade partner here and SNY Rangers blog has an article on the reported interest of some KHL teams in Rangers forward Lauri Korpikoski here. (The Korpikoski story seemed like a longshot yesterday but after Detroit forward Jiri Hudler signed a deal with a team in the KHL yesterday afternoon, this may not be just the leverage ploy by Korpikoski’s agent most believed it to be at first…stay tuned)

As always if anything breaks, we’ll have it here.