Goal Line Report
Entries with the tag: Carolina+Hurricanes
Questions, Questions, Questions
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/19/09 at 12:51 PM ET
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That was quite a Game 1 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes last night, wasn’t it? It’s safe to say that this series could go at least six games and for hockey fans, that means nothing but good news as hockey will continue to roll on sometime into June.
As per usual, here are some questions I would like to get your thoughts on regarding the world of hockey:
- Who is better - Penguins’ goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury or Hurricanes’ netminder Cam Ward? Why?
- Will Patrick Roy take the Colorado Avalanche head coaching job? Why or why not?
- Quick, who are your five Conn Smythe trophy nominees?
- Will the Boston Bruins have better luck next year or was this their year to win the Stanley Cup?
- If Chris Osgood and the Detroit Red Wings win the Cup again this season, will Osgood finally get the respect he deserves? Why or why not?
- Would Pierre Maguire really be the right choice for general manager of the Minnesota Wild? Why or why not?
Let’s hear your thoughts!
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Hockey+questions, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs,
Back in the Saddle
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/18/09 at 04:25 PM ET
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Good afternoon folks. I apologize for not having posted this week as I was busy packing up my things and getting ready to move into my new condo next weekend. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Kukla’s Korner.
As you’re all aware of, the NHL Conference Finals are officially under way. Yesterday’s Game 1 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks showed that the Blackhawks still have a lot to learn about what it means to be a successful playoff team. Sure, they were able to stay in the majority of the game but there are so many things they can learn just from watching the Wings and how they compete with consistency on a nightly basis.
Tonight, the Eastern Conference finals hits the ice as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Many pundits and fans see this as going six games in favor of the Penguins but let’s not forget that the Hurricanes have not lost a playoff series since 2002 in the Cup finals to the Red Wings. Sure, they’ve only made the postseason twice since 2002 but nevertheless, they’ve been pretty successful so far - wouldn’t you say?
I want to hear your predictions folks:
- Who’s going to win the East? Why?
- Who’s going to win the West, Why?
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Detroit+Red+Wings, Pittsburg+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs,
Thoughts on the Second Round
by Patrick Hoffman on 05/04/09 at 03:57 PM ET
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You can find my thoughts on the second round over at MaxHockey.com. Click below to find out my opinions on each series:
Eastern Conference
- Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference
- Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Also feel free to check out Zach Weinstock’s excellent NHL Playoff page.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chicago+Blackhawks, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stanley+Cup+Playoffs, Vancouver+Canucks, Washington+Capitals,
Hockey Front and Center Tonight
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/28/09 at 02:15 PM ET
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From Shawn P. Roarke at NHL.com
With a heat wave blanketing the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, it may not have felt like a time for hockey.
Yet in two NHL buildings—the Prudential Center here and the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.—there was no denying that hockey was front-and-center.
That’s what happens when you play in a Game 7. And, Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals are hosts for the only two Game 7s of the first round. First, at 7 p.m., the Capitals host the New York Rangers (Versus, TSN, RDS) in one of the more exciting series in recent memory. Thirty minutes later, in Newark, the Devils face the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN2, RIS) in the definition of a back-and-forth series.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Washington+Capitals,
Who Will Shut Down Staal?
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/28/09 at 02:05 PM ET
Comments (3)
From Colin Stephenson at The Star-Ledger:
The Hurricanes’ top player had two goals and an assist in Game 6, so shutting down his line obviously will be one of the keys for the Devils in Game 7.
“It still comes down to how individuals are going to play against him,” Devils coach Brent Sutter said Monday. “Obviously, it’s different there, because they do have the last line change—and hey, he’s an elite-level player. You have a tremendous amount of respect for how he plays, and you certainly have to pay a lot of attention to him when he’s on the ice.”
Besides having the crowd on their side, the Devils get the advantage at home Tuesday night of having the last line change on play stoppages, which should make it much easier for them to get the matchups they want. In the games at the Prudential Center, Sutter has generally sought to put the line of Jay Pandolfo, John Madden and Brendan Shanahan—and the defense pair of Colin White and Mike Mottau—on the ice every time Staal is out for the Hurricanes.
Click here for more.
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Tags: Brendan+Shanahan, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal, Jay+Pandolfo, John+Madden, New+Jersey+Devils,
Some Gloomy Rangers Reading
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/03/09 at 09:45 AM ET
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With a tough game against the Boston Bruins slated for tomorrow afternoon, the New York Rangers are in an extremely difficult position.
If the Florida Panthers beat the Atlanta Thrashers tonight, they will be tied for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference and should the Rangers lose tomorrow afternoon and the Panthers win again on Sunday evening against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’ll be in ninth place heading into the final week of the regular season.
For more on last night’s 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, check out the following links:
- Scotty Hockey
- Ranger Rants
- SNY Rangers Blog
- New York Post
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eastern+Conference, Florida+Panthers, New+York+Post, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Ranger+Rants, Scotty+Hockey, SNy+Rangers+Blog,
Rangers Reading
by Patrick Hoffman on 04/02/09 at 10:30 AM ET
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Tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes is a huge one for the New York Rangers as they look to increase the space between them, the Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers while also shooting for a higher seed in the Eastern Conference.
Check out the links below for more on tonight’s match up:
- Rangers Report
- Scotty Hockey
- SNY Rangers Blog
- NewYorkRangers.com
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, NewYorkRangers.com, Rangers+Reading, Rangers+Report, Scotty+Hockey, SNY+Rangers+Blog,
These Guys Can Play
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/31/09 at 09:10 AM ET
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There is no doubt about it - Henrik Lundqvist saves his best games for Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, Lundqvist, who made 38 saves in his third shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers handed the Devils a 3-0 loss thanks to solid goaltending and timely scoring from Brandon Dubinsky, Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan. The win gave Henrik an 18-6-4 record (regular season and playoffs included) against the Devils but as Henrik told the team’s web site after the game, he was just focused on picking up the two points.
“I am happy for this one because I made up my mind before the third period that I wanted this one, and it worked out,” Lundqvist said.
The Blueshirts knew how important this game was and that certainly showed in the first period as they came out and outshot their Hudson rivals 20-10 in the first period. They were relentless in their forecheck, put traffic in front of Brodeur, crashed the net for rebounds and were solid defensively, all marks of a playoff-caliber hockey club.
For the Rangers to keep marching on towards the playoffs, they will need to deliver the same kind of performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night and then again on Saturday afternoon against the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins, certainly not an easy task.
However, if last night’s game tells you anything, it should be that when the Rangers are on top of their game, they can be tough to beat.
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Dan+Girardi, Eastern+Conference, Henrik+Lundqvist, Martin+Brodeur, New+Jersey+Devils, Ryan+Callahan,
Where Are They Going?
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/29/09 at 12:30 PM ET
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The New York Rangers dropped their second straight game yesterday afternoon in a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The loss keeps the Blueshirts in seventh place with 87 points. However, the Montreal Canadiens are in the eighth spot just one point (86 points) behind them and the Florida Panthers are in the ninth spot just two points behind (85 points).
The Rangers showed some character by battling back from a two-goal and one-goal defecit while also killing off nine Penguins’ power plays. However, Sid “the Kid” Crosby’s great effort put the Penguins ahead midway through the third period, giving the Penguins a 12-1-2 record in their last 15 games.
As we’ve said on this blog before, the club’s remaining schedule will not make things any easier for the Blueshirts. Tomorrow night, they take on the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils followed by games against the red hot Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and a home-and-home series against the Philadelphia Flyers to close out the regular season.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Ilya+Kovalchuk, Montreal+Canadiens, Montreal+Canadiens, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sidney+Crosby,
A Waste of Two Points
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/27/09 at 08:55 AM ET
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As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, yesterday’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers should have been an easy two points. It was a game against a team that was in 14th-place in the Eastern Conference and well on their way to thinking about next season.
So what happened? The New York Rangers blew a three-goal lead and lost 5-4 in a shootout thanks to undisciplined defensive play and some poor goaltending by netminder Stephen Valiquette.
Through the first two periods, the team seemed to be doing everything right. They were getting contributions from their big guns, scoring on the power play, killing penalties and playing a sound defensive game.
Unfortunately, this worked for the first 40 minutes of the game and then things fell apart as the team missed defensive assignments, failed to score on a two-man advantage, and Valiquette allowed two soft goals to allow the Thrashers to get right back in the game.
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Tags: Atlanta+Thrashers, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, John+Tortorella, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Stephen+Valiquette,
Big Two Points Up For Grabs in Atlanta
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/26/09 at 09:15 AM ET
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On paper, a tilt with the Atlanta Thrashers looks like an easy two points but for the New York Rangers, every game is like a playoff game and as such, should be treated like one.
The team is coming off a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild in a game where they played down to the Wild’s level. They were able to generate an array of scoring chances but once again had some difficulty finding the back of the net and were forced to play a tight defensive game, something fans are all too familiar with thanks to former head coach Tom Renney.
With that being said, good defense at this time of year certainly isn’t a bad thing but to win games, this team still needs to score more goals. Sure, they’ve scored more goals under new head coach John Tortorella but they need to do it on a consistent basis, something they have struggled with all season long.
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Tags: Adam+Graves, Atlanta+Thrashers, Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, John+Tortorella, Minnesota+Wild, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Tom+Renney,
Big Two Points
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/18/09 at 10:10 AM ET
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Last night’s game was the kind of game that the New York Rangers may have lost under Tom Renney. However, it was a much different outcome for the Blueshirts under new guy John Tortorella, who overcame some bad bounces and bad goals allowed to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout at the Bell Centre.
Yes, I know that the team needs to continue to learn how to win games in regulation but let’s face it - they need all the points they can get and last night’s two points put them in sixth place in the ever-increasing tight Eastern Conference.
Nik Antropov continues to show the Blueshirts that he was worth getting at the deadline as he added another goal in regulation while also putting one in in the skills competition. He’s a big guy who has soft hands and a powerful wrist shot and is still working towards being a more consistent player with each passing game.
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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chris+Drury, Colorado+Avalanche, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, John+Tortorella, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Nik+Antropov, Tom+Renney,
Crucial Tilt Against The Predators
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/12/09 at 10:20 AM ET
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As of this morning, the New York Rangers were ninth in the Eastern Conference with 76 points, just one point out of the 8th spot (currently held by the Florida Panthers) and two points out of the 7th (currently held by the Carolina Hurricanes) and 6th (currently held by the Pittsburgh Penguins). This makes tonight’s game against the streaky Nashville Predators extremely important and much like the Blueshirts, the Predators are doing everything they can to stay in the thick of the playoff race (currently 8th in the Western Conference with 71 points).
Another reason why tonight’s tilt in Nashville is important is because of what a win would mean for Blueshirts’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist. The “King” is one win away from establishing a new NHL record by becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to win 30 or more games in each of his first four seasons. That should show you just how valuable Henrik is to this team and that he is one of the major reasons why the team has qualified for the postseason in each of their last three seasons.
While Monday’s night 3-0 loss to the Hurricanes wasn’t pretty, the team still looks like they are close to where they need to be in order to make the playoffs. They’re scoring more goals (except for Monday), going harder to the net, getting goals from guys that should be scoring, still playing sound defense and getting great goaltending from Henrik.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Henrik+Lundqvist, Nashville+Predators, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, Sean+Avery,
Same Team, Different Day
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/27/09 at 11:30 AM ET
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Much like the team did on Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers dominated the first two periods of their game against the Florida Panthers and still managed to find a way to lose 2-1 in regulation.
The Blueshirts outshot the Cats’ 41-22 and yet, only got one past Panthers’ netminder Craig Anderson. Though, Brandon Dubinsky had a goal waved off early in the first period and after reviewing the play over and over, it’s clear that Dubinsky’s stick was below the crossbar so once again, the Blueshirts caught a tough break.
It really is amazing how this team can’t score. Last night, they had trouble lifting the puck, they missed open notes, they shot right into Anderson, etc. They did all the things that’s been killing them this season and got a typical Blueshirt result over the past couple of months: a loss.
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Tags: Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Colorado+Avalanche, Craig+Anderson, Florida+Panthers, New+York+Rangers, Toronto+Maple+Leafs,
Rock Bottom
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/17/09 at 09:45 AM ET
Comments (4)
With the way the New York Rangers are playing, it’s hard to believe that they still hold a playoff spot. Currently, the team is tied for the fifth place with the Montreal Canadiens in the tight Eastern Conference.
The truth is that they really don’t deserve to be where they are right now. The team had the benefit of an easy schedule in the regular season, which allowed them to pick up a ton of points and build a solid cushion. Most fans and pundits alike figured that this cushion would be enough to help the team to solidify a playoff spot.
Unfortunately, they were wrong as the Blueshirts are currently up just five points over the ninth place Carolina Hurricanes, a lead that is quickly evaporating as the team continues to drop games left and right, much like they did this weekend with losses to the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues.
Uh, Houston, we have a problem.
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Tags: Carolina+Hurricanes, Eastern+Conference, Florida+Panthers, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, Philadelphia+Flyers, Sean+Avery, St.+Louis+Blues, Tom+Renney,
A Quick Hello
by Patrick Hoffman on 02/02/09 at 12:30 PM ET
Comments (1)
Good afternoon folks. I’m currently busy at my day job but just wanted to inform you all that I’m back on vacation and will begin blogging about all things hockey again within the next two days.
I see that while I was gone, the New York Rangers won a game (Carolina Hurricanes) and lost two (Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins). Since I was gone, I would like you, the fans, to tell me who played well, who didn’t, what the lines were and what the Rangers need to improve on going forward.
I look forward to blogging again for you soon!
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Tags: Boston+Bruins, Carolina+Hurricanes, New+York+Rangers, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Let the Games Begin
by Patrick Hoffman on 01/26/09 at 09:30 PM ET
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Tomorrow night, the New York Rangers will begin the second half of their season with a tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.
For the Rangers, the second half of the season will determine whether or not they are good enough to win the Atlantic Division title. For the team to do so, they will need to do the following:
- Score goals. It’s that simple folks. Being able to put the puck in the net wins games whether’s it an even strength, power play, or shorthanded goal. For this to happen, guys like Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky will need to step up and get the job done. And yes, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Lauri Korpikoski or Petr Prucha were put in the lineup more often and as of this writing at least, it looks like they will be in tomorrow night.
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Tags: Atlantic+Division, Brandon+Dubinsky, Carolina+Hurricanes, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Lauri+Korpikoski, Markus+Naslund, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Petr+Prucha, Ryan+Callahan, Scott+Gomez, Stephen+Valiquette, Tom+Renney,
Where’s The D?
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/13/08 at 11:00 AM ET
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In a surprising turn of events last night, the New York Rangers finally lost to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 8-5.
Yes folks, you read that right: the Blueshirts allowed eight goals to the Devils.
For the past few weeks, the Rangers have struggled to keep the puck out of the net. On Thursday December 4, they allowed six goals in a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Last Sunday night against the Calgary Flames, they allowed three goals in a 3-0 loss and obviously, last night wasn’t so pretty.
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Tags: Calgary+Flames, Carolina+Hurricanes, Henrik+Lundqvist, Markus+Naslund, Montreal+Canadiens, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Nikolai+Zherdev, Scott+Gomez, Tom+Renney,
