The Canes very much looked like a team playing out the string on Tuesday night in New York losing 4-1 to a Rangers team that is playing for seeding and home ice in the 1st round. The Canes took a couple of offensive zone penalties that cost them, lost many more battles than they won on the boards and played the 3rd period like they were ready to get on the bus to the airport. There were too many stretches during which the Canes' top players were invisible. I guess that is what you get with 4 games left and no hope of making the playoffs.

A few random thoughts:

1) Can the team find a higher gear 1 last time for the home finale on Thursday? The road is 1 thing, but a home game in which the majority of the attendance (probably to go with some Caps fans) is the collection of die-hard fans who stay with the team through thick and thin.

2) Will we see Murphy and Lindholm or will they go to help Charlotte? With 3 losses last weekend, the Checkers are on the outside looking in on their playoff hunt, but with a chance to get in with a strong finish. I do not think Lindholm would be roster-eligible for the playoffs (Murphy would be I believe), but both should be eligible to play the final regular season games in Charlotte.

3) They played an interview with Peter Karmanos during the intermission. My quick summary is that he seemed more happy than not overall with the organization. He actually had positive things to say about the coaching staff which would seem to indicate that they would stick around. And then he used the term "major tweaks" to describe offseason moves. My interpretation of the oxymoron is that the team would not be blown up but that there would be a big change or 2. He also said something about changing a couple players and changing a couple attitudes which was probably the most interesting comment for me. No names were mentioned, but I guess they would be candidates for "major tweaks."

Twitter=@CarolinaMatt63

Go Canes!
Matt on Google+

Join the Discussion: » 5 Comments » Post New Comment

» Maple Leafs and Hurricanes: Comparison in rebuilding strategies

» Snarly Hurricanes vs. Flyers match up set for Saturday

» Canes treading water - Will they eventually drown or swim?

» Solid first half of week tees 'make up' time at home for the weekend

» Hurricanes at Red Wings -- Canes look claw even for road trip