Tortorella
NEW YORK – The New York Rangers can expect beefed-up security during a return trip to Washington they never wanted to take.
No one else will help protect them on the ice against the suddenly surging Capitals.
John Tortorella’s view from a suite was no better than the one from the bench, and the suspended coach watched helplessly as Washington dominated his Rangers for the second straight game and put them on the brink of elimination, too.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist again didn’t make it to the third period, and Washington defenseman Tom Poti torched his former team in the Capitals’ 5-3 victory Sunday that set up a decisive Game 7 on Tuesday.
“He can’t play every game like a god,” Capitals star Alex Ovechkin said of Lundqvist, who had stopped 141 of 149 shots in the first four games when the Rangers grabbed a 3-1 series lead. “He can’t save the game all the time.
“When we play our game, we play simple. We play hard and nobody can stop us.”
Tortorella served a one-game suspension following a confrontation with a fan Friday during New York’s 4-0 loss in Game 5 that sent the series back to Madison Square Garden. Tortorella squirted water into the crowd and threw a water bottle into the stands.
On Sunday, Tortorella sat high above the ice and rested his chin in his palm as the game turned from bad to worse under the Capitals’ offensive onslaught.
Jim Schoenfeld, Tortorella’s lone assistant coach, ran the club in his absence and said before the game that Tortorella had been sticking up for his players against slurs from the crowd.
Even the return of benched forward Sean Avery couldn’t spark the Rangers, who have been outscored 9-3 since moving within one win of advancing.
“We wouldn’t put this on Torts and we won’t put this on Shoney,” captain Chris Drury said. “We just didn’t play well enough.”
Tortorella will be allowed to coach Game 7 in Washington, where the Rangers claimed in a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that security was lax – a factor they said led to the water incident.
“When you’re down 3-1, there is no pressure on you,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They expect you to lose. Now we see how (the Capitals) can handle it when they’re expected to win.”
Hurricanes force Game 7
RALEIGH, N.C. – Eric Staal scored two goals less than 3 minutes apart, Cam Ward made 28 saves in his third career playoff shutout and the Carolina Hurricanes routed the New Jersey Devils 4-0 on Sunday night to force a decisive Game 7.
Ray Whitney had a goal and three assists, Jussi Jokinen scored Carolina’s first power-play goal since Game 2, Chad LaRose had two assists and Staal added an assist for the Hurricanes.
They outshot New Jersey 37-28 while their reconfigured top line produced the first three goals, and that helped lead to the most lopsided final score of the NHL’s tightest first-round pairing.
The best-of-seven series is even at three games apiece, with the winner-take-all Game 7 set for Tuesday night in New Jersey.