Atlantic Division notebook:
The big picture of the New York Rangers' season came into focus Wednesday, after a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden.
The harsh reality is that the Rangers are not bad enough to have high draft picks nor are they good enough to contend for a championship; they are middle-of-the-road, good enough to win some nights and qualify for the playoffs in the feeble Eastern Conference, where they most-likely will be one-and-done. Maybe they’ll get to the second round. But the sport’s most recognizable image of tangible success will not vacation in Manhattan for the 15th consecutive summer. [Metro NYC]
After a modest two-game win streak in which the Rangers scored 14 goals, they have been outscored 17-3 in their last four – all losses. The Rangers are one of eight Eastern Conference teams battling for one of three playoff spots. As of this writing, the Rangers are ninth in the East, but are among four Eastern Conference rivals tied at 55 points.
 The Rangers are in the midst of a Western road trip, with games in Phoenix, Colorado and Los Angeles.
In other Rangers news:
Yahoo! Sports’ NHL blog spoke with a longtime Rangers fan who is spearheading a rally demanding GM Glen Sather’s ouster in front of Madison Square Garden before a March 7 home game against Buffalo. … The New York Post called for the GM to not mortgage the future at the trade deadline.
NEW JERSEY
Could a lack of scoring depth be catching up with the Devils? New Jersey is 5-6-1 in 12 January matches and has been outscored 26-21, including two road losses last week to Ottawa (3-0) and Buffalo (2-1 in a shootout). Jacques Lemaire was quoted in Friday’s edition of The Bergen Record as saying, “definitely, it’s going to cross your mind at different times that we’re missing guys and maybe it’s the reason why we’re not scoring. We don’t want to stay on that. We want to try to find a way to get more goals. We still have to play. We have to win, so we’ve got to find a way." … RW Ilkka Pikkarainen was shipped to CSKA Moscow of the KHL Thursday. … HPT.com reported that Devils prospect Patrice Cormier was suspended by the QMJHL for elbowing an opponent in last week’s Atlantic Division notebook. The Devils released a statement Monday supporting the QMJHL’s decision. “We fully respect the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s decision regarding last week’s incident. The Devils’ organization views this situation seriously, and does not condone Patrice Cormier’s actions. This unfortunate incident does not reflect the character of the Patrice Cormier we know. We trust that Patrice will have learned a valuable lesson that will serve him well when he returns to hockey as a valued player in our organization. We will honor the league’s suspension, have not considered, and will not explore other avenues for his return this season. We are pleased to hear Mikael Tam is doing well. Our thoughts are with him for a full recovery,” GM Lou Lamoriello said. Cormier’s GM with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Andre Tourigny, said Tuesday that he disagreed with the QMJHL’s ruling. He wasn’t the only one. Veritable Hockey News columnist Ken Campbell criticized the Q's response as “particularly light.” … The New York Post reported that Calgary GM Darryl Sutter was in both New York and Newark recently; did that mean the Devils could swing a deal with the free-falling Flames for Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf? … Former Devil Mike Danton made his Canadian college hockey debut Wednesday, scoring a goal in St. Mary’s 4-1 loss to the Acadia Axemen.
PHILADELPHIA
D Ryan Parent will miss four to six week after undergoing back surgery on Monday. The 22-year-old has missed 15 games because of a problem with a disc. Fragments of the disc were removed in the operation. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren told reporters that Parent will begin his rehab on Feb. 7. Parent is expected to start a walking program in the next few days. Parent has two assists in 28 games this season. The surgery was performed by Dr. Scott Rushton at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, PA. "After running the gamut with Ryan in terms of different things we have tried to relieve the discomfort he was having, we felt this was the way to go for Ryan's overall health." … The Flyers finished January 8-5-1, including a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday.
PITTSBURGH
It was a hell of a debut. A national television audience watched AHL call-up Chris Conner pot two goals in the Penguins’ 4-2 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. “It was great. It was kind of a chaotic day, getting called up and stuff. It just felt good to get the win," Conner told The Canadian Press. … Pittsburgh is 3-3 in its last six games…The Pens’ 6-3 loss in Washington on Jan. 21 was the highest-rated Comcast Sports Network (Washington DC) Caps broadcast, gaining a 3.3 rating according to a statement released by CSN.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The Islanders lost a promising young defenseman for an estimated month-and-a-half-to-two-months after Jack Hillen was hit in the mouth with an Alex Ovechkin slap shot in Tuesday night’s 7-2 home loss to Washington…The Islanders have lost five of six and have been outscored 24-12. They began the month by winning six of seven.
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