16-14-3: Insanity

As the idiom goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Examples: the Ranger power play, constant line juggling, Roman Hamrlik receiving ice time, John Tortorella's coaching.

In addition to being an obvious egomaniac, the Rangers' bench boss has made a case for being called crazy as well.

Tortorella has yet to realize that he has a different team in front of him from last season and hasn't adjusted his outlook or his gameplan. As I said last week, he just keeps laying the whip hoping for a response. He's not getting one, but that isn't stopping him.

On the other bench on Thursday night was Paul MacLean. MacLean lost his best forward, defenseman and goaltender and yet has been able to adjust, turning his squad of foot soldiers into a cohesive unit that gets the job done with alarming regularity. And that is what they did last night, handily defeating the Rangers 3-0.

The Senators played a smart, tough team game and the Blueshirts couldn't match up. Ottawa clogged the middle, filled passing lanes and were stronger physically. Torts' response was to juggle his lines - his usual crutch - and, not-so-surprisingly, the decision didn't do a thing except seal the Rangers' fate.

Insanity.

Just a few Late Hits as this stuff getting old quick:

*Time for Marty Biron (or, preferably, Cam Talbot) to get some starts. Not only is Hank getting headaches, but he is not playing like himself. He is getting frustrated and taking stupid, senseless chances. He needs a break.

*Hank definitely needs some physical assistance from his teammates - as I've railed upon in the past, the King has been ran a number of times this year and no one has done anything about it. Dylan McIlrath can't grow up fast enough.

*If the bottom six aren't going to contribute offensively, they should contribute physically. They didn't. They can't be petrified of taking hard-hit penalties, especially when the rest of the roster takes dumber, lazier ones with infuriating regularity.

*What are the odds Zuke will be able to jump start Gabby? Thinking slim and none, as Gabby has been getting chances but he just can't bury them. As I tweeted, he's played 98:14 of power play ice time this season with just one goal.

*MacLean had his guys keep close check of Step and Nash and neither one was a factor whatsoever. Nash is a big power forward, he should be able to battle through tight checking like last night. He didn't, he attempted just one shot the entire night.

*Had Hagelin finished his opportunities, last night woulda been a bit different - the result may have been the same, but at least the Rangers wouldn't have given Bishop his second NHL nono.

*Cally's broken stick was only part of the problem on the Ottawa power play goal - Derek Stepan also erred. Step never closed with any of the Sens to try to force a mistake and was practically standing still by the time Benoit shot. That was after almost a full minute of the Rangers being trapped in their own end, after Step's shorthanded rush down the left wing resulted in soft., bad angle shot. He either should have changed or, after being trapped for so long, lunged at someone to either force a turnover or a bad shot.

*Is it any wonder Iggy didn't want anything to do with this franchise?

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Erik Contra - no points.
2-Mika Zibanejad - two assists.
1-Ben Bishop - 24 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Methot/Phillips - Ottawa's top pair had far more success than the Blueshirts' blueliners.
2-Zibanejad - Clearly the extra time in the minors paid off for the smart, good skating Swede.
1-Chris Neil - Neil was his usual acerbic self and it paid off. Not to mention his quick recovery from injury ...

13-12-2: Pitiful In Pittsburgh

The city of Pittsburgh was celebrating St. Patty's on Saturday and, man, did I wish I was drunk.

The lack of lager in my system made the Rangers lifeless, gutless, embarrassing 3-0 loss to Pittsburgh quite the painful endeavor. I showed up to the Consol Energy Center, they did not.

As has often been the case this season, they spotted their opponent a lead and had to battle to get it back. Unlike in Winnipeg on Tuesday, they proved unable to do it this time around. Sure they put in a better effort in the second period but anything would have been better than the first. Fleury's biggest concern was covering the one shot that ricocheted off his own teammate's head; the majority of the night he barely had to break a sweat.

There is virtually no physicality on the roster of this year's Ranger roster and their skills are not paying the bills. In fact, a lot of their abilities appear to have been repossessed. Mediocrity would be a step up for Gabby and Richard$ and many of their teammates at this point. The many flaws of this franchise need to be addressed and this current streak of ineptitude will hopefully force Glen Sather to do something about them. 

Just ranting my way through the Late Hits without watching a replay of the game. Can't bear to relive it:

*Remember when everyone said that scoring was the problem last season and not the defense, so adding Rick Nash would solve everything? Yeah, no.

*Over two minutes on the power play gave Richard$ a team-high total of 89 minutes and 21 seconds of man advantage time this season. He has no power play goals and just two power play assists.

*Things are so bad for the offense that they are trying Alex Frolov wrap-arounds with some regularity. Because that move worked so well for him. 

*The DoubleTrees line of Pyatt, Boyle and Miller couldn't be more disappointing. Two big guys too scared to use their size and a rookie making plays (and occasional mistakes) in a vacuum. 

*I remember last week when everyone said Boyle - like Gaborik - was back when he scored that one goal on that one lucky shot. So foolish. One goal in 37 games for Boyle (stretching back to last season's playoffs), one in 14 for Gaborik.

*The Rangers simply can not go forward starting three No. 7 defensemen. Roman Hamrlik has no place in the NHL, and he is a huge reason for this loss. Hamrlik's incompetence allowed the puck to get to Bennett for the first goal and forced Stralman to take the bad penalty that set up the second and his indecisiveness allowed the easy two-on-one tally that capped off the scoring (either cover the man or the pass, dammit). He is long past his expiration date.

*Of course, the Pens' power play goal came after Del Zaster had a perfectly good chance to clear the puck and didn't. Really, really miss Marc Staal. 

*Speaking of the PK, Ryan Callahan without a stick is better than everyone else is with one. Jeff Halpern without a stick? Scary.

*To their credit, the majority of the folks inside Consol Center weren't hammered and weren't overly obnoxious - the benefit of an early afternoon start. They did whine quite a bit, and were yelling for Girardi to be ejected for the game for touching their precious Crosby in the first period. 

*That was awesome Dan-O, shoulda hit him again. 

*The arena, by the way, is quite nice - it shares a lot of the same characteristics as the Rock.

*Two clear dives to draw penalties in this one: Crosby and Del Zaster. What a pair of players ...

*Beau Bennett? Really? Hank was outstanding aside from letting Bennett's shot sail past him far side for the first goal. That was ... ugh. The rest of the afternoon the King was outstanding, even Pens fans gave him accolades.

*Consol is a beautiful new building, quite reminiscent of the Prudential Center in Jersey. Kudos also to their game night staff, who really put together a nice presentation. They have a terrific scoreboard and know how to use it. Great stuff.

*In case you were wondering, I don't drink at most away games (outside of the Rock). No problem being the obnoxious Ranger fan, don't want to be the drunk and obnoxious Ranger fan. Also, I am not spending an extra penny inside NHL arenas (aside from tickets) this season as a protest of the lockout.

*And, finally, a huge thank you to Gretchen, my season subscriber rep for setting up the tix in Pittsburgh. Beautiful view for face price was nice. Too bad the team didn't come through. 

*PHW Three Stars:

3-Dustin Jeffrey - two assists.
2-Tyler Kennedy - one goal and one assist.
1-Marc-Andre Fleury - 23 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Hank - With any other goaltender in the New York net this one was 7, 8-0 ...
2-Jeffrey - Took full advantage of Hamrlik's awfulness to set up two goals.
1-Hamrlik - Had the Rangers had a capable blueliner in his roster spot, the Pens might have had a tougher time winning.

8-7-2: Blueshirts Go Yellow

That the Rangers entered the Bell Centre Saturday night and had their bells rung by the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge was of no surprise. For years the New York team that basks in the footlights of Broadway has wilted in the spotlight of Montreal.

But not since Dan Girardi watched Marian Gaborik get his face beaten in by Dan Carcillo have the Rangers stood by and allowed their opponent free physical reign. Max Pacioretty aimed for Ryan McDonagh's numbers and took to the air to hit them. And, after typically wasting the ensuing power play, did anyone seek vengeance? Nope.

Too bad Hank wasn't on the ice, at least you know he woulda been willing to hit Pacioretty.

Backup Marty Biron was hit not once but twice and did anyone run Carey Price? Nope. The second time it was Travis Moen who crashed the crease and Brian Boyle took exception. The six-foot-seven Ranger shoved the smaller Hab and shared some angry words with him, but his gloves remained firmly on his hands.

The grit that helped define this franchise last season is mostly gone. The heart and soul guys who stepped up, sans Callahan, were sent away or allowed to walk and the returns aren't making the cut. Arron Asham was useless before he began bailing out of the lineup with 'back spasms.' Taylor Pyatt is a big boy but has just 12 bouts on his resume of 772 games. Jeff Halpern is simply not a physical fellow. And the various call-ups and kids live in perpetual fear of failure, because Tortorella will unleash his fury upon them.

Toughness took this team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and the lack thereof is a prime reason for the failures of the present. Sure the skill is struggling something fierce but this side was able to survive similar slumps last season by grinding though games. Either Torts has to start encouraging these kids to just lay it all out there, play their game and grow into a team or Sather needs to make some moves. And soon.

Just a few Late Hits:

*Said it in the offseason - offense wasn't the Rangers' problem during the playoffs. The lack of trustworthy defensemen cost them the Cup and it is killing them now. You simply can't have three reliable blueliners and expect to succeed. And now that McDonagh and Girardi might be out? We're screwed.

*PleaseOhPleaseOhPleaseOhPleaseOhPlease let McD and G be ok. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease.

*In what world is Matt Gilroy a better NHL option than Steve Eminger? Granted, an ideal world would see neither one of them anywhere near the NHL but Hobey is simply horrible. He had a chance to clear the puck on the first goal and was outmuscled, and then he passed the puck right to Erik Cole. Hobey was well behind the play when Gally got the second goal and he was stumbling around senselessly on the third.

*I wonder if I would get kicked out of the Garden for carrying a sign that read "No One Kills Power Plays Like The Rangers" ... We stared in wonder at Stepan's power play goal last week and at Eller's on this evening. Both goals had plenty in common: players moving and quick passing. There was no standing around, trying to figure out fissures in the defensive wall. The guys were skating around the zone with the knowledge of who to pass to even before they had the puck. The regular Ranger unit has become lazy, uncreative and predictable, and we are paying for it night after night.

*Welcome to the NHL Christian Thomas, barely noticed you. But the same can be said for Miller, Mashinter, Kreider and even Hagelin. The kids are gripping their sticks too tight and, too often, are not in position to make things happen. Not even Gretzky could succeed if he was stuck on the ice with Boyle or an uninterested Brad Richard$.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Erik Cole - one goal and one assist.
2-Lars Eller - one goal and one assist.
1-Alex Galchenyuk - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Pacioretty - Traded two minutes in the box for the best Ranger blueliner. Great deal. Could have made a case for Prust to get this, as he played in all situations and had a big hand in Cole's goal.
2-Gally - Unlike his U.S. teammate Miller, Galchenyuk skated unfettered out there and made things happen with his hard work and skill. His goal was a bit of a fluke but it came as the result of hard work.
1-Eller - The Dane did quite well; he's finally making the Halak deal appear closer to even.

7-5-1: Taken Down By Torts

You had a team that stumbled out of the gate finally getting their game together. They'd won three games in a row and had a softball of a foe ahead of them, a glorified AHL team. So do they keep things rolling?

Nah.

The head coach tinkered with lineup and put in his backup goaltender, decisions that doomed the team to an unacceptable failure. It is one thing to blow a 3-0 lead to the best team in the Eastern Conference, it is another to blow a 2-0 lead to the bunch of pathetic losers from Long Island. What a disgrace.

Why would you want Chris Kreider out on the ice to create offense and combine with Cally and Miller to form an energy line when you can dress Brian Boyle?! Boyle, who's demotion to the press box spurred the win streak. Boyle, who can't skate, can't shoot, can't pass and can't fight. Boyle, who was given 17 minutes in ice time, including shifts on the power play and in overtime.

Why would you want to start Henrik Lundqvist when he is finally getting his game in motion after a inactive offseason when you can start that shaky sieve of a backup Marty Biron. Biron, a former Islander. Biron, who stood still while the Islanders won the shootout.

Torts is the boss, and he will do what he wants. And what he did caused his team to not just sink to the level of their inferior foes, but drown below them. This simply can not happen. Just past the quarter mark of this asterisked season, the Rangers lie four points from first place and four points from last place in the Eastern Conference. Anything can happen and giving away points to piss-poor opponents is very, very dangerous. Luckily Sunday will bring a woeful Washington team to town, giving the Blueshirts have two days to learn how to hold a lead. Not nearly enough time.

Late Hits:

*One of the highlights of the evening was at the outset, when John Amirante did the anthem. Rumour had it that he had pneumonia when the season started, keeping him from his duties. Glad he is better and back to form, he's truly a Garden institution.

*It was an honour to have a Medal of Honor winner in attendance, Sergent Clinton Romesha. Great ovation from the Garden faithful.

*My new twitter friend Arron Asham had himself a banner night, with less than three minutes of ice time and a fight (that he lost). What a great tough guy for this team to have, really inspires the troops.

*The cheap-ass Rangers gave out an advertising booklet, I mean calendar, to all fans in attendance. It ranks up with the horrible Hummer calendar from years past. No pictures of players but plenty of ads for Foxwoods. Weak. Oh, and it is the middle of February - what a good time to give out a calendar.

*Saw a few fights in the stands, always love the passion that this rivalry brings. Really wish the players had one iota of it.

*Hagelin's goal (off the rush) aside, the power play continued to be a disaster of Hindenburg proportions. So glad to see Del Zaster back out there, killing time and momentum.

*Loved Jeff Halpern's play. Super Jew won a whole slew of faceoffs and skated hard all evening. Too bad he has zero offensive ability at this point in his career. Shocking to think he had 18 points in 19 games for Tampa after being part of the Brad Richard$ deal way back when.

*Maybe Richard$ picked up some kind of fungus while he was helping folks clean up from Sandy. Gotta be some excuse for his horrible play and that is as good as any.

*Hoped for more from Taylor Pyatt against the team that drafted him, but he seemed to be one of those who fell victim to Tortorella's chemistry-killing line juggling.

*Happy birthday Gabby, thanks for giving us a present. Very Jagr-esque play by the Slovak, displaying serious skills in regulation before stumbling in the shootout.

*Michael "Rico Fata" Grabner struck again, blowing another breakaway for the blue and orange. It is truly amazing how he earns so many good opportunities and utterly wastes them.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Carl Hagelin - one goal and one assist.
2-Marian Gaborik - one goal and one assist.
1-John Tavares - one regulation goal, one shootout goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Lubo Visnovsky - Mark Streit play more minutes but Lubo was clearly in control whenever he was out on the ice, making things happen like a proper quarterback should.
2-Hagelin - BORK!
1-Tavares - Someone should Dale Hunter that kid. 

4-5-0: Rock Bottom?

In the wee hours of the fall mornings, while waiting for the KHL games to kick off, I swore that I would not be as wrapped up in the NHL again if they ever did come back. I also swore I would stop blogging about the Blueshirts because, dammit, if they didn't care about me, I wouldn't care about them. Well, we all know how that worked out.

Games like last night's 3-1 utter debacle against the Devils reinforced my reasoning. It has been a battle of mine for years and years to acknowledge that the players will never care about their on-ice fortunes as much as we fans care about them. But last night was a win for the bad guys, as the lackluster display proved that they just don't have that passion. Or any passion, as near as I could tell from the (literally) last row of the Rock.

The Rangers played a poor, predictable brand of puck at the Prudential Center that was easily countered by Lou's Losers. New York's caustic coach is left looking clueless as his yelling, screaming and atrocious sense of accountability has badgered his boys into being the Skating Dead. They are too afraid to take penalties that their offensive edge is gone and the defensive shell they fall back into fails when the best defenseman is missing and the goaltender is off his game. And let's just not mention the power play ...

Last night's gutless garbage begs the question, has this team hit rock bottom? Or are we going to see something worse on Thursday against the Isles? Is that even possible? I shudder to think of the reply ...

Late Hits:

*Ok, let's mention the power play. The one time when it should be alright for the players to be creative, for Richie to be fancypasser, Nash to showboat and Gabby to shoot the wheels off. Instead, the utter lack of a quarterback has led to the same predictable passes through the same predictable lanes to the same predictable players standing in the same predictable positions. And, last night, that led to New Jersey having more of an advantage shorthanded then they did anytime else.

*The Devils did their best impression of last year's Rangers - blocking shots, stepping up, being daring - to smack down the ineffective offense of this season's edition of the Blueshirts.

*It was nights like that that reinforce my belief that Brodeur is the most overrated player in NHL history. The PHW made him the top star of the game, a game where he wasn't tested for the majority of the night. He made one save of any importance, which he did by flopping his fat rear end down on the ice. The only sweating he probably did was in anticipation of his next alimony payment. And yet he was feted like he did something special. Ridiculous.

*That being said, he was still better than Hank. The King has not been himself, likely due to a combination of factors - he didn't play during the lockout despite Frolunda bending over backwards to be able to afford him, and he became a dad. Not that I am one, but supposedly that changes ones perspective on what is important in life.

*Wasn't big on JT Miller when he was drafted, wasn't big on him when I saw him in Hartford, wasn't big on him when I watched the WJCs. But he was the best Ranger on the ice against the Devs. Of course, sadly, that isn't saying a helluva lot but kudos to the kid for a strong debut. He made some smart little plays and never stopped skating. Impressive stuff.

*Kreider looked more comfortable as the game went on, and it was nice to see him score. At the outset, it was clear he was afraid to get checked but, by the third period, he was more involved and more willing to take a hit to make a play. At the time his goal seemed to be a fluke, but replays show it was one helluva shot.

*Del Zaster: 37 minutes and 51 seconds of power play this season. No goals, one assist. And I'm not even going to address his defensive delinquencies on this evening.

*Arron Asham is close to being the most despicable, senseless signing by the Rangers all-time, getting close to Donald Brashear territory. Asham, a long time villain in these parts, was supposed to add his aggressive edge to the Rangers and instead plays like a pu... poorly, he plays very poorly.

*Which, of course, leads so some of my usual rhetoric - rhetoric that will be heavily denied in some circles, utterly ignored in some more and agreed with in others: the Rangers chances were ruined by Tortorella chasing Sean Avery out of town, yet again. There were dozens of games last season, last playoffs and on several occasions so far this campaign that the Grate One would have helped.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Patrik Elias - three assists.
2-David Clarkson - two goals and one assist.
1-Martin Brodeur - 24 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Adam Henrique - Damn do I loathe this guy. Rapidly reaching the upper levels of most-hated Devils alongside Claude Lemieux, Scott Stevens and Mmmmmaaaarrrrtttyyyyy.
2-Elias - Ole Hepatitis himself is still kickin', still one of the more underrated players in the NHL.
1-Clarkson - The "bonehead minor leaguer" was allowed to run roughshod around the Ranger end and he made the most of his moment to shine. What a shame. 

1-3-0: So That's Over ...

All good things come to an end, but this one shouldn't have. This one is hard to let go. The Rangers' eight game undefeated streak against the Flyers was snapped on Thursday night in a 2-1 tilt that didn't remotely match the scoreline. And there is no excuse for it.

Well, there is an excuse, but it is hard for most to accept: despite claims to the contrary, the slavedriver head coach didn't aptly prepare his team for the season and the early grind has already worn them down. The supposedly torturous Camp Torts supposedly insured that everyone would not just be in shape, but be in peak physical form. Because it was shortened, the players claimed they came prepared. Thursday's loss showed that that was certainly not the case.

The Blueshirts looked slow, incapable, inept and just plain awful for the majority of the evening. They were outplayed by a poor, injury-riddled opponent. Simply said, the inferior Flyers should not have been able to skate away with their first victory of the season.

Late Hits:

*Seriously, how the hell did the Rangers let them win?!? Philly was without both Babyface Briere and Sideshow Bob Hartnell ... and they still won!! Inexplicable. Inexcusable. Infuriating!

*Not only were the Rangers unable to take advantage of a lineup that had fewer familiar faces, but they were unable to take advantage of that lineup when they had less actual players on the ice. Mike Sullivan is doing his best to challenge Perry Pearn's resume of power play failure. What horrible coaching.

*Stop with Del Zaster already. Yes, he has offensive ability. But he is clearly incapable of quarterbacking a power play. Try other guys. Give Anton Stralman a chance, hell, give Matt Gilroy a chance. Give the peanut vendor a chance. Yes, it is so bad that even Hobey's horrible play is preferable to watching more of the same. Five-on-f-ing-three. Again. Are you kidding me?

*Have to thank Kris Newbury for coming up and proving yet again why he is a AAAA player (and why he would survive a zombie apocalypse): no brains. With his team already trailing 1-0 the Whale-r took a high stick and sought revenge after a whistle. He started a senseless fight with Tye McGinn - another AHL nobody, one wearing plexiglass to boot. Newbury was tabbed with the extra penalty and Voracek scored what would be the game-winner. Stupid and selfish minor leaguer.

*Happier thoughts: Taylor Pyatt came through again, goals three games in a row. Better than even I dreamed he'd be. Doubt he will be able to keep up the scoring touch but if he keeps the effort going that guy with the Pyatt sweater at the home opener will be joined by many others.

*As has often been the case over the last few years, the King kept the Rangers in the game. There is definitely something about the Flyers that brings out the best in Henrik, it is just a shame they completely wasted his best effort of this shortened season.

*Nice of Arron Asham to beg out of facing his friends. Gutless puke.

*Rupper played almost 10 minutes? Instead of being a Neanderthal he was the Missing Link, didn't notice him once. That isn't a bad thing.

*And thankfully there were no fights off the opening faceoff like some freakshow. Sure Stu Bickel's bout came early in the evening but he threw down the gloves to defend Jeff Halpern against Fantasy Camp Sestito. And he won. Good job Stuuuuuuuuu.

*PHW Three Stars:
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 31 saves.
2-Ilya Bryzgalov - 18 saves.
1-Wayne Simmonds - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Sean Couturier - Knew he would be trouble for the Rangers the second Philly got him sixth in the '11 draft (thanks to Columbus). The legacy knows the game and, despite being just a sophomore, capably plays in all situations.
2-Hank - This game shoulda been 6-1. After his iffy start to the season, maybe a visit with the Swedish Chef was exactly what he needed ...
1-Simmonds - Loved this kid on L.A., hate him now. All because he plays the game the way it should be played. 

0-2-0: No Home For You Here

The Rangers opened their home slate on Sunday and probably wish they hadn't. The building, the event, the game ... all were found lacking, to say the least. The joy of returning to our 'happy place' was completely dashed, wiped away by inconvenience, disappointment and one horrible hockey game.

The renovated upper bowl debuted to terrible reviews, the Blueshirts made no effort to apologize for the lockout and then were destroyed by the evil Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 in a game that wasn't even that close. All in all, it was an abominable evening.

Late Hits:

*Welcome back to MSG, here is your cheap, poorly-designed tee shirt brought to you by one of our corporate sponsors. Never mind that our labour issues - brought about by greed - didn't stop us from raising prices across the board for tickets and food.

*While they didn't paint 'Thank You Fans' on the blue lines, they did play a prerecorded piece with Captain Cally telling us that "this season is for you!" If it really was, it would have started on time.

*Spoke to more than 30 season subscribers with seats around the new upper bowl and not a single one of them was happy with their seat, location or the reno. The biggest complaints were that getting around was far more difficult, there were obstructions in the view and the supposedly expanded concourses were cramped and choked with people. There are no escalators to the top level and Garden employees were not letting anyone not in a wheelchair or without a cane into the elevator. So people with breathing problems or other non-visible disabilities had to climb all the way up the 200s stairs, a physically difficult endeavour - even with the railings, railings that are in some people's line of sight.

*And then there was the game, which kicked off with a selfish, stupid, senseless fight by the Blueshirts newest town idiot, Arron Asham. The former Islander, Devil, Flyer and Penguin decided to make his presence known by coming out of suspension and starting a fight with Tanner Glass off the opening faceoff. A fight, by the way, that he didn't even win. Watching it again, he didn't even land a single good punch. What's the point of having three goons on the roster if all three suck at fighting?

*As with the opener in Boston, the Rangers showed they were physically unready to start the season. They were a step behind all night, they took bad penalties, they lost battles all over the ice and they couldn't complete most of their passes.

*Hank, again, made mistakes that he rarely did last season. And it got him yanked. The indignity. Perhaps he should have taken Frolunda up on their offer and played some real hockey. Or maybe they should move the games to AC and play them for a charity or something.

*Really not worth going into the analysis of the action, because the Ranger performance was terrible from top to bottom. It was a gutless, pathetic showing by a team that clearly did not care enough to keep themselves in shape while arguing over money for the last few months. We simply have to hope that the guys use their two days off to get their act together, because more games like this will be unacceptable.


*PHW Three Stars:
3-Kris Letang - one goal and one assist.
2-Evgeni Malkin - three assists.
1-James Neal - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars:
3-Pascal Dupuis - Solid play on both sides of the ice by the former Blueshirt.
2-Neal - Two goals alongside the real first star of the game ...
1-Malkin - Geno earned 65 points in 37 KHL games and clearly looked in midseason form. 

3-3-3: The Dreaded Three Goal Lead

A good friend brought his eight month old son to the game this afternoon. After two periods of the baby boy taking everything in with wide eyed wonder and the Rangers up 2-1, my buddy decided to quit while he was ahead and go home.

When the Rangers fell apart and lost 5-4 in a shootout, I'd imagine many Ranger fans felt fussy and started throwing tantrums. I know I wanted to. Two things kept me from stamping my feet and wailing: the fact that the team still earned a point and the acknowledgement that they are utterly mismanaged.

The Rangers have lost six of their nine games and have been utterly atrocious ... yet they are just two points out of sixth place. While Tortorella has run out of excuses and seems utterly incapable of getting this team to fire on all cylinders, it is just October. Should the team go winless on this six-game homestand (a certain possibility), then it will be time to panic but until that occurs, to steal the cliche, we have to take it game by game.

Late Hits:

*Good effort from Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. While they are still a bit too fancy, they picked their spots better and managed to bury their opportunities. Good thing Torts broke them up because when they were reunited through staggered line changes Gaborik set up Richards for two goals.

*In his postgame presser Tortorella said that the team needs to learn how to take momentum. Given that the roster that he insisted upon icing had just one rookie in it - one who has now been banished to the bus league - does he really think that these experienced professionals need to learn to how to take momentum?

*That aforementioned rookie was Tim Erixon, who was sent to Connecticut alongside Kris Newbury after the game. Jan's kid clearly needs some time with JJ Daigneault and Newbury simply hasn't had the same spark that he had immediately after his call-up. Expect Woywitka and Rupp to return to the lineup.

*The officiating was inconsistent and awful on both sides. Boyle hits Karlsson on the side and gets called for boarding. Konopka bumps Arty from the side and gets thrown out of the game. Alfredsson skates into Wolski and Wolski gets called for illegal check to the head. Richards was hit from behind in the open ice and nothing was called. Ridiculous.

*Wolski has just been an awful excuse for a hockey player but even with his utter lack of ability he didn't deserved to get called for that penalty. Wolski was looking up ice, Alfredsson was looking at Stepan and didn't see Wolski before colliding with him. And it wasn't even an elbow as Alfredsson's head hit into Wolski's shoulder first. Did Wolski push out his arm after the initial contact? Yes, but if something suddenly shoves you, you shove back.

*As for Anisimov, he started to turn to corral the puck when he was hit by Konopka. Arty lurched forward, hit his head on the glass and collapsed like a cheap suit. Konopka didn't hit him on the numbers, he didn't leave his skates, the point of contact was Anisimov's armpit. It wasn't a dangerous hit, it wasn't a violent hit, it was a hit. And Konopka got a game and the Rangers scored twice on the ensuing power play. A power play that Arty took part in, by the way.

*If Wolski and Christensen aren't going to score in the shootouts, what good are they? And it wasn't even like Anderson had to make amazing saves to stop them either.

*Made my way up to the West Balcony pregame and have to say that it is really nice up there. Nice, clean open view of the arena, concessions that are actually open and well staffed. Really impressive.

*Brandon Dubinsky was given a four year deal this summer so is it any wonder that he has stopped working as hard as he used to? Callahan has kept his fire but he constantly seems to be skating alone.

*All of these minutes played appear to be catching up to Dan Girardi.

*A three goal lead. They gave up a third period three goal lead. And you could feel that it was going to happen too. Especially when that clown Larry started dancing. What a mush.

*The game-tying goal was just pathetic. The Rangers had Boyle, Prust and Richards out there and they decided to sit back and kill a penalty. At even strength. Boyle and Prust are supposed to be the energy line guys and they had no energy. Watching them stand there as the Sens moved the puck around was painful.

*Michael Del Zaster keeps on racking up the points, thanks to a very kind scorekeeper. Del Zaster passed to Richards, Richards passed to Callahan, Callahan returned to Richards. Richards shot the puck, Callahan scored on the rebound. And MDZ was given an assist. Ridiculous. His all-around play is still atrocious but credit should be given because he managed to keep the puck in the offensive zone twice that I noticed - something he couldn't do against the Leafs.

*Erik Karlsson is everything that Del Zaster was supposed to be. David Rundblad, however, was invisible.

*Nick Foligno is just as annoying an opponent as his father was.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Marian Gaborik - one goal and two assists.
2-Brad Richards - two goals and one assist.
1-Jason Spezza - two goals.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Richards - Welcome to Broadway Brad.
2-Filip Kuba - Kuba has battled injuries his entire career but when he gets things going, he is a capable puck moving defender. Three assists this afternoon.
1-Spezza - That dork. Spezza's character was attacked in recent years but he really has gotten things together. With the Sens down by three he led the rally and got them back into the game.

Five To Forget

As Dave W mentioned in the comments for the Five For The Future, there was sure to be the antithesis of those great games - five atrocious evenings that are best for the Blueshirts to forget. Going into depth on them will be to painful, so this is just a quick look to throw some dirt on the coffins.

*Note that the double overtime Game 4 loss against the Capitals is not on this list. That utter failure should not be forgotten, it should be used as motivation for this summer, next season and the rest of the Rangers' careers.

Dishonourable mention: November 19th, 5-1 loss against the Avalanche and March 24th, 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators.

5 - October 15th, 4-3 overtime loss to the Leafs: Hard to distinguish who was worse that night, Ace Frehley or the Rangers.

4 - March 3rd, 3-1 loss to the Wild: One of the many games where they blew an early lead, the Rangers looked lifeless against a lousy team that was in the midst of a 2-9-2 slide.

3 - January 2nd, 3-0 loss to the Panthers: The first of two losses in January to Florida. The Panthers. The Rangers lost to the Panthers twice in a month, and this one was a shutout.

2 - April 7th, 3-0 loss to the Thrashers: The Rangers disgraced themselves by falling flat against Atlanta despite a pregame ceremony with Ryan Callahan and Steven McDonald.

1 - April 23rd, 3-1 loss to the Capitals: The Rangers had given up before this one even started.

33-29-4: Home Sweet Dreadful Home

Home ice proved to be no advantage for the Rangers yet again as they lost to the Minnesota Wild at the Garden 3-1. Even when the team went up 1-0 in the first period there was a sense of dread in the air in the Garden and it proved justifiable as the Blueshirts proceeded to fall apart.

Where the loss to Tampa was acceptable because the boys clearly played hard but lost to a better team, this one was not. The Rangers not just played down to Minnesota's level but they played below it and they barely seemed to care. There was zero physical play - when the team was winning games and skating hard, they finished their checks and did what they had to to get to good areas of the ice. There was none of that this evening. This was a team that was happy to finally get a goal and sat on that, hoping it would hold up. When it didn't, they threw their hands up and went through the motions until the final buzzer.

It was a failure in leadership and a failure in coaching, yet again. Saying "well, we didn't score - we need to score goals" is a cop out when the team isn't doing the good things to earn those goals. Jose Theodore made 40 saves, maybe a half dozen were difficult and just one was even the least bit impressive. Sure you need to shoot a lot to get out of a slump but you need to follow those shots, get in that paint and make life difficult for the other team. The Rangers didn't.

Said it before the season and will hold onto the assertion now: the Rangers just aren't that good of a team and they will battle for a low playoff spot right to the very end. Like a mean girl, they tease you and tempt you and leave you standing there holding wilted flowers while some other guys have all the fun.

Notes:

*The Rangers being so bad at home is really starting to hurt the fans. There were wide swaths of open seats and several people who were there showed up only because they couldn't get anyone to take their tickets.

*The one thing I personally was looking forward to was seeing Jed Ortmeyer but the Wild decided to send him down for Casey Wellman - a move that worked out as Wellman scored. It also probably worked for us because seeing Jed play as he always has would just have shown the contrast to the Rangers weak-willed effort.

*Wellman's goal was pathetic as all five Ranger skaters were inside the circles, between the dots. The Blueshirts simply collapsed down low and it gave Brent Burns all the time in the world to find Wellman for the goal.

*Brent Burns physically abused someone behind the Wild net in the second period and the Rangers never responded. It was awful.

*Brandon Dubinsky has been on the slow slide back to the lost little boy that he was after Jagr left for Siberia. He couldn't win faceoffs, he couldn't win physical battles and he tried to get rid of the puck every time it came to him. How he goes on a shorthanded two-on-one with Callahan and only manage a weak wrister wide shortside is utterly dumbfounding. No surprise that moments after he blew that opportunity Minnesota tied the game.

*Brian Boyle appeared to have taken some lessons on how to be soft from Arty Anisimov. The big man could barely hold on to the puck and was pushed around several times. Boyle botched the play that led to Pierre-Marc Bouchard's goal, slowly skating into the corner to double team Brodziak, leaving Bouchard and Havlat open to make the play. Horrific.

*The lack of success on the power play is unacceptable. 0-4? Seriously? Yet again everyone tried to set up McCabe for the shot and it didn't take rocket science for the Wild to figure out where the puck was going and how to stop it.

*Yay Sean Avery scored! It's about time! Too bad that was one of just two times you could tell he was on the ice all game - the other being his late attempt to catch up to Bouchard after Boyle left him open.

*Derek Stepan has now played 25 more games than he did last year and you have to wonder if the extra games are finally getting to him. Now it could just be that the team relied upon him more when everyone was out with injury and he answered the bell but who knows? All that is apparent is that he isn't getting it done lately - much like many of his teammates.

*Paging Misters Zuccarello, Christensen, Wolski and Prospal. Wolski had 18 points in the 18 games after his trade from Colorado to Phoenix last season. He has 13 in 23 since the Rangers grabbed him from the desert. Zuke, who was manhandled by Burns late in the third and just went looking for the ref instead of standing up for himself, has an 18 game goal drought.

*Nice to see Marc Staal back but he clearly wasn't at 100%, just like Prust and Fedotenko.

*The MSG transformation is deeply underway and the lower concourse is all but closed off. All of the regular concessions have been closed but - not so shockingly - they managed to keep the sushi stand open. There is also one of the food courts but it was a madhouse even 45 minutes before puck drop. We are all being inconvenienced by the change and what will we get out of it? The honour of not being able to afford to come back anymore. Then again, if these aren't just growing pains that the Rangers are going through this season, plenty of tickets will be available for below face for years to come.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Pierre-Marc Bouchard - one goal and one assist.
2-Jose Theodore - 41 saves.
1-Kyle Brodziak - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-John Madden - It was like old times watching the former Devil have little problem shutting the Rangers down.
2-Brent Burns - The big Burns was good on both sides of the ice. He manhandled the Rangers and swiftly moved the puck around with smart passes.
1-Brodziak - Ryan Callahan, but with a goal.

1-1-1: That Looked Familiar

The Rangers encapsulated their entire 2009-10 season in one game tonight when they lost in overtime to Toronto, 4-3. They got off to a great start, thudded through a horrible middle, battled like hell at the end before blowing it. Their best players were invisible outside of Hank and they were saved by their grinders before everyone fell just a little short. That being said, there were some differences. The defense in the second period was the worst I have ever witnessed by the Rangers ever. Ulanov, Quintal, Pilon, Poti, Malik, Redden ... the six Blueshirt blueliners as a corps were a disaster. Injuries didn't really effect the Rangers last year and this night saw both Gabby and Dru go down. Let's just jump into it:

*Every "entertainment" decision made by the Garden brass was wrong. They did individual player intros, but ignored all of the scratches until the end as an afterthought. They dug up Ace Freeley to poorly sing a old song no one wanted to hear. On the heels of that, with everyone just wanting the puck drop, they took 10 minutes trying to describe the life and times of Lester Patrick. Lester's importance can't be summed up that quickly and it just sounded like droning in the wake of the warbling Freeley. Having two of his grandkids - both of whom work for other NHL teams - drop the puck was nice, if only to see Drury win a faceoff - but really, Craig Patrick helped build the Cup-winning Penguins, I don't care about his bloodline. The so-called celebrity sightings were droll - Ronny Turiaf, Pat Ewing Jr., Liam Neeson? Really? A bunch of gymnasts jumping around on a trampoline? What does that have to do with hockey? Where are the little kids? And what the hell was the guy playing an off-tune electric violin to Led Zeppelin? Tied 3-3 with seven minutes left, let's watch Dancin' Larry! Ugh! Not to mention that the music during warmups was atrocious. Dance remixes of Metallica? What the f...???? The Rangers ignored the most obvious thing - the fans were there to watch hockey, not for any kind of other entertainment.

*From a Garden regular and an admitted curmudgeon, I thought the fans were horrible - a lot of people with no clue at their one game of the year filling the concourses and getting in the way. And Potvin Sucks, we know. Woo hoo, you all know a chant. Congrats. As the team is trying to claw their way back from a 3-1 deficit against Toronto? Completely unnecessary.

*I will give them some credit as I wasn't the only one to applaud when the Rangers finally reached double digits in shots. Toronto, the second worst team in the league last year, completely dominated the Blueshirts in the second period. That marks two games in a row where the Rangers were outworked by a younger, hungrier, less skilled team. Unacceptable.

*It is easier to pick out the players who deserve accolades than the ones who deserve lashings. Brian Boyle came up with a pair of seeing-eye shots that went in for goals - just like the one he scored during preseason. Amazing how the grinder knows just to throw the puck on the net and see what happens while so many of the skill guys are blind to it. Brandon Prust saw only nine minutes of ice time and was arguably the best Ranger on the ice outside of Hank - and I called that he would fight Brown btw. Lundqvist was the only reason the game wasn't 7-1 by the third period. Ruslan Fedotenko had another quietly solid game while his linemate Sean Avery was, well, Sean Avery. He busted his ass, missed wide open chances, set up other scoring chances, let his emotions get to him, got screwed by the refs, made terrible turnovers, made nice checks ... he was involved.

*Speaking of the refs, as was pointed out to me the other day, a team shouldn't put themselves in a position where the officiating can play a role. And I have to agree. The Rangers should have been smarter and better - that goes without saying - but the refs were pretty bad. Missing obvious calls, calling borderline infractions, stopping fights, and I particularly enjoyed the linesman not bothering to move before kicking the puck to the Leafs to set up their second goal.

*I admittedly have yet to see Avery hacking Mike Komisarek's ankle on replay. But how does a guy go from shuffling along the ice looking like he would never walk again to skating off smiling and skating the next shift?

*Now that Dru and Gabby are out, how do you replace them? You move Gilroy to the wing - he simply can not play defense - and you hope Erik Christiansen is good to go. To my knowledge Kennedy can't come back without waivers, Zuccarello just scored his first North American goal so he isn't ready, Grachev isn't ready. Byers is the Hartford captain, Weise is not a scorer, Kelsey Tessier is tearing things up for the Whale but he is not a NHL player ... my buddy Eric floated the idea of BIll Guerin but I just don't see it. I think they make due with Christy and White for now.

*The Rangers were desperate for a change of fortune in the second period and yet 1- Torts never called timeout and 2- Derek Boogaard did nothing. Says a lot about both.

*I could go on about the top lines and how disappointing they all were too but it just isn't worth it. The only thing I will point out is that you could nearly see Stepan shaking in his first Garden game. Let's hope that those jitters worked themselves out tonight and he will be good to go Monday, because if tonight's Devil game is any indication, Colorado will be one tough opponent.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Sean Avery - two assists.
2-Brian Boyle - two goals.
1-Phil Kessel - two goals and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - The King made 34 saves and was under siege most of the night. He probably could have stopped one or two of the ones that went in but he gave the Rangers a chance to win when they clearly did not deserve it.
2-Tyler Bozak - Bozak dominated in the faceoff circle and collected a pair of assists. He is still goalless on the season but he is contributing to Toronto nonetheless.
1-Kessel - The man is a sniper, what can you say? Too bad he didn't come through when Team USA needed him in Vancouver.

What A Day, What A Day ...

After taking a glance at the schedule at noon, I ran out for lunch with an old friend and some errands. Who knew I would miss a bustling afternoon of hockey action ... on June 22nd?!?

Instead of multiple posts, it would probably be best to wrap it all up in a one-stop shop so here we go:

Florida's Nathan Horton was traded with Greg Campbell to Boston for Dennis Wideman, the 15th overall pick this year and a third rounder next year.
Boston got better while Florida jumpstarted their new look/rebuilding process. Wideman was jeered throughout much of the season in Boston for not living up to the standard he set in 2009 but still is a capable defenseman. Horton, who just looks like a Bruin, will bring his scoring tough to Beantown and could make for the perfect center to go with Milan Lucic. Considering Horton only had three goals in his last 10 games against the Rangers, Boston adding him isn't a huge concern. It is quite likely the asking price was too high for Sather's taste and, frankly, I don't think he is fast enough for Torts.

Scott Niedermayer retired.
As much as it hurts to say this about the former Devil, Niedermayer was one of the best defensemen of this generation and should be included in any discussion of the top-15, maybe top-10 all time. Ray Bourque was just as great of a passer, just as great of a defender - but he wasn't a winner like Niedermayer. When it is his turn to be eligible for the Hall, there could be no dissension. (Unlike this year ...)

Hockey Hall of Fame voters selected Dino Ciccarelli, women's players Cammi Granato and Angela James, Detroit Red Wings executive Jimmy Devellano and the late Daryl Seaman.
This is a disgrace. The lone NHL player to get entry to the Hall is not best remembered for his play on the ice but for getting mad that he was a sportsman and shook Claude Lemieux's hand. Sure he was a above-average power forward for a long amount of time but the Hall should be for star players who left an impact on games and Dino wasn't and he didn't. The women getting in is silly, considering they play at a high school boys level but hey, the people want equality so I guess they should get in. Fine. My issue is that it is easier for the old boys club to select women than it is for them to select Russians - that is just shameful. That they didn't put Pat Burns in is worse. Seaman got in because another Calgary owner, Harley Hotchkiss, happens to be the Director of the Hall ... how about that? Then again, they are putting Seaman in posthumously, I guess they are waiting to put Burns in the same way. As for Jimmy D, let's face it, the entire Red Wing front office deserves to be honoured after turning that franchise from '80s also-rans to the archetype for the league.

Tomas Plekanec re-signed with Montreal.
Plekanec helped the Canadiens and my fantasy teams tremendously this season. You know why he was on some of my teams? Because I knew he was in a contract season. You would think that the Habs would realize that too, but they still foolheartedly gave him a six-year, $30 million deal for a season of inspired play. What the over/under is until Canadien fans get pissed at him and beg for him to be traded? This coming New Years?

Brooksie said that the Rangers will not extend a qualifying offer to Enver Lisin.
It really was of no surprise that the Russian speedster would return. As I said in the Facts of Life, Enver rarely had a consistent role and that can cause havoc on experienced players, much less a kid with less than two seasons of NHL experience.

Pat Quinn washed his hands of the Edmonton mess and handed it to Tom Renney.
That Quinn was able to make it through all of last season with his grace and reputation intact is a tribute to the man. Now it will be Renney's turn. As a friend pointed out and I've written here many times in the past, Tom doesn't necessarily coach to win but not to lose. For a young team trying to get their skates under them, that will be enough to buy them some time until they are ready to break out and contend.

San Jose told Evgeni Nabokov 'thanks for your service but don't let the door hit you on the way out.'
A great regular season goaltender who couldn't win the crunch-time games, Nabby will find work and a payday elsewhere, that is for sure. Atlanta seems perfect for him as he wouldn't have to worry about crumbling in the playoffs with them but I could see Stevie Y adding him, hoping for Khabibulin 2.

Pittsburgh re-signed Matt Cooke.
Greeaaaaaaat. Three more seasons in the Atlantic Division for the head-hunting pain-in-the-ass. Just great.

31-32-9: At Least It's Almost Over

Hooray! The Rangers continued to show their true colours on Sunday and they surely aren't the brilliant blue, white and red that adorns the jersey. This incarnation of Broadway bunch are a lot closer to the bums rahter than the Blueshirts of old. The franchise was horrific for so very many years but you knew one thing - they were doing the best they could. This team claims that they are but haven't showed it on the ice.

They certainly didn't show it in Boston as they lost 2-1 in what they hyped as a Game 7. In the first minute alone they had three turnovers and an odd-man rush against. Way to get up for the game guys. It was a mistake-filled, sloppy affair that wasn't nearly as close as the scoreline showed. Between Hank making several saves he shouldn't have and MDZ's goal off a lucky deflection, the result should have been far worse. And to Boston no less.

I've used the phrase 'they should be embarrassed' before but let's face it, they are too pampered and make too much money to get embarrassed. For many of them, their pride resides in their bank account and it shows on the ice. Others are trying hard but are simply not that good. But that's ok, because the season is almost blissfully over. Is it a coincidence that on the same day Tiger Woods speaks, the Rangers get that much closer to the golf course? Hmmm ...

Some quick notes because, frankly, I don't care anymore:

*Anyone else get flashbacks of Jeff Van Gundy during that Brandon Prust/Steve Begin fight? Prust actually didn't have the glass to hold him up for once and Begin promptly falls and grabs onto his leg. Priceless.

*The first Boston goal pretty much came because no one trusts Michal Rozsival to do his job. Andrew Ference comes down Rozy's side of the ice and two forwards came over to help him out. Staal covered his man across the ice because Rozy sure wasn't going to cover the guy - he was too busy watching Ference skate in from 10 feet away.

*The second goal started as an odd man rush and turned into a four on four with Olli Jokinen losing his man. Jokinen had a hat trick ... of penalties in this game. None were more egregious than the one in the first period as it negated what would have been a five-on-three.

*Not like the team could score on a power play - even with a two man advantage. They would be too busy losing the face offs and icing the puck. The new NHL rules opened up the ice and gave most teams more of an advantage with the man advantage. Just how is it that the Ranger power play has gotten worse since the lockout?!?

*Cally got hurt and left the game. The worst thing that can happen will be for the coaching staff to rush him back and let him play on Wednesday. So you can pretty much expect him to be there against the Isles.

*I hate cut this short, but like I said, I don't care. It is shocking/horrifying/disgraceful/pathetic how one of the Original Six teams in the NHL can make me hate watching/thinking/writing/talking about hockey. But that is what has happened time and time again this season (and the last one, and the one before that). Thank you James Dolan. Thank you Glen Sather. Thank you John Tortorella. You all suck.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Vladimir Sobotka - one assist.
2-Steve Begin - one pathetic ass kicking.
1-Tuukka Rask - 23 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dennis Seidenberg - While the Rangers did well to abort most of their own scoring chances, Seidenberg played more than 28 minutes and helped take care of the rest.
2-Sobotka - Fiery little fella.
1-Any Ranger fan who is able to delude themselves that the Blueshirts are a) still in the playoff hunt, b) entertaining, c) worth what they are paid and d) not the most infuriating franchise in sport.

24-23-7: Beer Me

In the seminal movie Animal House, John Belushi turns to Flounder after Flounder's uncle's car has been wrecked beyong belief and utters perhaps the soundest words that every Ranger fan should abide by: "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily."

Because alcohol is about all that can make watching hockey at MSG tolerable right about now. The team is a rudderless ship stuck in the doldrums of mid-winter hockey. How a squad that can put up 14 goals in two games a week ago can lose all that momentum and collapse so completely is the fault of the so-called leadership. From the Stealth GM (thanks Ranger Pundit) to the Screamer coach to the Little Leaguer captain, this team doesn't have anyone who can pick the team up, say 'let's go' and carry them to victory.

Sather is an unfriendly ghost who appears in public about as often as Haley's Comet. Tortorella would rather tangle with beat writers than tangle with the issues plaguing his team. Marian Gaborik has the skills but not the means to carry the team on the ice. Ryan Callahan has the means but not the reputation. Chris Drury has the reputation but not the skills nor the means. This team, as it's built, is better off being razed than being patched before the deadline. There are no players available that can completely change the losing identity of the team. The change needs to start at the top and it needs to happen soon.

Without the leadership pointing the team in the right direction, they have become awash in lackluster play. Their leaders aren't leading, their stars aren't starring, and their role players are being stuck in roles beyond their means. That Enver Lisin and Arty Anisimov are playing on a plane high above that of Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik is just horrifying.

I don't want to belittle the Canes because they did what they had to to win; all credit given to them for the victory for the simple reason that they didn't shoot themselves in the foot. They gave the Rangers some chances but they allowed their goaltender to see the puck and the goaltender stopped the puck. 37 times. Admittedly Cam Ward made maybe a half dozen saves that were really quite impressive - side to side slides, quick gloves or that stick sweep that had half the arena crying for replays. Six, out of 38 shots against. His counterpart wasn't as lucky. Henrik hardly saw the shots that went past him and when he did, it appeared that he couldn't be bothered to stop them - that second goal? Ugh! Even a hungry donkey will stop going after the carrot if the load he is pulling is too great.

Very quick notes:

*Tom Renney and John Tortorella couldn't be more different in terms of temperament and primary coaching philosophy. So why do both juggle as much as clowns in the circus? Torts follows Renney in arbitrarily changing the lines multiple times over the course of a game? If he can't figure out what works through the first, sayyyyy 50 games of the season, what makes him think that putting different people over the boards now is going to strike gold?

*The old hockey adage is that your team is most vulnerable in the five minutes after they score a goal. When it comes to the Rangers, it has been the next minute (singular) in the last two games. Again, it comes back to leadership as these guys are complacent even for a second and the opponent jumps all over it.

*Ales Kotalik, welcome back to the lineup. Games may change but the story remains the same - loved the turnover that led to a shorthanded Carolina breakaway. Clown.

*Why did Hank start? If the franchise really thought he deserved to get some rest this season, starting Chad Johnson would have been a much wiser move for a home game against the Canes. And, frankly, NueveSies would have been much better. There are no excuses for three of the five goals Hank allowed.

*How does Wade Redden spend time stuck on the bench while Drury keeps getting regular shifts? MDZ was atrocious but at least he has the excuse of youth and overuse - the veterans have been horrid all their Ranger careers.

*Anyone else get some perverse satisfaction in seeing reverse carpetbagger Aaron Ward writhing on the ice in pain?

*Far less than a full Garden tonight but luckily not many Carolina fans. A smattering of Hartford jerseys and you can't begrudge them their fandom. Hartford? The Whale? That is hardcore.

*How do the refs call playing with a broken stick on a Cane when a Ranger blatantly did it a period earlier and skated off scot free?

*How pathetic is it that people still clap when the Rangers get power plays? When I see an opposing player skate into the penalty box, all I can think is 'no shorties, no shorties, please no shorties...'

*I said it in Peepin' Foes and stick to it - Eric Staal is playing up to the responsibility that the captaincy brings him. Making the switch from Rod Brind'Amour to Staal was a great move by Carolina management; too bad it happened two months too late to make a difference.

*I sit next to a season ticket holder of 20 years who happens to hate the Rangers; he is a Flyer fan who just happens to live in NY. But even he said that he was sick of seeing the Rangers skate into the zone with one hand on their stick, only to lose the puck.

*The Garden ice has a terrible reputation, one that is quite deserved, but it must be pointed out that both teams have to skate on it. So how is it that the Rangers are the ones that seem incapable of connecting on the majority of their passes?

*Free tee shirts for those who attended the game! Nice to see a real giveaway at the Garden. Sad to see a less than real NHL hockey team.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Sergei Samsonov - two goals.
2-Eric Staal - two goals.
1-Cam Ward - 37 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Tom Kostopolis - The Carolina tough guy collected two assists and killed penalties. Not that that is a big achievement against the Ranger power play, but to see a fighter capable and trusted to do that is impressive.
2-Ward - That reach-back sweep was pretty awesome.
1-Eric Staal - If giving him the captaincy is all it took to get him to step up his game, perhaps the Ranger C should go to his little brother? Actually, I want it to go to Cally but Marc wouldn't be a bad alternative. Any of the real Rangers would be better than Drury or the other old, overpaid mercenaries.

24-20-7: The Inevitable Fall Hurts

You just knew that the back-to-back Garden blowouts were too good to be true. The Rangers came back to earth with a mortifying bad performance against the Philadelphia Flyers (again). I showed up at the Wachovia Center but apparently most of the Blueshirts did not. It was a horrific performance where, in a span of a few minutes, the team's best skater got beat up and no one stepped in to help and the star goaltender was ran and still everyone stood by. After the second incident, I tore off my jersey and refused to wear it the rest of the game. If the Rangers aren't proud enough to stand up for themselves, I sure as hell won't stand up for them. I love this team but to say that I was furious would be an understatement.

Yes, Gaborik was standing up for himself and went at Carcillo. But, two weeks ago Alexander Ovechkin was standing up for himself and went at Steve Downie. In Ovie's case, Matt Bradley came flying in because you don't let your superstar player fight some idiot goon!!!!!! The Rangers? They watched. Dan Girardi, who I usually let off the hook for rare mistakes because of my fandom, was feet away and let it happen. Disgraceful. Completely and utterly disgraceful.

So not only did everyone watch as Carcillo kicked the crap out of Gaborik, Gaborik was in the penalty box when Sideshow Bob Hartnell took a four minute double minor for high sticking so he couldn't score what would have been the equalizer. As for the running of Hank, no one ever stands up the King. Why would they? We would only be in lottery position if not for him but he has been fair game since forever.

If that wasn't bad enough, Sean Avery later breaks up the best sustained pressure of the period by selfishly fighting Sideshow Bob. I love Avery, but that was sheer idiocy. From my understanding, the ringleader of this circus act, John Tortorella was screaming his head off on the bench but we know how little everyone listens to him anymore. Maybe not the ringleader so much as head clown ...

Notes:

*The first period was piss poor on the Rangers part. The only line that was able to pressure the Flyers was the line that started the game - Avery-Boyle-Voros. So, of course, Tortorella broke them up by the middle of the second period and was grasping at straws throughout the third.

*Avery's second fight of the night was against Carcillo seemingly for some sort of vengeance but he didn't get it. Sure, he fared better than he did in the two-punch knockout by Sideshow Bob but it didn't do anything. In fact, Gabby took a dumb penalty that Philly was able to score on with 2.5 seconds left in the period - adding an exclamation point to the ass kicking they were handing the Rangers in the frame.

*Voros opened the third period with a fight against Arron Asham but it just seemed to be Voros trying to ensure he would keep his spot in the lineup over Brashear, who surely would have been sent out to do something earlier (but likely would not have, or would have lost).

*And, remarkably, despite the physical beating the Bullies were handing the Blueshirts, the Rangers were still in the game. As I am sure many have said, they used up all of their goals in the two previous wins and had nothing left for this one. Ray Emery didn't have to make a single difficult stop in a 24-save shutout. When you consider that Enver Lisin of all people had the best chances, you can guess at how bad it really was.

*Chris Drury spent half the game looking like newborn Bambie, slipping all over the ice. When he wasn't flat on the ice, he chased the play and made bad decisions when he got the puck. That's the captain and a member of Team USA ...

*Flyers fans are terrible. They weren't particularly tough or rude but the place wouldn't get a single good 'Let's Go Flyers' chant going at the same time. The only time they found a little synch was to holler "Avery Sucks!" which is hilarious when you consider the kinds of clowns their franchise employs. Hypocrisy, thy name is Philadelphia.

*They didn't have "God Bless America" before the game, which was a huge disappointment for me. I grew up listening to my dad tell stories of the Spectrum and Kate Smith singing that song and instead they had some annoying blonde woman do a poor version of the regular anthem. Weak.

*The friends I went to the game with had some issues and had to deal with the Wachovia Center security (nothing malevolent I assure you) and they found the staff incredibly kind and accommodating.

*On a semi-related note, the upper bowl seating at the Wachovia is quite steep. You really feel high above and far away when you sit up there, as I did.

*James van Riemsdyk scored what would be the game-winning goal on a two-on-one that was all thanks to my pal Michal Rozsival. And I have to wear his jersey on Monday? Ugh.

*The Mike Richards insurance goal came off Marc Staal's skate but, as my buddy Eric vehemently pointed out, the play shouldn't have happened as Chris Higgins could/should have cleared the puck prior to that. If Higgins was having issues before, he clearly is falling apart now that he is saddled with Lisin and Anisimov as his underwhelming linemates.

*Traffic to and from the Wachovia Center sucked and parking cost $15. That's insane. Even the Islanders are more reasonable.

*Was it me or did Philly go offsides a dozen or so times? It just got ridiculous after a while, which was surprising after the first 10 minutes of the game flew by.

*I was pleased that the Ranger goal was waved off after the final buzzer as that left a big fat 0 next to their name on the scoreboard - matching their heart and effort in this game. We can only hope that this loss, like the 6-0 game in December, proves to be a aberration in a run of solid results ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Ray Emery - 24 saves.
2-James van Riemsdyk - one goal.
1-Mike Richards - one power play goal.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Hank - As per usual, Lundqvist gave the Rangers a chance to win with big saves.
2-Sideshow Bob - Hartnell kept Avery off of his game - kicked his ass even - and pushed the Philadelphia attack forward. If he was a better player, he easily could have scored a pair of goals.
1-Carcillo - What can you say? He is a smart goon. He goaded the best player on the opposing team into a fight, taking him off the ice for five full minutes and pulling the lone weapon from the Ranger power play. Gabby was thrown off and took a bad penalty soonafter, setting up the JVR goal. Good for Carcillo; that's just good hockey right there.