David Banks-Imagn ImagesIf the Road To The Playoffs is filled with goals, the Rangers just got dumped in a ditch. Now three-game losers, the Blueshirts not only lost 3-0 to Chicago last night in the Windy City
but wound up with ditch-mud on their faces, once again going zip-for-three on a power play that also included a Chicago shorthander.
Ex-NHLer Shane Hnidy, warbling about the game for TNT, was being kind to the Visitors when he opined that "Chicago's speed was too much for the Rangers to handle."
No kidding; the speed was too much just for starters but how about these Manhattan minuses:
* POWERLESS POWER PLAY: Imagine; the geniuses in the Blueshirts' high command still – after four games – haven't figured out that the five-forwards power play is as worthless as a wooden nickel.
* WASTED REST: Mike Sullivan's malingerers hadn't played since Sunday which meant they were well-rested. I know a dozen Bronx Zoo tortoises who were faster than the "rested" Rangers.
* WEAK FOE: The rebuilding Blackhawks had been outscored 13-1 over their last two games and are picked to finish dead last in the Central Division by The Hockey News Yearbook. The best the Blueshirts could muster was a 21-shot popgun offense.
What I'm going to tell you next is not a joke. Repeat: NO JOKE.
My buddy Sean McCaffrey, who publishes and writes Blue Collar Blue Shirt, entered a pregame contest to "Name The Final Score," orchestrated yesterday by NYRLouie on X.
McCaffrey wrote "4-0 for Chicago." Imagine that and Sean would have been 100 percent right had a Blackhawks goal not been disallowed on a questionable officiating call. Post-game, McCaffrey offered this critique:
"This game became a candidate for 'Worst Loss Of The Season'. The Blueshirts were embarrassing."
Sean could have tossed in J.T. Miller. This guy could be penalized for "Redundancy." I mean how many times do we have to hear him tell us, "I need to do a better job." (Instead of telling us, Pal, do it!
UH-OH: The Habs invade MSG on Saturday and they're as fast as the Blackhawks. At the moment, the Rangers are as slow as molasses!
For their sake they had better up their speed against Montreal to at least the Subway A Train level!