Charlie Callas, a wonderful standup comic from another era, had a silent skit where he did an imitation of a man caught in quicksand. Down and Down and Down he went. 

The way Charlie did it was hilarious and he got a grand round of applause for his pantomime.

The way the Rangers are sinking in MSG quicksand isn't funny at all. In fact it's so unfunny that at the end of the game last night, the Booshirts got what they deserved, booed off Garden ice.

Come to think of it, I should never have compared The Great Charlie Callas to the Rangers; he always made me laugh. Listen up to what fan Greg Kaplan noted on X/Twitter.

"The team has no shame and does not care."

Thus, The Maven withdraws the Callas Comparison with a better one. The Rangers are "The Hindenburg Of Hockey."

(Historic Note: The real Hindenburg was a much-admired,fancy German airship that had begun to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937 when it exploded into a giant fireball and many fragments.)

The Rangers playoff chances are exploding into many fragments as well and their fans are on to the bad Ranger act. 

MSG attendance last night was 17,130, down from the usual 18,000-plus. Imagine a good draw such as Jon Cooper's excellent Tampa Bay Lightning could not fill the joint.

'The Rangers' special teams have become a bad joke," says The Old Scout,  "and this loss was no bargain."

Mika (It Doesn't Matter Anymore) Zibanejad got the lone red light on an accidental deflection and that was that. 

Among the other hapless characters who should be auditioning for "The Invisible Man," include Big Al (Bigger Contract) Lafrenière and Bigger Chris (Take A Good Luck 'Cause I Won't Be Around Long) Kreider.

For some reason – I know not why – coach (for the moment) Peter Laviolette chose to scratch Brett Berard and play the oft-injured  Matt Rempe. The Remper wasn't exactly useless but you have to wonder why Brett Berard got scratched.

"Horrendous coaching" is the way Blue Collar Blueshirts critic-columnist Sean McCaffrey put it. 

Once again, goalie Igor Shesterkin was beaten by an elite team. He made 18 saves out of 22 shots for a mediocre 881 %. On the other side the Bolts' Andrei Vasilevskiy could have given Iggy a puckstopping lesson.  Vas' winning percentage was a handsome .974.

Forget about the numbers; you have to wonder what kind – if any – culture exists on a team that's a hairbreath away from being wiped out as a Wild Card candidate.

When Brother McCaffrey talks about a "country club atmosphere," he means endless optional practices which are ignored by the key core guys.

"The power play is failing," McCaffrey explains, "and instead of practicing with the team, J.T. Miller, Adam Fox, Chris Kreider and Zibanejad were out in the back playing volleyball."

At that rate – promptly starting on April 18 – they'll be playing golf while the Montreal Canadiens will be in the playoffs!

Then again, a summer of volleyball might bounce some sense in these Rangers' heads!