The Maven likes to think he has a sense of humor but I can't figure out whether the Beloved Blueshirts are fooling around or what.
I mean that opener on Tuesday night at The Garden had a rotten egg aroma about it so stinky that you could smell it in Ho-Ho-Kus on the other side of the Hudson.
Blue Collar Blue Shirts publisher Sean McCaffrey even smelled it out on distant Long Island. "Same old Rangers," said McCaffrey, muffling his volcano of invectives.
Vic Morren from behind his – and Neil Smith's – wonderful NHL Wraparound podcast wrapped up the Blueshirts with a couple of delicious lines:
Delicious Line One: "The Rangers have a first line and three third lines!" Delicious Line Two: "The Rangers are a conga line of diminishing returns!"
Harvey (Hutch) Cohen who was the best high school hockey coach the State Of New Jersey ever knew, offers this: "Nothing has jelled for the Rangers at this point in time."
Hutch cited "a terrible lapse in defensive zone coverage" as well as weak forechecking and a "lack of intensity." And finally – sickeningly when you check the price of admission and beer – "They did not show a big will to win."
How Not To Launch The Blueshirts Centennial Season
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">Rangers</a> season begins tomorrow night in Buffalo. Oh, last night at The Garden?
That's the bad news. The good news is that it's old news and a new season begins tonight in Buffalo.
If the odor wafting down from Sabreland around 11 p.m. tonight is anything like Tuesday's, gas masks may be necessary this coming Sunday for the next home game (vs.Washington) at The Garden.
In the meantime, do the only thing that might help – apart from deodorizer – pray for a win in Sabretown!