The Blueshirts Clutch Crusade Is Underday The Cellar Awaits Them

Rangers owner James Dolan tells us that the quest for Rangers "Culture" reform will take time.

After last night's 5-2 loss to the Sabres, The Maven understands when Jimmy says we should have patience.

With that in mind I'm targeting 2029 when the reform will be done – give or take 2030. (But the Stanley Cup comes with this promise.)

What we have now happens to be the Blueshirts' Culture Of Defeat.

It was on display in all its ignominy last night at the World's Most Infamous Arena where – hockey-wise – everything goes wrong. 

Can you believe that – in this glorious Blueshirt Centennial Year – the Rangers home record now stands at 5-11-4. I mean how bad can you get?

Here are some of the reasons why The Beloveds are a bit less adored:

1. QUICK IS SLOW: Jonathan got beaten last night by an eighth-string goalie named Colten Ellis. A measly 16-save Quick became Jonathan The Unreliable.

2. BEATEN BY AN UNKNOWN: Colten Ellis, who made 30 saves, wasn't even on the Sabres goalie list at the start of the season. He ranked nine out of nine and yet last night starred in the twine. (Which means that he was quite a bit quicker than Quick.)

3. OFFENSIVE IMBALANCE: Mika Zibanejad and Vin Trocheck scored for New York. But when it came to Alexis Lafrenière – not to mention the rapidly disappearing Will Cuylle – forget about it!

Funny how Zibanejad always seems to be the media go-to guy post-game and he invariably produces variations on drivel. Just for the record, his line last night went like this: "We did a lot of good things."  (True enough; except win)

The loss can be summed up by examining a Rangers' late game four-minute power play which could have resulted in the tying goal and a possible victory. 

A. The Rangers got goosegged.

B. Buffalo scored shorthanded.

As for a winning culture, Owner James Dolan might want to check out Buffalo.

The Sabres new "culture"  has resulted in a 9-1 record. The owners finally wised up and fired eternal loser Kevyn Adams. They replaced him with Jarmo Kekalainen as g.m. and Maven's old pal from 'way back, Marc Bergevin, as assistant g.m.  

Or as superscout Jess Rubenstein advises: "Take a hint Jim; fire Chris Drury and have him take Lafreniere with him!"

I call that Instant Culture!