WA-NYR-TradeRumours The Rangers have hit rock bottom so hard, they soon will strike oil. They are beyond bad; dead from the neck up; at war with themselves and, especially, their goaltenders. On Monday afternoon Jonathan Quick could have used a bomb shelter in front of his crease during the 5-0 Devils rout yesterday in Newark. "Everything they do seems to be wrong," says The Old Scout, "even those 'Too many men on the ice" penalties." Peter Laviolette was behind the bench but he might as well have been in Poughkeepsie for all the good he did. Lavvy's post-game quotes are enough to make you weep. "I don't like the way we finished the game," he lamented. Hey, Pal, the first and second periods were no bargain either and New York's shots on goal stats were enough to make you ask Gary Bettman for a "Do over!" Not only is this dull, drab and lifeless sextet without a captain; they remain leaderless with only Vincent Trocheck seemingly lobbying for the role. "We've got to show more heart," prescribed Trocheck post-game. "More heart?" How many thousand times are we expected to swallow that applesauce without throwing up? The holiday break should give the Rangers high command an opportunity to do something more than benching veteran Chris Kreider. You have to believe Kreider was put in drydock for trading purposes. Then again, you have to ask yourself who would want this guy whose back is bothering him and production is reduced to the Square Root of Air, Now for the good news: they don't play on Christmas, nor Boxing Day that follows, nor the day after that.The bad news is that their next game is on December 28th at Tampa Bay. Another performance like the Newark abomination might soon find them in The American Hockey League! "We should all look in the mirror," Trocheck concludes.
