All the King's Men Falter

If I were to tell you Henrik Lundqvist's stat-line for the last two Rangers' contests looked something like this...

- 0.48 Goals Against Average
- .987 Save Percentage
- 1 Shutout
- 3 of 4 Shootout Attempts Stopped

You'd probably think the Rangers would've come away with at least 3 of a possible 4 points. Well, unfortunately, outside of the crease the Rangers' stat-line looked like this:

- 0.00 Goals For Average
- 0.00 Shot Percentage
- 2 Shutouts...Against
- 0 for 4 in the Shootout

I could deal with the 1-0 shootout loss to the Devils. Yes, it was a hard fought loss at the hands of one of our top rivals, but it was a very entertaining game and we still came away with a point.

But last night's loss to a short-handed Senators team that was without its entire top-line, it's starting and back-up goalies, as well as one of their top defenseman was inexcusable. The New York offense was abysmal, failing to register enough scoring chances to beat a goaltender that was playing in just his second NHL game - a goaltender that spent the entirety of last season in the ECHL.

Figuring out why the Rangers have so much trouble scoring is far from rocket science. After Marian Gaborik the Rangers are void of any game-breakers or scoring threats that the opposition needs to worry about. Gaborik has scored 23.33% of the Rangers' goals this season, and has figured in on the scoring for a staggering 45% of their 120 team markers.

That's not the recipe for sustainable success.

The Rangers should make the playoffs - Lundqvist and Gaborik are that good - but they are destined for another first or, if lucky, second round playoff exit. This team cannot generate enough offense, their power play has cooled significantly since its quick start, and there is way too much pressure for Lundqvist and Gaborik to be near perfect every night.

I would never desire my favorite team to miss the playoffs. However, as things stand, the chances of the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup are slimmer than the chances of Tiger Woods winning Time's Man of the Year Award. The New York Post's Larry Brooks recently wrote that the Rangers should be looking to be sellers, not buyers, come trade deadline day, and one can't help but wonder if that might be the best course of action.

The biggest problem for the Rangers will continue to be bad contracts. Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Ales Kotalik, and Chris Drury are unmovable. The only players that rival GM's are inquiring about - Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, and Marc Staal - are assets that Rangers GM Glen Sather has no desire to move.

As much as I'd like to see Redden sent down to the minors, the only option left which would allow the Rangers to get his ugly contract off the books, I can't see it happening. If Sather were to tell Rangers Owner James Dolan that he needs to send a guy making $6+ million a year down to ride the buses in Hartford, there's a great chance Dolan would show Sather to the door.

The Rangers will continue to be stuck in mediocrity until significant changes are made. Until changes are made, we Blueshirt fans will just have to accept our position - never real contenders, but never looking towards the future.