Rangers at it again!

By Jon Gabrielle,  NY Rangers correspondent

The New Yor k Rangers, after reeling off points in 9 of their previous 10 games, going 7-1-2 during that span, have now lost three out of their last four. 

And although they have earned four points during this latest stretch(1-1-2), an alarming trend continues to plague these Blueshirts. In the last 4 games the Rangers have totaled 4 goals, including back to back shutouts at the hands of New Jersey and Ottawa.

Even when the Rangers win though, it’s usually on the back of their Swedish netminder. The Rangers haven’t scored a goal in 144:23 over the course of their last three games.

New York is now ranked 27th in the NHL in goals scored. There are three teams that have scored less and all have played one less game. The Rangers arguably have the worst offense in the entire league. Worse yet, in this hard-cap era, help does not appear to be on the horizon.

For his part, Henrik Lundvist has miraculously kept this team in playoff contention. In back to back games he shoutout the opposition for 118 minutes and 46 seconds consecutively, almost two complete games, yet lost both.

Even he couldn’t hide his disappointment following the Ottawa loss. “I really don’t care how I play, it’s just frustrating not to win, said Lundqvist. “It’s very disappointing to come up short again in a tight game.”

Head Coach John Tortorella’s “puck pursuit” type of offensive game hasn’t exactly made an impression with this group of Ranger forwards. Forty-seven games into the campaign, do some tactical adjustments need to be made?  Or is this a case of a coach forcing his system on a bunch of players without the desired skill-set to carry out the game plan?

I’m under the impression, that as with most coaches, Tortorella believes vehemently in his system and that it’s just a matter of his players putting forth the necessary effort. Or possibly, this team just doesn’t work as hard as it’s coach? 

Tortorella had this to say following the loss. “That team wanted to play harder than we did tonight. They deserved what they got. We deserved what we got. They simply worked harder.”

Master of the early timeout, one gets the impression Tortorella would love the bushel full of timeouts a basketball coach is afforded, as the Ranger boss excercised his lone stoppage only minutes into the game. Having worked to motivate his troops earlier this season, this time the tactic would fail to shake the Rangers from their scoring drought.

Asked about the teams start and the ensuing timeout, Tortorella said, “I just don’t undesrstand it. It’s a team we’re fighting against for a playoff spot. We knew they were embarrassed the night before. We tried to guard against it, but I guess they weren’t listening?”

One thing we do know. The Stanley Cup winning Tortorella will do everyhting in his power to motivate, coerce and prod his players into matching his effort.

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