Blanked!!

The Rangers lost a game last night, gained a point but more importantly lost two D-men to injuries, one of which could be catastrophic. First, the Rangers went to a shootout and lost it in the fourth round 2-1, thereby losing the game 1-0. Lundqvist was credited with his 52nd career shutout. Ondrej Pavelec made 38 saves to pick up the win for the Jets. The Rangers power play woes continued going 0-5. Do you really believe one guy, Dan Boyle, could fix this?

First Klein went out in the first after being hit in the foot by a Jacob Trouba shot off his foot. He is listed as day to day. Then it was McDonagh hit by a clean, but hard check by Evander Kane and suffering a shoulder separation. He's out indefinitely. The good news on all this was that the remaining four defensemen played very well. Matt Hunwick logged 27:58 and Mike Kostka 21:56. Dan Girardi logged a season high 34:50. So the good news is that the Rangers will have great depth on defense when all will be healthy.

I'll be honest, I struggled to stay with the game. It wasn't exciting and there were two big SEC football games going on. I did catch the end of both, thrillers won by Mississippi State and Auburn. There are many sports going on right now and you look for the most entertaining. Except for a few bursts there are not too many enjoyable Ranger games. How do you score five goals in one period one night and come back the next game totally powerless?

So it's St. Louis tomorrow night and it will be interesting to see who the Rangers bring up for the defense. For now, we know that Hunwick and Kostka can do their job when called on.

ICINGS: Say a prayer for Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe who suffered a stroke this past week. He is legendary, was always a fighter and now at 86 years old is putting up the biggest fight of his life. Let's give him a hand with our prayers. Get well Gordie.

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