And the Losing Streak Hits Six

The Rangers just keep on giving this Christmas season, as they generously gave another two points away last night, this time to the Islanders (for the third time this month). It shouldn't be long before the calls for coach Tom Renney's firing start, since another couple losses will plant them right back at a 0.500 record again after peaking at 8 games above. They've already nearly fallen out of a playoff spot (only the fact that they've played so many more games than the teams around them has them still in the top 8!). I wish I could say this was at all unusual, but it's been nine straight years of it, with last year being the only anomaly, of a sort. Last season they somehow managed to delay the long losing streak until a few days after they'd clinched a post-season berth. The normal pattern has been for it to happen sometime between mid-December and mid-March, just like what's underway right now. I expect it to hit at least 10 losses in a row before some sap of a team gives them a victory. Deja vu all over again, as they say.