Ending The Embargo... For The Moment

Boneman's been after me to lift my Rangers Embargo lately, perhaps spurred on by the fact that his Bruins are now in 1st place in the NHL and he wants someone to appreciate that fact! So tonight, I went looking to see what I'd missed over the past 4 weeks.

It looks like the Rangers' road trip, which I was so apprehensive about, actually went very well:

2-1 Shootout Loss in Buffalo
2-0 Win in Ottawa
2-1 Win in Long Island
3-2 Overtime Win in Chicago
3-0 Loss in Pittsburgh

So they went 3-1-1, and over the first 4 games only gave up 4 goals in regulation and overtime (for a lower than 1.00 GAA!). The 3-0 loss to the Penguins sounds like a debacle (the write-up indicates that the Rangers were lifeless) but I can't quibble with a 3-1-1 result overall.

They then rattled off back-to-back home wins:

4-2 Win over Anaheim (more on this later)
3-2 Win over Carolina

So that puts them up to 5-1-1 to start the Embargo, which is pretty amazing indeed!

And then, apparently, reality set in. The last 3 games have been:

6-2 Loss at Pittsburgh
1-0 Loss at Boston (no wonder Boneman wanted the Embargo lifted!!!)
2-1 Shootout Loss to Atlanta at home

Now, the loss to the Bruins is fine (they're first in the league!) but giving up 6 goals to the 10th place Penguins?! And then losing at home to the lowly (14th place) Thrashers??? What the Hell?

So this brings their month-long results to: 5-3-2. They gave up more goals than they scored over that stretch, and in fact have allowed more goals than they've scored over the season so far (133-136), despite being 11 games over 0.500! They're clinging to 5th place in the Eastern Conference, but mostly on the strength of having played more games than those right below them. They have 63 points after 52 games, which means that they just might be able to squeak into the playoffs going 0.500 over the remaining 30 games. Realistically, though, they're going to need more than that, and when they can only manage a 2-1 SO loss against Atlanta, what are the chances?

As for that win against Anaheim... Back in December, the Rangers were on a West Coast trip and beat the Ducks 3-1. Although I haven't done the research on this, I could almost swear that this is the first time the Rangers have ever gotten two victories against Anaheim in the same season! There's two reasons why I say that: 1) For many of the years in which Anaheim's been in the league, teams from opposite conferences have generally only played once or not at all. 2) When Anaheim first entered the league, they seemed to have the Rangers' number, every time the two teams met. Therefore, a pair of victories this year against the Ducks feels very much like a first to this Rangers fan.

Anyway, if the 3-game slide that the boys are on continues, then it won't be long before I go dark on them again. I'm still smarting from that disaster of an NFL postseason (could the hated Steelers have written the script for the season and playoffs any better themselves, starting with Tom Brady's season-ending injury back in September and running right through the dreadful teams that they drew in all 3 rounds?), and the last thing I need now is to endure more Rangers losses to teams that they really ought to be able to beat.