I see the New York Rangers 2007-2008 Season as one of those Yankee Candles in a jar, a big one. When we first opened it, it smelled and looked fantastic. The Rangers lit that candle with an opening night win over Florida, and the candle began to burn, releasing the nice aroma and forming a pool of wax. We smelled that nice aroma for the first third of the season as we remained in first or second for a while. Then, the smell started to disappear as the candle stopped burning so quickly, and we began the downhill slide into Christmas. The candle finally went out during the first two weeks of January, where they dropped 6 of 8 games. Then came the spark, in my opinion. The 6-5 SO loss to Montreal in Montreal after building a 5-0 lead after a period and a half. It lit the candle again and quickly melted the now-solid pool of wax, which released a great smell in a short amount of time, leading to 13 straight games of gaining at least a point in the standings.

Now, with only one game left in March and four total, the Rangers need another spark before their (hopefully) playoff run. The candle is still burning, but the wind has been blowing in March. They won 3, lost two, won two, then lost two during a 9 game stretch in the middle of march. Now to be fair, they could have run into some hot teams at the time, but what that tells me that is the Rangers have not been consistent since finding their game in the middle of Feburary. The Blueshirts NEED to win at least 3 of their final 4 games in order to help themselves not end up in the 7 or 8 spot of the Eastern Conference. Not to mention it wouldn’t hurt to play that well at the end of the season for a confidence booster.

Tommorow night is the key time to start this. Today’s game wasn’t what many Ranger fans were hoping for, but their was hope. They outplayed the Penguins in stints (once again, incosistent), Henrik played great per usual, and Fleury did well too. Tommorow night is key because we have had the Penguins number at MSG this year, and we need to continue that. Following the Pens Monday are the Islanders on the Island Thursday. The Islanders have been tough this year which is why, in my opinion, we need two points Monday to make up for today. After Thursday its a date at MSG with the Islanders and then the Sunday finale with the Devils at the Rock. All 4 games are cause for concern, which is why the Rangers need another spark ASAP.

As for today’s loss at Mellon to the Pens, I think the Rangers need to have some amnesia. Here is the good, bad, and other:

- The Rangers played ok, in stints. For Example, the Rangers outshot the Pens 11 to 4 in the second period, but really got nowhere with it. Thats how I felt the whole game. The Rangers played ok, but just not well enough. I was only on edge during the game right after Dubi scored to take the lead, I was into it. Past that, the Rangers got nowhere. They didn’t get any really spectactular chances and failed to even produce chances on the PP.

- Speaking of the PP, we need someone in front, constantly. It is a big key to any good power play, go take a look at Montreal’s highlights.

- I thoughts the refs sucked.

- Off Topic: Clarkson loses in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Ice Hockey Tourney, here’s to a good season boys!

Thats it for now, I kind of lost my train of thought as I had to tend to a small issue while I was writing this. Remember, Pens @ Rags tommorow, 7 PM EST, MSG Network. Look for a post after it! Peace - Rob