The Coaching Guillotine Has Been Placed For Peter Laviolette

Peter Laviolette is no dope. He knows he's a goner or close to it, if you read the papers, especially The Post.

Yeah, his Beloved Blueshirts might beat the odds and Panthers tonight in Sunrise but that only will stall what appears to be the inevitable.

The Maven has been writing for weeks that the once loyal and true Blueshirts threw their gears into "Stall" weeks ago when it came to playing as hard as possible for their coach.

We all know – and knew – that Peter Laviolette's teams never succeed as well in his sophomore season behind the bench as in the first.

What we didn't expect was the foundation to utterly crack like a bridge built with Bromo Seltzer.

I haven't seen the Rangers in this dire situation in years and years," says Devils radio analyst and former NHL goalie of great repute, Chico Resch. "They don't even have a young player to promote or build around."

Across the Hudson, Newark's sextet boasts the Hughes Brothers, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and an up-and-comer named Shamus Casey.

Resch: "The Rangers' Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider form New York's nucleus. They all have lost a step – and motivation.

"Even Adam Fox. Plus, they spent at least two million too much on Igor Shesterkin. If there's a way out for them, I don't see it."

If Laviolette's boss, Chris Drury pulls the chute, the GM likely will opt for one of Lavvy's aides – either Michael Peca or Phil Housley to pilot the ferry boat.

Drury had a good one in Kris Knoblauch but let him slip away to Edmonton where he guided the Oilers to Game Seven of the Cup Final.

"Kinda sad," Resch concludes, "how quickly the Rangers fell off the mountain climb into a deep crevice."

If you think that's sad, how about poor Laviolette, the third of Drury's "Bad Coach Hat Trick."

Like him or not, Lavvy merely is taking the heat for the guy ahead of him on the Blueshirt totem pole.

If it happens, Drury will fire Laviolette but the vice should beversa!