Fiery Filip Chytil May Have To Carry These Losing Blueshirts

Without being magicians, the Rangers are proving themselves alive and dead simultaneously.

They displayed that feat last night in Florida emerging from their losing coma to force a 3-3 tie late in the third period only to drop dead on a regular enemy score and open netter.

"The Rangers were desperate," lauded Cats coach Paul Maurice.

Desperate enough to overcome an early two-zip deficit, forge a tie and reach a point where they again could have tied the game and possibly escape with a coveted point or two.

Florida wound up two men short following a penalty whereupon Peter Laviolette pulled Igor Shesterkin for an extra forward.

"That's where Lavvy blew it," says Blue Collar Blueshirts columnist Sea McCaffrey. "His hottest shooter all night was Filip Chytil. But he failed to use him on the six on four."

Without Chytil's sharpshooting the Blueshirts fired popguns; and you know that the only time they work is at Coney Island.

Aleksander Barkov ended the misery by scoring in the open net, thereby wasting New York's otherwise commendable effort.

"The Rangers have world-class players," added Maurice.

True enough, but where were they? Apart from Chytl's goal, the other Visitors' scorers were defenseman Ryan Lindgren and power play specialist Chris Kreider.

It's no secret that GM Chris Drury would love to trade either of the pair. But wear and tear have severely lowered their trade value.

This is especially true of Kreider who often looks as if he's pushing cement and not a puck.

"Boy," noted MSG's Sam Rosen, "so many of these Rangers have gone dry."

He was referring to the forwards but the same could be said of New York's goaltending. Neither Igor Shesterkin nor Jonathan Quick have been able to produce a total dazzler, guaranteeing two points.

Last night Sergei Bobrovsky out-saved Shesty 33-21. "Bob made the big stops when it counted," added Maurice.

Actually a "winner" – in a broad sense – was Laviolette who wasn't fired and won't be these coming days. Garden boss Jim Dolan is mourning the loss of his dad, cable giant Charles Dolan.

As a result MSG action will be braked until Jim is ready to return to work. Which means that "status quo" will remain the order of the day.

For the optimists in Rangerville, the hope is that the uniquely positive road effort against the Champs can be recycled into a home win against Boston on Thursday.

"Lavvy should go with the kids," adds The Old Scout. "Chytil was the best but (Will) Cuylle also had some good chances. The young guys are bringing energy to the team."

Alan Greenberg, The Maven's Man at rinkside, was impressed with the Rangers effort and, furthermore, believes they'll make the playoffs.

"The team played well," says Greenberg. "and I don't think they can get a quick fix via trade. I say give the youngsters more ice time. They look good."

Okay. It's one game where they played well and still lost. We'll know better about carry-over value on Thursday.

Just don't bet on resiliency; the Rangers are 0-15-1 when trailing after two periods!