I won’t lie, looking at the standings earlier today made me rather depressed. With Boston’s shootout loss this afternoon New York is now in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, two points out of a playoff spot. That may not sound too bad, but we all know it has been a brutal stretch for the Rangers. There really isn’t too much you can look at and be encouraged. Sure, they scored five goals against the Caps the other night, but they gave up six and lost the game. I know the Caps are clearly the best team in the NHL right now and in the midst of a 13-game winning streak, but New York should’ve won that game. Five goals, but too many penalties, turnovers, inconsistent play. There is rarely that game where the Blueshirts are clicking on all cylinders and come out with a win. Speaking of cylinders, check this ESPN power ranking comment from October 19 when the Rangers were 7-1.

“The Rangers, winners of seven straight, are hitting on all cylinders, from their peerless goaltending to an impressive young blue line to the hot hand of Marian Gaborik.”

Boy, does that feel like a long time ago.

As for what’s to come, who knows? The Rangers host the Devils tonight in what is sure to be a high-intensity game. Games between these two always are. In fact, the last time the Rangers played a really solid game, and what Eric coined as their best game of the season, was on January 12 against the Devils. What’s sad about that is they didn’t even score a goal, let alone win the game.

I’m encouraged by the trade and how it has played out so far. Jokinen cost the team with a couple penalties in the Caps loss, but he has already contributed on the offensive end. Donald Brashear is not playing, so that is great news as well. “The Maven” claims that trade will propel the Rangers into the playoffs and past the first-round. All signs are pointing to that not being true, but there still is time.

And that brings me to the topic that has been brought up by many of you: do you hope the Rangers continue spiraling into this tailspin in hopes for a good draft pick and some rebuilding? While I understand the rationale behind this feeling, I just can’t bring myself to doing it right now. When your favorite team is only two points out of a playoff spot with 24 games remaining, I just can’t root against them. I don’t care how bad it has been (and it has been dreadful), but I still want this team to have success. All you need to do is get into the playoffs. You do that and who knows what can happen. It was only a few years ago when 8th seeded Edmonton upset Detroit and eventually went on to the Cup finals. Do I expect the Rangers to do the same? Of course not. But the point is this team has a goaltender who can steal games, and almost a series if you go back to last year’s playoffs. It also has one of the most dangerous offensive players in the game today who can, like in Colorado, single-handedly be your offense. Obviously this is not a recipe for sustained success and that’s why the Rangers are where they are now. But get in the playoffs and let’s see what happens. I know many will disagree with me, but you won’t get me to bail on this team this season just yet.

UPDATE: Multiple sources are reporting that the Devils have acquired Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuck. Early indications are that it cost the Devils three players (Oduya, Bergfors, Patrice Cormier) and a first-round draft pick. Let’s hope New Jersey can’t get a contract extension worked out (if it hasn’t been already, which I expect would be part of the deal) and Kovalchuck becomes a free agent in the summer.

It would’ve been awesome to see Kovalchuck come to the Rangers, but if what The Post reported as to what the asking price was from the Rangers, then I have no problem with this deal not getting done. Del Zotto or Staal, Callahan or Dubinsky, Stepan or Kreider AND a first-round draft pick is ABSURD. I would NEVER do that trade and would be fuming if Sather did that. Clear some cap room and hope that Kovalchuck is available in the summer. Otherwise, let’s see what Jokinen can add for now. So far, so good tonight.

Well, it’s finally done. So long Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins. Hello Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. I think a lot of my feelings echo with everyone else as well as Eric, but here are my thoughts on the deal.

As much as we all love to hate Glen Sather, the guy really does find a way to make some impressive trades. To me this is a low risk, high reward trade. The upside of Jokinen is tremendous. Yes he struggled mightily in Calgary, but we all know about his success in the Eastern Conference. His style of play also fits well with what Torts wants this team to be. If he continues to struggle then it’s obviously unfortunate for him and the Rangers, but he will become an unrestricted free agent at the season’s end. If he thrives playing with Gaborik, I agree with Eric, maybe the Rangers can bring him back for a reasonable price.

In terms of Prust, he’s a scrappy guy who will bring some physicality to this team. He won’t give you a lot of minutes, but that’s to be expected. Based on all the comments I was reading on TSN he seemed well-liked in Calgary, much more than we can say about Donald Brashear (good riddance and FINALLY!).

The Rangers really don’t lose much at all in this deal. Even if Higgins or Kotalik, or both, pick up their games in Calgary I won’t feel too badly about it. It seemed clear that Kotalik was never going to play well, or play at all for that matter, as long as Torts was manning the bench. Higgins also seemed like a lost cause to me in New York. He underachieved and looked overwhelmed at times playing in New York. I’m ecstatic that this move was made without trading away Matt Gilroy. I even heard rumors, which were just that, that Callahan was potentially the other piece in the deal instead of Higgins. Thankfully that was not the case. That would’ve been idiotic.

Torts says both Prust and Jokinen will play tonight in LA. I’m pretty excited to see how this all shakes out. Like I mentioned, if Jokinen doesn’t perform it will stink, but the Rangers lost nothing in the deal. We’ll just have to hope it pans out. Maybe Jokinen’s game is resurrected and he can help an offense that is in desperate need of some firepower.

PS: How about this bold prediction from The Maven…“I predict that this trade will turn the Rangers in a significantly upward direction, guaranteeing a playoff berth and more than a first-round performance.”

Interesting headline, right?

Big win for the Rangers tonight…check that…big win for Marian Gaborik tonight as he single handidly defeated the Avalanche 3-1. Chalk up a win, and a near shutout, for Chad Johnson.

But the big news of the day is the potential Ales Kotalik/Chris Higgins trade. Kotalik did not make the trip to Colorado and was sent home to await a possible trade. The trade that is in question is Kotalik/Higgins for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust. The deal has yet to be finalized but TSN is reporting that it will happen.

To me, this is a great trade for the Rangers. It’s been obvious that both Kotalik and Higgins have fell out of favor with Coach Tortorella. Neither has been producing much either. Kotalik is in the first year of a 3-year/$9 million contract. Higgins is making $2.25 mil this season. Jokinen is making $5.25 this season but will become a UFA next year. He has 11 goals and 24 assists this season. To me, this free’s up some salary for next season while improving the team this season as well. Jokinen should be able to give the Rangers more than what Kotalik and Higgins were able to give.

The second part of the headline deals with Glen Sather. If you’ve listened to todays podcast (available now on Itunes) you know that both Erik and I are hoping the Rangers fire Slats during the Olympic Break. While that may not happen, a change could be a brewing for the offseason. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, it is believed that “This could be the final season for Glen Sather in a dual role as president/GM of the Rangers. The belief is he’ll remain president with Mark Messier taking over as GM.”

While Sather would still be around, he wouldn’t be acting as GM if this scenario were to occur. Plenty of things to discuss. What are your thoughts on the potential trade with Calgary and the move to make Mark Messier GM?

UPDATE: The deal has finally been completed. Both Jokinen and Prust are expected to be with the Rangers tonight against LA. Love the deal. To me, you’re getting rid of two unproductive guys for a semi-productive guy and a enforcer that you desperately need. Also, you’re getting rid of one bad contract and not taking on anymore money at the end of the season. While the Rangers aren’t saving money towards this years cap, this deal frees up $3 million dollars for the each of the next two years. And who knows, if Jokinen is productive, maybe the Rangers will resign for less than the $5.25 million he’s making this year. This deal also signals the end for Donald Brashear. Win, win, and win. Thoughts?

Here’s to a win!

Well, at least the Rangers broke the shut out streak! And by Rangers, I mean Artem Anisimov. That’s a small step in the right direction. As we all know, New York hosts bottom-feeder Carolina tonight. If the Rangers don’t win tonight then tell me why we shouldn’t throw in the white flag. Okay, maybe because they will have 28 games remaining still after that. But, we all know the Rangers don’t deserve much if they can’t beat the worst team in the conference when they desperately need a win.

If you look ahead, there are even more reasons why New York needs two points desperately tonight. After tonight, there are eight games remaining before the Olympic break. Of those eight games, seven are against better teams in terms of record (the last game against Tampa is the only team below New York in the standings as it stands this afternoon). What makes this even more difficult is that after tonight, the Rangers head on a three game road trip @Phoenix, @Colorado and @LA. In the last few years that might not sound so bad. However, all three of those teams are in the top six of the Western Conference. The Rangers have actually beaten LA and Phoenix at home already earlier in the season, but that was months ago and this will be in the midst of an extended road trip. So, New York, you want to prove you are a playoff team, now would be a good time to start winning again.

It really amazes me the Rangers are still in the seven seed in the standings right now despite three straight losses. Eric and I have talked about how tight it is in the standings from around the 6-13 seeds yet the Rangers haven’t won a game in more than a week and are still in position to make the playoffs. Crazy if you ask me. That just goes to show how poorly some of the other teams are playing (Boston most noticeably). That almost tells me if there was a time to have a mini-slump, the Rangers picked the most opportune time. On the flip side of that coin, had the Rangers not fallen into this slump we would be talking about them being closer to that five or six seed with some breathing room behind them.

At this point, what’s done is done. The simple fact of the matter is the Rangers need to go out and get a win tonight at home before they head on the Western Conference road trip. This team needs some confidence before that trip because clearly any that it had from the back-to-back wins over Montreal and Tampa is completely gone. Maybe scoring twice and playing a competitive game against the Penguins will help them, but once again we are merely talking about playing with the Penguins, not beating them.

A couple of side notes. I will be on the live blog tonight so be sure to join in on that. Also, I fly out to Vancouver bright and early tomorrow. If all goes according to plan and I get out there alright, Eric and I were going to try to get a podcast in tomorrow night so stay tuned for that. Remember to get your questions/comments in at hosts@nyrangerscast.com.

Let’s hope for a win tonight!