And it's not as if there isn't a lot to write about as far as the Rangers go. They were up, then down, then WAY down. Drury and Dubi are both out (Drury indefinitely with a concussion, Dubi 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist). Gaborik's been on fire, Staal's been worrisome, and Michael Del Zotto has far exceeded most expectations.
Now we're at the quarter-season mark. I lurk on a lot of message boards, and it seems that a lot of people are ready throw the towel in already. While the Rangers got off to a hot start, the last few weeks have been...eh. Not that good. The thing that stands out the most for me is that they're not playing nearly as physical or hard as they were at the beginning. They're losing battles for the puck, they're not getting to the goal, they're not finishing checks.
Some people have already chosen to blame this all on Tortorella, which I think is really kind of moronic. At the start of the season, I'd said that it would probably take the team half the season just to get used to playing the way Torts wants them to. Tortorella himself had said he didn't expect the team to be playing the way he wants instinctively until December. Sometimes it takes time for these things. There's not a magic switch Tortorella can flip to have everyone get on track. The 7-game winning streak fooled a lot of people - me included - into thinking this team had it all together right off the bat. Now we're starting to see their growing pains.
The keyword here is 'growing'. The play's looked sloppy, but they have shown flashes of what they could be. As long as I see them learning from their mistakes and trying - and more importantly, as long as I can see that the younger players are growing and developing - I'm going to be happy. Winning will come with all of that. Tonight they play the Capitals, a team that's been playing pretty well without Ovechkin, who returns from a couple of weeks out on injury. You know he'll be hungry for goals after being gone so long. It'll be a good test for the Rangers.
In much sadder news, Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement. The hockey world has lost a world-class player, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him working for the NHL front office or the NHLPA. I only wish he could have retired as a Red Wing. It just seems wrong that his last game wasn't with them (or the Rangers, but that's purely selfishness on my part.)
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