Not a good game for the Rangers tonight. A few things from my point of view:

– I stand by the decision to sit Malik tonight. He needed a day off. The defense looked no better without him in it, but it was a necessary move. We’ll probably see him back in next game.

– Nigel Dawes is NHL ready. No questions asked.

– How in the world did Garnet Exelby get away with the charge on Prucha? And then he couldn’t man up and face someone? C’mon, if you’re going to play on the edge, expect to take some hits back. The hit was high, he left his skates and it was late. I don’t understand. The kneeing penatly was terrible as well. The officials let this game get out of hand.

– Lost in the whole game was Lundqvist’s play. The score was lopsided for most of the game, but he made some amazing saves.

– Give it up to Johan Hedberg. The Rangers are making mediocre goalies look amazing to start the year.

– Congrats to Girardi, first NHL goal. Congrats to Shanahan on his first, long overdue goal of the season. Good to see him stand up in a big way for Jagr. That is the kind of thing that will energize a team.

– There are 76 games left. We should not panic, but there should be a sense of urgency. The problem on defense needs to be addressed, and not with trading youth for Ed Jovanovski. Maybe a call up, Ivan Baranka or Liffiton looked good for Hartford, although I think Liffiton has to go through waivers. Jason Strudwick also didn’t look too bad when he was paired with Mara early in the year.

Let’s hope they rebound in a big way. And quickly. Saturday’s game will be blacked out for me most likely so I’ll check in at night. Goodnight.