Copyright Getty Images Photo by John Woods/Canadian Press

I’m trying to come up with the words to describe the latest setback. Passionless. That’s what this team is. Or as Mickey would say to Rocky, they’re bums wearing Ranger jerseys. How do you come out flat after your coach called you out? Maybe they just don’t care. The season is slipping away and the Rangers lost again in regulation to Winnipeg. These are the losses that come back to haunt you.

The Jets were the superior team in every way. They scored more. Checked better. Played tighter defense. And even had the better goaltending. Chalk it all up and Winterpeg jumped ahead of the Rangers with a well earned 3-1 win to move into eighth.

If you’re looking for something positive, forget it. This was awful. They stunk. When Nik Antropov scores on you early and Antti Miettinen first in a century stands up as the winner, you know it’s gotten bad. Did you see his goal? It was the kind of bounce that good teams get. Or ones that go against bad ones. Especially inconsistent teams with Cup expectations. There won’t be any parade for the 2013 Rangers. They’re incapable of putting together 60 minutes. What makes anyone think it’s going to change if they reach the postseason? The Islanders are a point behind them.

Brad Richards can’t make accurate passes and Marian Gaborik can’t finish. It’s basically Rick Nash, Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin. If those four don’t hit the score sheet, they’re screwed. Unless Richards and Gaborik rediscover themselves, they’re going to have to win a lot of one-goal games. Unlike last year, they’re not built that way. So, we got another frustrating performance that made everyone on Twitter want to drink. This is what you get when you have a mismatched roster that lacks cohesion. Nothing’s changed. They have no identity.

It doesn’t help that Marc Staal remains out indefinitely. Who knows if we’ll even see him back the rest of the season. It’s not worth the risk unless the team does a 180. Right now, you can only count on a handful of guys to show up. I’ll include Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, who are being worn out by John Tortorella. Neither is 100 percent. But they’re warriors. When I stated that Mike Sauer was going to be sorely missed last year, it was due to the physical style he brought. He was the team’s toughest D since Jeff Beukeboom. He still hasn’t been replaced. Steve Eminger was their best blueliner tonight. That’s not a good sign. The Rangers need more from Mike Del Zotto, who still doesn’t know when to shoot. He blew a two-on-one.

As for Henrik Lundqvist, he still is without a shutout and couldn’t steal this one. It’s hard to fault him. But it’s painfully obvious that he isn’t having the kinda year needed. This team can’t score. It’s the same old song and dance. They brought in Nash but lost too many other parts. You can’t have a bunch of stone hands in the bottom six. Why did Tortorella even have Brian Boyle and Micheal Haley out there down a goal? For what purpose? Does Jeff Halpern still exist?  Arron Asham still is out with back spasms. You can’t make this stuff up. Nothing like a healthy Stu Bickel in the lineup.

Tortorella waited too long to reunite Nash with Stepan and Callahan. This insistence on playing him with Richards is ridiculous. It’s not working. This isn’t an 82-game schedule. You can’t do it at the expense of winning. He really has made some baffling decisions. And well, I guess Chris Kreider will remain buried in Connecticut while the team struggles to find offense. Maybe they can recall Kris Newbury. Nothing makes sense in Ranger Land.

So, they’re basically stuck. I hope the Mike Ribeiro rumors are true. He knows how to score and set up teammates. But at what cost? You look at Winnipeg and they got two defensemen who can flat out bomb it in Dustin Byfuglien and Zach Bogosian. Big Buff let go of a seeing eye shot that Miettinen deflected past Lundqvist, who was out of position. That can’t be even if he felt Anton Stralman screened him. He’s starting to resemble Martin Brodeur, who always bitches out his D. The body language is negative. You wonder what’s weighing on Hank’s mind.

The Jets scored first on a power play when Antropov steered home a rebound. The Rangers were MIA the first half only to show a pulse later. They carried momentum into the second where a great shift from Stepan, Gaborik and Callahan resulted in the tying marker. They cycled the Jets in circles until Stepan fired for Callahan, who tipped his ninth past Ondrej Pavelec. Maybe if Del Zotto had shot instead of passed, they might’ve led. Richards also was stoned by Pavelec, who was every bit as good as Lundqvist. He finished with two fewer saves (28).

Just when it seemed they were about to surge ahead, Byfuglien found enough space to get off his rocket and Miettinen beat Stralman to the spot for the game decider. Puzzling. They never recovered. The third was like the first. Most of it, they were unable to complete two passes and forecheck. They turned Winnipeg’s defense into the 1979 Canadiens. It was appalling. Even when they got pressure, I never got a sense they would tie it. Even in the final frantic minute with Lundqvist pulled.

It ended when Nash tried to take on three Jets and predictably lost the puck, leading to Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd’s empty netter. Coincidentally, Tortorella didn’t use his timeout due to the Jets icing the puck twice. Unfortunately, Stepan lost both faceoffs and Nash tried to do too much. Now, they must go to Pittsburgh for a dreaded matinee (1 PM) on Saturday. Good heavens.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (9th of season-4th straight game with a goal)
2nd Star-Dustin Byfuglien, WPG (2 assists)
1st Star-Ondrej Pavelec, WPG (28 saves)