Unfortunately, the Rangers next pay a visit to Montreal tomorrow with Brandon Prust likely to return. It doesn’t matter. The Bell Centre has been the house of horrors. They never play well there and John Tortorella is expected to start Marty Biron. He’s already run Henrik Lundqvist into the ground. Why not continue to play our best player and mentally tax him even more? Even after King Henrik criticized the team for not being better on special teams, they continue to fail miserably. The power play remains powerless and the penalty kill has been a shell of itself. On a club that’s offensively challenged even with the addition of Rick Nash, Lundqvist has to be almost perfect.

It’s impossible. The more games Marc Staal misses, the more they miss him. He’s one of the leaders and was playing his best hockey. Injuries happen. In a sprint, every team has them. Ours has not performed up to expectations. Their inconsistency is baffling. I could care less if Tortorella changes lines every other shift. Ultimately, it’s up to the players to respond. The underachieving of Marian Gaborik has him on the fourth line. Gaborik was minus-two last night. He just hasn’t been able to find the back of the net consistently. So, he’ll start tomorrow’s game with Kris Newbury and Darroll Powe. 

While our coach searches for answers, Saturday marks the return of Mats Zuccarello. He just signed a one-year deal for the rest of the season. The way things are going, it could be for only 16 games. He already sat out one due to Tortorella’s insistence of keeping the same lineup that got five on the Flyers. A bad move by a stubborn coach, who’s been unwilling to adjust. Now he’s banking on Zuccarello to provide a jolt. He’ll go from the press box to a line with Brad Richards and Chris Kreider. The diminutive Norwegian possesses skill that can aid the Blueshirts. In his previous stint, he was most effective on the power play. Zuccarello is an underrated passer and has scoring touch. Whether he can finally translate it remains to be seen.

While they hope Zucc can aid Richards, the top line remains intact with Derek Stepan anchoring Carl Hagelin and Rick Nash. They must score for this team to have success. Nash needs a hot streak. I was hoping his two-goal outburst the other night would get him going. He leads us with 12 but hasn’t finished the way he needs to. Stepan has been our best forward. He’s really grown up this year and become a leader. Hagelin hasn’t finished much this month. One goal after a strong February isn’t enough. Even if he’s not a natural goalscorer, they need more from Hags. 

Meanwhile, captain Ryan Callahan finds himself with 20-year old rookie J.T. Miller and Brian Boyle. If ever there was a mismatched trio, this is it. How do you have the plodding Boyle with Miller and Callahan? I get the need for having him take faceoffs. But it’s ridiculous. Callahan has spent most of 2013 being misused. If you’re not going to play him with Stepan, then stick him with Richards. He saw time on his wing last year and had success. I don’t get it. Boyle is a fourth line guy without Prust. If he used his size, it’d be acceptable. He can’t be used like Brandon Dubinsky. 

Equally mystifying is the exclusion of Arron Asham. Even though I’m not a fan of his, Asham provided a lift when he returned from back spasms. His goal allowed us to get a point against the Caps and he at least gets the jersey dirty. Furthermore, not having him in against the Canadiens makes no sense. Did Tortorella forget about Max Pacioretty? That prick deserves to pay for his cheap retaliation on Ryan McDonagh. Everyone knows he tried to deliberately injure McDonagh, who let up on his hit. Pacioretty had a smirk when he went to the box. If they can’t win on the scoreboard, I want someone to at least bloody him. He deserves a beating. 

Such is the sad state of affairs. The Rangers are clinging onto the eighth spot. With a shootout win last night in Philadelphia, the Islanders tied them in points (35). They’ve played one more game and have an identical amount of regulation and overtime wins (13). The first tiebreaker. The Hurricanes remain 10th stuck on 32 points. They’ve dropped seven in a row (0-6-1). The injuries to Cam Ward and backup Dan Ellis have killed them. If they do turn it around, they have more ROW (15) and 16 games left. One more than us. The Capitals come in next with 31, 14 ROW and 15 remaining. The Sabres also have 31 but have won only nine in regulation/OT and have 14 left. 

Amazingly, the Rangers control their own destiny. With the Islanders involved, this feels like a nightmare from seasons past. Everything points to our side making it. But I can’t get that bad flashback out. Everyone thought they’d be better after adding Nash. Except they’re worse. They don’t play the kind of hockey necessary to have success in the Spring. Some are holding onto hope that they can sneak in and pull an LA Kings. Newsflash. The Kings were much stronger and better equipped. Stop comparing them. They had Jeff Carter as their second center, Mike Richards as their third and Jarrett Stoll as their fourth. And Anze Kopitar is better than anyone on our roster. Their forwards are bigger and meaner. And their D is better. 

Unless Glen Sather and assistant Jeff Gorton pull something off, it’s hard to get too enthusiastic.