Rangers drop to 10th after blowing another lead

Being a Rangers fan has proven to be difficult and heart-breaking yet again Tuesday night as the Rangers found a way to blow an early 2 goal lead. The Rangers have made the playoffs only twice since they won the Stanley Cup in 1993-94, including last season's embarrassing sweep to the devils. And they made their run to make it back into the playoffs this season much more difficult with a very disappointing 3-2 regulation loss to the Senators Tuesday night.

The Rangers got off to a great start, energized by 2 early goals from Michael Nylander. The first period ended with a 2-0 Rangers lead, but the Rangers yielded 2 second period goals to let the Senators tie it up. In the 3rd period the Rangers had plenty of excellent scoring chances, but Senators goaltender Ray Emery was lights out, stopping all 9 shots by the Rangers in the 3rd period.

The Senators scored on a shot that deflected off of Marek Malik's stick to take a 3-2 lead. It would prove to be the game winner. Malik was booed the rest of the game whenever he touched the puck, just when it seemed like he had won back the garden faithful with a pretty goal against the Hurricanes Sunday afternoon.

The Rangers now sit in 10th place with 70 games played and 76 points. They're behind the 7th place Islanders(69 games played, 78 points), the 8th place Hurricanes(71 games played, 78 points), and the 9th place Maple Leafs(70 games played, 77 points). The Canadiens, Bruins, and Panthers are also in the race, Montreal sits in 11th place(71 games played, 76 points), Boston in 12th with 69 games played and 71 points, and Florida in 13th with 71 games played and 71 points. It'll certainly be a competitive finish for the teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Over the next two weeks, the Rangers only have 3 games against teams that aren't 8th place or better in the Eastern Conference, 2 of those games being against Boston. It's going to be a very difficult push for the Rangers to make with key players like Fedor Tyutin, Brendan Shanahan, and Marcel Hossa on the sidelines and other key players like Martin Straka, Jaromir Jagr, and Paul Mara dinged up; but the Rangers basically control their own destiny with many of their remaining games being against teams that are in the same boat as the Rangers such as the Canadiens, Islanders, and Bruins.