Rangers Off and Still Lose

The New York Rangers were off last night, but the NFHL gods continue to cast darkness around this organization. The Chicago Blackhawks, who traded their 1^st rounder to the Rangers last year, finally decided to call up the best goalie in their system, Nikolai Khabibulin. In the four games he has played, he has a record of 1-0-1 and a save percentage vastly greater than Arturs Irbe and Rick Tabaracci. The Blackhawks were keeping pace with the Rangers as the worst teams in their respective conferences, but with the recent play of Khabibulin, the Blackhawks find themselves with 7 points, only 8 out of the playoffs. This is certainly a blow to the Rangers who thought they might have two serious shots at the top pick in this year’s Entry Draft. If the Blackhawks continue to play this way, the Rangers are looking at one lottery pick, and with their lottery luck it won’t even be a top 5.