Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and alternate captain Scott Gomez look back on the team’s Nov. 30 game against the Florida Panthers at MSG.

Rangers broadcasters John Giannone and Joe Micheletti give their take on the Rangers’ 4-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Nov. 30 at MSG.

It’s not exactly the “Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor,” because I’m not adrift at sea, just stranded at Miami International Airport for Hour 9 going on Hour 10. (I’m starting to wonder which is preferable, this or shipwreck.) And whether it’s the recirculated air or the constant loop of Muzak that’s going to my head, I figured what better time to put down some thoughts - praise and scorn - about the Rangers’ Sunshine State sweep.

Kudos: Colton Orr. For getting himself involved physically, beginning Wednesday in Tampa when the Rangers were starting to get pushed around. He leapt on Evgeny Artyukhin, the 6-5, 259-pound Lightning behemoth who landed at least four crunching - and clean - body checks in the first period, then took on David Koci in pretty lively second-period fight. Then on Friday against the Panthers, he took on three Panthers along the boards to work the puck free to Lauri Korpikoski and then on to Aaron Voros, whose top-shelf wrister gave the Rangers the lead they almost held until the end.

Kudos: The Rangers, for a fast start. They actually took a 2-0 lead - no, seriously - after just 2:39 against Florida, and the first 1:40 of that was a scrambling opening shift prolonged by a turnover and an icing by Wade Redden and some hard Panther forechecking. Once shift No. 2 commenced, Nikolai Zherdev found a fortuitous bounce at the side of the net, and on shift No. 3, Dan Fritsche picked up his first goal as a Ranger. They still gave up too many pucks and chances in the first, I thought.

Demerits: The Rangers, for a lousy finish. They blew that 2-0 lead, then blew another one in the third period, the second straight game they’ve allowed the tying goal with under two minutes to play. And while only one of those goals came on a power play, the slew of penalties still serves the Rangers terribly - it took them away from a lot of the things they were doing right in the second period. We saw it in Ottawa, and we saw it again in Sunrise.

Kudos: Craig Anderson. I was sure the Florida goalie was a dead duck when he let those first two goals in and didn’t look good at all doing it. But he stopped 42 of the next 43 shots the Rangers threw at him (he did get help from his goalposts four times) before bowing to the King (naturally) in the shootout. Memo to Peter DeBoer: Why not start him again at the Garden tomorrow?

Demerits: The NHL, for shootouts. I’m sorry, everyone, as much as those shootouts have helped the Rangers - and boy, have they helped - they are still an abominable gimmick that should have no more part in deciding games and awarding points than pie-eating contests. (Wonder how Henrik would fare in THOSE babies.)

Kudos: Petr Prucha. The guy is in an unfortunate situation: he just can’t crack the lineup these days. But he shows up to practice every day and, as he does in games, works just as hard as the next guy - harder, even - and is as good a teammate as you could ask for. I say this now only because reading about Stephon Marbury and Plaxico Burress makes me hold Prucha in even higher regard.

Kudos: Continental Airlines. Their planes work.

Demerits: Delta Airlines. Theirs don’t.

So that’s that from Miami. We’ll meet again tomorrow afternoon for the Panther rematch at MSG. That’s assuming I get there, and am not still in Terminal H choosing which city on the departure board I’d most like to fly to (Rio De Janeiro is the frontrunner) and witnessing yet another shift change at the Quiznos. Wish me luck.

Um, I am now officially going to stop complaining, because this is no joke: former Islander broadcaster and Hall of Fame voice Jiggs McDonald is trapped in Thailand after protesters there overran the airports. Jiggs is safe, by all accounts, but remains stuck there and his family is genuinely and understandably concerned for his and his wife Marilyn’s safety. More details on that later, but of course we wish them a swift and safe return home.

VS.

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