Boston and Atlanta won, too, to keep the Rangers, who beat the Islanders, four points and two places out. So when Olli Jokinen said last night he didn’t “want to talk about the past,” odds remain strong that “past” probably already has doomed the 2009-10 Rangers.
Jokinen, dormant practically…

The Rangers, three points back of eighth-place Boston with eight games to go to the Bruins’ nine, have repeatedly proven in a 33-32-9 season they are only as good as their next game.
And now they are a loose team. Loose is their mood since being given up for dead…

The way Henrik Lundqvist was playing last night, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire could have chosen Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for the shootout and still not have scored.
But Lemaire didn’t pick Ilya Kovalchuk, instead he went with Zach Parise, who couldn’t get the puck through…

The way Henrik Lundqvist was playing last night, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire could have chosen Maurice Richard, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for the shootout and still not have scored. But Lemaire didn’t pick Ilya Kovalchuk, instead he went with Zach Parise, who couldn’t get the puck through…

The Rangers now have it going, just in time to cost them better draft position. Freed by their failures, suddenly as loose as Sean Avery’s old set of lips, last night they started their hard drive to falling short of a postseason berth with a 5-0 shutout of an…

If it is any consolation, the Rangers are recharged and ready to go.
“I think the last two days we loosened up a little bit,” Brandon Dubinsky said after yesterday’s practice. “And I mean that in a good way. I thought guys were upbeat and ready for the uphill…

Misery loves company. The Rangers, who can’t help but have noticed that the Bruins have failed to pull away in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, perhaps even take some comfort in just how mediocre is the competition.
But there practically will be no solace remaining…

The Rangers aren’t so much running out of time as they are out of team.
Boston lost again last night, keeping John Tortorella’s club, which has beaten the Bruins all three previous meetings this season, within three points going to Boston Sunday afternoon. The turtle is only going…

Wade Redden, a primary reason for the nightly “Fire Sather!” chants, practically interrupted them to score a game-tying third-period goal at a mystical 7:11 of the third period.
So what did the Rangers do with this bolt from the sky? Fourth-liner Jody Shelley turned the puck over in the…

Apparently not wanting Scott Gomez to enjoy Montreal’s victory too much, Sean Avery slashed his ex-teammate on the back of the leg with seven seconds remaining.
“Gave the fans a little treat, I guess,” said Gomez. “But two points and we’re out of here.”
Plenty fast enough, too…