. . . but the Rangers are just eight points from being out of the playoff picture.

Since December 13th, the Blueshirts have gone 5-6-3, earning just 13 of a possible 28 points. Meanwhile, the Devils and the Thrashers have gone 8-2 and 7-2-1 in their last 10, respectively, and are quickly catching up to the Rangers. The games count that much more now since they are all against Eastern Conference teams.

They had better build a cushion before the Olympic break, or they could find themselves playing catch-up in March and April.

There are only a few news items this morning, and two of them focus, once again, on Kevin Weekes. Let's get this straight, though: While he looked very shaky and certainly did not play a good game, he was not the reason they lost to the Blue Jackets on Monday. The game winning goal was given up on a breakaway by one of the better goal scorers in hockey, Rick Nash. Fans would have certainly forgiven Lundqvist for that, yet Weekes gets grief. Simply put, the Rangers needed better defense and a better performance from their top two lines.

NY Daily News: Kevin Weekes didn't sign up for this. And the evidence so far suggests that he's not up for it. The ill-fitting role of seldom-deployed No. 2 goaltender is the one to which Weekes appears consigned by the brilliant play of rookie Henrik Lundqvist.

NY Post: With the Rangers in the middle of a playoff race, one with no guarantees of reaching the postseason, Weekes is going to have to be better. Because the Rangers absolutely need him to be.

The Journal News: An MRI exam yesterday confirmed Darius Kasparaitis suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee when he collided with Dominic Moore during Saturday's warm-up at Detroit. The Rangers' defenseman remains day-to-day.

Tomorrow night we get to see Sidney Crosby again. The Penguins are struggling badly, and this in a game the Rangers MUST win . . . outright. No overtime drama, no late game heroics. The Pens have lost their last seven games and have been outscored 32-16 in those games. Not to mention that they may be without Ziggy Palffy, who announced that he was retiring, but it was not clear whether it would take effect immediately or after the season.

HDH

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