Out to lunch, more like. If a tie is like kissing your sister, the Rangers are one more game away from having cheesy bow-chica-bow-bow porn music play whenever sis enters the room. As great as it's been to see the Rangers battle back through some adversity, and they are playing better than they did one month ago, it's also incredibly frustrating to see them hovering within this "not bad enough to lose, but certainly not good enough to win" funkification.

We'll start with Uncle Larry, whose column this week was penned by guest writer HDH. Seriously, this column was almost point-for-point written weeks ago on the front page here at Hockeybird. And while I don't necessarily agree with either of them -- the Rangers are still a fairly young team, they've just decided (rather questionably) that guys like Ryan Hollweg, Marcel Hossa, and Colton Orr have more career upside than the Nigel Dawes and Jarkko Immonens of the organization -- they do have a good point. The Rangers stockpiled a lot of "B" and "C" level prospect talent that were obviously going to be long-term projects, and the short-term mandates of the franchise (make the most out of Jagr while you can) subverted the development of these guys. But you can read all about it in HDH's new book, "Hitler, Stalin, or Sather: Who's Worse?"

D to the Pizzle over at the Daily News talks about ... gulp ... a Martin Straka injury. This guy has been playing out of his mind recently, so naturally he had to get hurt. It's like a Soprano character that get too much attention for a few weeks. Plus -- and I hate even bringing this up -- remember when Martin Straka was the most frequently injured player in the entire league? I used to suggest that they wrap him in bubbletape whenever the Pens played on the road because he was fabrege egg fragile. He was the only player where I expected to read something like "Straka -- Out (Snakebite)" or "Straka Pulls Groin in Bizarre Gardening Accident." Maybe he plays tonight. I always feel like we're on borrowed time with this guy.

Some dude at Newsday with a preview of this afternoon's Rangers-Isles matchup. Should be a good game, with Ted Nolan's squad playing an impressive array of hockey these days. Here's The Zipper's blog and his Sunday column. Both outstanding, though the copyeditor in me needs to point out that the former Kings coach being considered for the Chicago job is John Torchetti not John Torchelli. So close, Zip. So close.

Will Tom Poti get a moving and emotional video tribute upon his return to the Garden this afternoon? Sam the Man Weinman doesn't think so. By the way, I couldn't be more excited about the start of the Ryan Callahan Era. Feisty Irish kid from New York with some scoring touch? Count me in.

That's about it from the locals. But hey, how 'bout dem Knicks?

Around the league, Washington blitzed the best team in the league, in a game that must have been interesting, given the boxscore -- 16 power plays with only one converted, two unassisted goals and a seeming Ovechkin meltdown. The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to fall apart. Devils over Flyers in the shootout -- look at what a disaster the Philly roster is sans Forsberg. And fat coach got his second win with Columbus. Norrena! Fritsche! Vyborny! It's hockey night in Ohio!

Newsday's Islander blog about today's matchup. I haven't been paying attention to the bad-guy columnists lately, but where did Alan Hahn go? Is he OK? Should I post something on craigslist looking for him? I hope he's OK.

Speaking of not being OK, it's a somber morning here at Hockeybird HQ. With little sis's new album about to drop and everything. Just sad news, though like the new Rocky movie or an Eli Manning interception, you could see it coming. Then again, remember what turned Drew Barrymore's career around?

Keep it greazy, Rangers fans. See you next week.

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