Rangers Need More Consistent Play

from Jeff Z. Klein of the New York Times, “Twenty-one games into it, it’s way too early to be looking at standings,” Tortorella said Friday. “But having said that, we need to play more consistently, especially at home. I don’t want to get too far ahead as far as what’s going to happen if we lose. But we have concerns about our consistency, and that’s what we’re trying to work on.” The Rangers are 6-4 at the Garden — not a good sign, because, as Tortorella said, “You have to take care of business at home.” There are other signs of diminishing returns. The explosive attack that yielded 46 goals in the first 12 games has produced only 17 in the nine games since — and one of those 17 was a goal the league automatically credits to the team that wins a shootout. Only the kinetic pairing of Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal has continued to score at a high rate, while almost everyone else has hit a slump. Gaborik has 15 goals, tied with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for most in the league, and 27 points, second only to Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles. more