Rangers Diced by Sabres

The New York Rangers were humiliated 7-1 last night by the red hot Buffalo Sabres. They lost and they lost ugly as they were dominated in every facet of the game. The home crowd had all but left the building by 5 minutes into the third and those who stayed behind booed lustily at the end of the game.

There was much anticipation of a great game last night as the Rangers had put up three straight wins and the Sabres four. Unfortunately the Rangers failed to show up and after being outshot 17-5 and outscored 4-0 in the first period the game was essentially over.

"Pathetic," was coach Neilson's assesment after the game. "Just pathetic. There was a complete lack of effort. No player can hold his head up after a display."

There was some excitement before the game as Alfredsson was put on the first line with Sundin and Bertuzzi to form a line that should be able to dominate games against any team but the line was ineffective all night long and finished a combined minus 5 on the evening.

To make matters worse Par Backer was injured late in the third and will miss at least a week. Chad Kilger will suit up in his place.

Jason Spezza and Ilya Kovalchuk both feasted on the sad sack Rangers while accumulating 3 points each. They earned the first two stars of the game while Trent Hunter got the third with a 2 point effort.

Alexei Ponikarovsky continued to a trend of taking stupid penalties that he began in last years playoffs. Rumours that he will be moved continue to circulate. He's a hugely talented player with fantastic speed, power, scoring and passing abilities but there are rumblings that his attitude in the dressing room and on the ice are a detriment to the team.