Blue Notes

Don't believe for a moment that the Rangers aren't serious about correcting their errors.

But when everything seems to be going against you, when the future looks darker than the sky before a thunderstorm, sometimes only a classic pop-culture reference will suffice.

Animal House, of course.

"We were all sitting there after the game (Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Florida)," Brendan Shanahan said following today's morning skate. "Looked around, and it was like, “These guys were just thrown out of their fraternity house, and what’s the solution?” Shanahan asked. "We said: 'Road trip.' "

Next up: Eight days in the west, with the Rangers searching for a road map to restore some balance to the season.

Shanahan, who had a cortisone shot for a lingering bout of tendonitis in his left elbow that he's had since the second game and didn't skate today, said the team "deserved a better fate" at the Garden.

"As a team, it's a step in the right direction as to how our forwards need to back-check," Shanahan said before the Rangers charter whisked them to a Scottsdale resort. "They had seven scoring chances at even strength. If you can hold a team under 10, that's pretty good. But it doesn't take away from the frustration."

According to Shanny, who will practice tomorrow: "Confidence for each and every player isn't sky-high.
But nobody in this room is pointing fingers. Not only did we not get rewarded, we had some isolated mistakes and they end up in the net."

The turnovers and giveaways, according to Rangers coach Tom Renney, were due to players being "indecisive" and probably won't result in any imminent shakeup, except perhaps some healthy scratches.

We've been lobbying here for Thomas Pock to play, and that could happen on the four-game journey. "I thought about him last night," while watching the 1-for-6 power play, Renney said. "He's a good skater, he's a little bit reckless, but he's not out of position too often. Never mind that he's got a good shot and he can distribute the puck. He's got a great one-timer."
Psst. Ground control to Major Tom: So just put him on the point for three games in a row and see what develops.

Goaltender Kevin Weekes, who has played just one of the first nine games, will likely play one game---either in Anaheim or San Jose, we assume, because they are back-to-back. Renney seemed to lean that way, but also hinted that depending on the outcome of the trip, Weekes could possibly be sent to Hartford afterward to play more regularly, and Al Montoya summoned from the Wolf Pack as a backup.

Meanwhile, your erstwhile correspondent will be jetting to the Valley of the Sun at a frightful hour tomorrow morning in order to catch Rangers and hopefully, Coyotes, practice. Check in then---and all during the journey for news, opinions and observations from the desert, and then California.

Thanks for reading---and commenting on---these dispatches so far
And because of the time difference, I'll be blogging during the games against the 'Yotes, Kings, Ducks and Sharks.

Immediacy and context. You can't go wrong touching base here.