Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, oh, the Rangers might’ve had a weekend if they had only buckled down after taking a 3-1 lead into the final 10 minutes in Ottawa on Saturday.
But that apparently was a wee bit much for the boys, who were then outscored 10-3 by the Senators and Blue Jackets over the final 70:17 of this lost hockey weekend to fall out of the playoff picture by Sunday night.
That represents a just dessert for a Blueshirts team whose losing streak reached three games with Saturday’s 4-3 OT defeat in Ottawa and Sunday’s 7-3 rout by Columbus at the Garden — losses to the two teams adjacent to them in the standings.
You can talk all you want about how it is possible for an eighth seed to get hot behind stellar goaltending and then go on an unexpected run. You can talk about the 2012 Kings. But maybe the Rangers might have wanted to start a run over the weekend instead of wilting when challenged by younger and seemingly hungrier opponents.
