NEW YORK _ The sting of a missed opportunity will linger for a team that was beginning to dream of a special run.
The Rangers were riding a season-high four-game winning streak with the best team in the NHL coming to town. Their playoff odds remain long, but a win would have carried their momentum to new heights. It would have been a statement to the rest of the league that the Baby Blueshirts are well on their way.
That may still be true, but a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden served as a slight reality check.
Every game has added significance at this critical juncture.
The Rangers have shown undeniable improvement and entered Sunday sitting seven points out of wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. But the Bruins, with their NHL-best 86 points through 60 games, are still a class above.
That's a fact that the Rangers' brass is surely aware of as they debate what to do before the Feb. 24 NHL trade deadline. In about a week, they'll send a clear signal that they're either all in for this season or still building (and accumulating assets) for the future.
A win over Boston would added yet another complicated layer to some very difficult decisions that general manager Jeff Gorton and team president John Davidson are on the verge of making.
The loss, perhaps, provided some perspective.
