Gaborik wasn't carrying Rangers anyway

The hard work is still there for the Rangers. The payoff is not.

And now, with Marian Gaborik sidelined by a concussion at the worst possible time of the season, there suddenly is more hard work to do in these final 21 games to secure a playoff spot that seemed so certain just a month ago.

"It's the same story, different day," Henrik Lundqvist said after the latest rally to fall short, a 4-2 loss to the Flyers.

The Rangers are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, with all eight losses by a goal or by a goal plus an empty-netter. There is no quit in this young group, that much is certain. But where the Rangers got points on grit and moxie and some timely scoring in November and December, they are falling short and missing chances now that the pressure is up several notches.

There also is the trade deadline, now a week away. Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray was available on re-entry waivers, but sources indicated Sunday that the Rangers passed on making a claim.

Glen Sather might change his trade focus with Gaborik out, but the uncertain nature of concussions could leave the general manager undecided about how to fill that hole.

Gaborik has been a mystery for long stretches this season, unable to reproduce the magic he delivered during his 42-goal season in 2009-10.

SEE PHOTOSTop 10 Rangers of all-time

If the Rangers were to earn a playoff berth, they were going to do it without No. 10 carrying them anyway. This team is not currently built to lean on Gaborik, who has cycled through centers and roles for nearly the whole season.

No, this team has to fight and claw and bang and maintain its "next man up" attitude. That's how it survived injuries to Chris Drury and Gaborik early in the season and Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko through the middle of the season.

"We have developed how we need to play. Our players understand it, they've bought into it," John Tortorella said. "Now we've got to find a way to win some games."

The need for a defenseman who can take charge in the opposing zone is more glaring with each game. The rookie pair of Ryan McDonagh and Michael Sauer, the Rangers' best during this last stretch, generated the first goal with a couple of pucks thrown to the net; Dan Girardi got the second one going with a soft toss along the boards that Brian Boucher let skip in front.

The Rangers do not have a force at the point. And now the forward who's supposed to be their force up front is out.

Tortorella said his belief in his young team is still growing, as is its development. The McDonagh-Sauer pair had a misstep on Daniel Carcillo's goal in the second period, but they are two shining examples of what the Rangers' organization can produce, and in a relatively short time.

The future is still bright. The present, though, is a worry; the Devils are creeping up from the depths with their veteran-heavy, trapping squad, and the Sabres still lurk.

This will be a pivotal week. Games against the eighth-place Hurricanes and fifth-place Caps loom while the Rangers await word on Gaborik's status and the possibility of other teams making moves to shore up for the stretch run.

Tortorella is fond of saying that sneaking into the playoffs to get your rear end whupped is not the point of what the Rangers are trying to do. But if they don't get in, what sort of whupping will they take from everyone then?