The Rangers have won 7 in a row... must be time to start complaining. (Wait... huh?)

Being a Ranger fan has always been a bittersweet thing. We are among the most loyal fans in the NHL, enduring year after year of disappointment and lost potential yet still slogging it out, proudly displaying our gear, and proclaiming our love for our boys in blue and the hockey legacy of the greatest city on earth. Unfortunately, after so many years of disappointment, some of the Ranger faithful can't seem to find an identity as fans that doesn't include harping on the negative while ignoring or downplaying the positive.

So far this season there is more positive than there has been in a long time. Our goalies, both the King of New York and his Duke, are at the top of their games, our best player is once again our best player, Glen Sather's latest free agent gamble is thus far looking like he might have actually been worth the money, our young guys, for the most part, are playing very well, and our D, to a man (and led by that ultimate beast Dan Girardi), has so far managed to overcome the glaring absence of Marc Staal and play pretty damn well. Even Sean Avery has, for now at least, abandoned the dumbass penalties and begun to remind us that he can be more than a sideshow. Goddammit, the Rangers are playing like a TEAM.

So, all those who feel the need to bitch and moan about what the Rangers don't have, what they're not doing right, or that things might change for the worse as the season wears on: can it, will you please? No, they're not perfect. No team is. There will always be players on other teams playing better than some of the players on ours. Always. The fact that these guys have yet to play their best hockey and yet are tied for 2nd in the goddamn league - with games in hand on every team even with or ahead of them - should be looked at as a positive thing, not a negative. Sometimes I wonder if some of these doomcriers even really want the Rangers to win, lest they be deprived of shit to complain about. Who the hell is dissatisfied during a 7-game win streak? What kind of poor, miserable creature feels the need to dwell on what's lacking or what *might* happen down the road, instead of relishing the team's best streak in over two years, and the fact that they have the best goals-against average in the league, and that more things are going right than wrong? Some people also like to cite the fact that the Rangers "have yet to play a lot of the better teams in the league." I have news for you, folks - based on the numbers, the Rangers ARE one of the better teams in the league. There is not a team in the league with fewer losses than the Blueshirts, not a team with a better win-loss ratio. Who are these "elite" teams you speak of? Pittsburgh? You mean that team the Rangers took last year's season series from, 4-2? Washington? Oh yeah, the Rangers took that season series last year, too.

Lighten up, Negative Nellies. I know that this team has given us a lot of reason to complain and be negative over time. I've been watching them for 30 years myself. I also know it's a long season, that things can change quickly. But we as fans have little control over what will happen next week or next month, and right now, things are going well. So for god's sake, learn how to enjoy it instead of talking about how much better things could be, or how quickly they could fall apart. Because don't we all already know how much worse they could also be? (If you answered "no" to that question, spend a little time with an Islander fan. If you can find one.)

-RangerAmy, 11/16/11

(Postscript: Based on the date, I dedicate this particular posting to my mom Kay, who died 21 years ago today. She was in no way a hockey fan, but she indulged me in my own puck obsession and I will always be thankful to her for those (ahem, rare) occasions when I was grounded and was NOT supposed to have the game on in my room, when she totally knew I had the game on anyway but didn't say anything and let me watch it. Thanks, Mom. Love you.)