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• For the first time in the 82-year history of the Original Six franchise, the Rangers suffered consecutive 1-0 defeats. Saturday night in Boston, Manny Fernandez and the Bruins blanked them 1-0 in a shootout.

• The Rangers are 2-5-1 with a league-low 13 goals, one less than the Washington Capitals, and have been silenced in 18 of 24 periods. The famine hasn't been this bad through eight games since they netted a mere nine in 1950, which included three straight shutout losses.

• It's been 181 minutes and nine seconds since the last even-strength goal, tallied by Jaromir Jagr in a 3-1 loss to Ottawa on Oct. 13. The Great 68 (one goal) is off to the slowest start of his 17-season career.

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Notable events since Scott Gomez last scored a Rangers goal Oct. 18 at Atlanta, a 5-3 setback that gave the Thrashers their first win after an 0-6 start: (Incidentally, I have yet to see the Rangers put the old biscuit in the basket since moving into my new home.)

News
• A half-million people living in San Diego and the surrounding areas were chased from their homes by a vicious and out-of-control wildfire.

• "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Marie Osmond fainted while receiving feedback from judges

• Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire tycoon Mark Cuban was eliminated from the competition

• So-called Yankees loyalist Rudy Giuliani suddenly decides he's a Boston Red Sox fan.

Sports
• Joe Torre says the Yankees' one-year offer to return as manager was "an insult."

• Don Mattingly and Joe Girardi are interviewed to replace Torre, with Mattingly apparently strengthening his status as the favorite.

• The Giants punish the San Francisco 49ers to win their fifth straight after an 0-2 start.

• The St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins each fall to 0-7 (see Rangers fans, it could be worse).

• Tom Brady tosses six touchdown passes, but is overshadowed by Rob Bironas' NFL-record eight field goals. That said, Brady's Patriots (7-0) and Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts (6-0) are flirting with history.

• A Cleveland sports franchise chokes — again. This time the Indians blew a 3-1 ALCS lead to the Red Sox.

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A few rhetorical questions:

Who will end the Rangers' scoring drought?
• Nigel Dawes, who tied Brendan Shanahan with a team-high six shots on goal against the Penguins and hit the post in the first period?

• Ryan Callahan, who nailed iron late in the third?

UPDATE: Scratch that thought. The Rangers announced Wednesday afternoon that Callahan is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 knee sprain. Callahan underwent an MRI and will not require surgery.

• Marek Malik? If he pots one Thursday at Madison Square Garden, it'll at least temporarily take the fans' target off his back.

• Marc Staal or Brandon Dubinsky, each seeking their first career goal?

• How about Ryan Hollweg, who hasn't scored since Feb. 9? Or even better, Jason Strudwick, who last lit the lamp on Jan. 28, 2006.

How long until the unflappable Henrik Lundqvist (2.00 GAA, .927 save percentage) loses his cool?

Is it time to panic and already proclaim the Rangers a bust? Or are conclusions impossible to reach after eight games?

Should Tom Renney keep Jagr and Gomez together for the foreseeable future? No sense continuing to mix and match rather than give something time to jell, right?

How much longer before Malik is given his walking papers? Watching this guy handle and pass the puck is a horror show.

Is age finally catching up to Brendan Shanahan (one goal)? Larry Brooks of the New York Post is starting to believe so.