Tom Renney is so mild-mannered he’s right out of the Bill Lumbergh school of management. “Yeah . . . umm . . . guys . . . I’m going to need you to look at some video on Saturday . . . and umm . . . yeah . . . can you fill out those power play reports by Monday? . . . Oh, and I almost forgot, I’m going to need you to come in on Sunday, too . . .yeah . . . thanks.” But on Friday in Chicago, he showed actual signs of life when the refs disgraced themselves with their shoddy performance. I thought he was going to go all Lou Piniella on their asses. It was justice that the Rangers pulled out the win in overtime. They went 2-1 for the week, and finished their road trip at 3-1-1. The players’ dads joined the team for the last two games. My dad once came to watch me work. He sat behind me at my desk and heckled and booed me for three hours until I had to have him removed from the office. Last Monday morning, the Blueshirts were in second place in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference (25-15-4, 54 points), and now find themselves atop the Atlantic and third in the East (27-16-4, 58 points). They only have one game this week -  Tuesday at the Garden vs. Anaheim.

Tuesday vs. Islanders: Won 2-1 - Tom Renney says the Rangers are a “2-1 team,” and here’s your 2-1 win – against the worst team in hockey. It was just like old times, with Henrik Lundqvist saving the day for the Blueshirts in this “road” game. It was a shooting gallery in the first period (19 shots for the Fishsticks), but the King only let in the one, and then shut down the Islanders the rest of the way. The last few minutes of the game were a frantic and furious mess in front of the Rangers’ net. Things could have been calmer, though, when the Isles pulled their goalie (the legendary Yann Danis), and Markus Naslund skated into their zone with the puck, but decided to be “unselfish” and pass it off to Scott Gomez, who couldn’t score. Just put the puck in the net, Markus, and ice the game. Chris Drury put the Rangers on the board when he scored just as their horrible-looking power play was ending. Nigel Dawes later scored on a “power play” (it was really an odd-man rush), following a nice play and pass from Ryan Callahan (who was flying around the ice all game, but came up short on a few great scoring chances of his own when he missed the net a couple of times). Joey MacDonald left the game early with a groin injury, and Danis had to replace him. And the Rangers could only muster two goals against him. I know they’re a low scoring team, but come on. Coach Mike Dunham was waiting in the wings in case Danis sustained an injury. The Rangers emergency goalie is Lester Patrick. Is Wade Redden bringing Dan Girardi down with him? Redden played a couple of good games last week but just stood around in this one. And now Girardi is slipping. Random question: Will the Islanders be heading out to where the Devils started and become the Kansas City Scouts II?

Quote of the Day, Renney: “It was a thrill a minute. It was a little scrambly.”

Scratches: Aaron Voros and Dan Fritsche

Friday vs. the Blackhawks: Won 3-2 – It was an Original Six matchup, but the Rangers not only had to take on the Blackhawks but the refs as well. Chicago hasn’t been good since Bobby Hull jumped to the WHA, and the the NHL and fans everywhere are excited for their resurgence. And, apparently, so are the refs. But let’s face it, this is how things work in the city of Chicago. There was a parade to the penalty box as the Blueshirts were whistled for one infraction after another - some real, some imaginary. Marc Staal was sent to the box for having his first name end in a ‘c’ instead of a ‘k.’ And he was given a 10-minute misconduct for not paying the proper homage to the Bob Newhart statue on Michigan Avenue. This could have been a good game, but we’ll never know. The Rangers killed 10 out 11 penalties in all, and the Blackhawks were handed five five-on-threes. Unbelievable. Chris Drury had his best game of the year, scoring two power-play goals (including the game-winner in OT), and was a force defensively. Dan Girardi got into a fight with Cam Barker and was whipped around at the end of it and slammed to the ice. He had to leave with an ‘upper body’ injury. With Staal in the box, the team had to play a good chunk of the game with four defensemen. Paul Mara was excellent and logged 27 minutes of ice time. Brandon Dubinsky scored their second goal after Lauri Korpikoski faked Nikolai right out of his Khabibulin. Random question: Is Dmitri Kalinin becoming competent? He’s now only -8, down from a season-high -17.

Quote of the Day, Lundqvist: “I don’t think we played that rough. But calling everything? I think they’re destroying the game for both teams.”

Scratches: Voros and Fritsche

Sunday vs. Pittsburgh: Lost 3-0 – The Penguins wore their unis from 1968 in this Original Twelve matchup, and that was pretty much the best thing about the game. The Rangers got their orders from NBC and the NHL to let Pittsburgh do anything they want and to let them skate anywhere they want without pestering them, and the Rangers obliged. Well, that’s how the Rangers played at least. The were just flat-out outplayed and outhustled by the Penguins. Their three-game winning streak ended with a fizzle. I can’t confirm that the Rangers even played in this game, because the coverage was all Sidney Crosby and the Penguins all the time. It was Pittsburgh vs. the Visitors. An NBC executive even whistled a penalty on the Rangers, giving Crosby a penalty shot (he was stoned by Lundqvist). Random question: Should the NHL put all their marketing eggs in Crosby’s basket when most hockey fans can’t stand the guy?

Quote of the Day, Gomez: “I can’t even imagine a mom’s trip. That’s got to be pretty funny.”

Scratches: Voros and Fritsche

Bag-O’-Knuckles-O-Meter

Colton Orr: 9

Aaron Voros: 7

Brandon Dubinsky: 3

Paul Mara: 3

Ryan Callahan: 2

Dan Girardi: 2

Marc Staal: 2

Nigel Dawes: 1

Petr Prucha: 1

Wade Redden: 1

Nikolai Zherdev: 1