This past week has proven that the Rangers have a multiple personality problem. Are they:

a) The John Tortorella-inspired team, playing with aggressiveness and gumption, which we saw vs. Buffalo?

b) The lifeless zombies we saw against Ottawa?

c) The tough, shutdown, but low-scoring team we saw against Minnesota?

d) The sloppy disaster we saw last night against Atlanta?

One night they play with passion and do the little things right, the next, they’re reverting to their old ways, not doing anything right and completely falling apart, letting a sure victory slide right out of their hands. Even Tortorella’s a mixed bag – going from inspiritional genious one game, pushing all the right buttons, to questionable moves last night (his choice of shootout players, ice time, etc.). The power play mainly has one personality, and that one is bad. The Rnagers somehow scored three power play goals against Atlanta (in eight chances), but still couldn’t score when they needed it most – in crunch time. They can’t put teams away. Of course, they don’t have …

It looks like we’re going to have to go with an all-Schmuck edition again. The local teams went a combined 4-12-1 this week. The only positive moment happened when the Knicks honored their past with a ceremony on Monday night. A player from each decade was chosen to represent the franchise’s history: Carl Braun (1940s), Richie Guerin (1950s), Willis Reed (1960s), Walt Frazier (1970s), Bernard King (1980s) and Patrick Ewing (1990s). The team hasn’t voted on a player for the double aughts yet because the decade hasn’t ended, but the end can’t come soon enough for the Knicks. Who should they pick? Jerome James? Eddy Curry? Stephon Marbury? Maybe the best representative of this hapless decade for the Knicks would be Anucha Browne-Sanders. Though these past eight years should most likely never be honored. Ever. Please. As always, there’s no prize for the Hot Stove Schmuck of the Week.

Winner

Al Harrington: Not again! Harrington hung on to the rim too long after a dunk, and was whistled for a technical, which caused overtime, …