So much for turning the corner on this unpredictably frustrating season; with a three-game winning streak in tow and facing the NHL’s worst team at home, the Rangers relapsed again and gave away two precious points in a feeble 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. The same two points that they cherished in their fabulous comeback in Montreal just two days earlier were thrown overboard against a young and depleted Kings’ squad; but it doesn’t seem to matter to these Rangers. They are capable of demonstrating greatness in one game and regressing to much lower levels the very next.

The Kings, who have played well recently (7-3-1 in their last 11), have had much success versus the Blueshirts (now unbeaten in their last five meetings with a 4-0-1 record). Young forwards Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov led the way for the Kings with a goal and an assist each in a game they never trailed. First star of the game Jason LaBarbera was extremely busy in the last two periods and made 39 saves overall in a sharp performance.

For the Rangers, they came out sleepwalking and couldn’t have played a worse first period. Though they weren’t far behind on the scoreboard after one, they gave the Kings enough confidence and they put the Garden Faithful in a bad mood from the outset. Even though the Rangers halved two goal deficits twice, it was another inexcusable result that couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The Kings outshot the Rangers 16-6 in the opening period and it took the home team almost half the frame to register their first shot on LaBarbera. Scott Thornton beat Henrik Lundqvist at 10:10 to open the scoring; the goal was the direct result of a turnover by Jason Strudwick behind the net. Almost three minutes later, Brain Boyle doubled the lead with his second career goal in as many games.

The lifeless Blueshirts were down 2-0 in their own building and the crowd was furious. With the disparity in play, the lead could have been greater. When Chris Drury knocked in a rebound of Nigel Dawes’ defection of Paul Mara’s shot at 17:50, the atmosphere in the world’s most famous arena lightened noticeably. Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes of forgettable play suddenly seemed to be an acceptable result.

The Rangers played much better in the second but had nothing to show for it. Frolov restored the Kings’ two goal lead at 9:18 when Sean Avery lost the puck along the boards, but Avery redeemed himself with a goal at 17:26 when he stuffed the puck in during a wild scramble in front of LaBarbera. Still behind by one after 40 minutes did not sit well this time as the Rangers’ dominating spurt didn’t advance their cause. They outshot the Kings 24-10 but were in no better shape. One goal on 24 shots is not offensively productive, to say the least.

When Kopitar (off a nice set up from Frolov in the slot) put the Kings back up by two for the third time just 101 seconds into the final frame, the Rangers were in trouble. Though they continued to have the edge in play (and outshoot the Kings 11-5) they couldn’t solve LaBarbera. Rangers’ fans have seen this time and time again this season.

Blair Betts suffered a knee injury in the first period and did not return; he has played in all 56 games thus far this season. Brendan Shanahan continued to sit out with his left leg injury; he is sorely missed.

Once again, the Rangers will try to get back on track; they face the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at MSG.