And you know what eighth place means – playoffs.

“Yeah you win a few games during the week,” said Christopher Higgins, “and you move up three places in the standings.”

Even though the 2009 portion of the season, wasn’t up to Hoyle, John Tortorella’s team is, at least, treading water and if the Rangers can pull off more wins like tonight’s 3-2 comebacker against the Bruins, then maybe there will be a postseason in the picture in 2010.

The Rangers fought hard off the puck. They took the body to the board, and the goals they scored came from the sources the team hoped would become their secondary scorers after Marian Gaborik.

First, Ales Kotalik scored his first goal in almost two months when he rifled one in from the point on the power play at 9:58 of the first. And Erik Christensen was able to score his first at the Garden at 7:34 of the second when Michael Del Zotto was able to shoot one down the ice to Brandon Dubinsky, who hit Christensen to knock it past Tuukka Rask, who stopped 32 on the night.

“It was the first goal I ever scored in this building,” Christensen said. “It has been fun playing these last few games with [Brandon Dubinsky] and Gaborik. It’s a big boost to the confidence and we had a perfect breakout there.

“It was a perfect play by Dubi, because he brought the defense in. It was electrifying.”

What was even more electrifying was Higgins gamewinner. After the Rangers gave up the lead in less than a minute and a half late in the third on a shorthander by Matt Hunwick and an even strength tally from Blake Wheeler, the scoring-scarce Higgins was able to poke one past Rask for his first Garden goal since he opened MSG after the lockout as a member of the Canadiens back on October 6, 2005 in the Rangers 4-3 overtime loss to the Habs.

“Points have been difficult to come by for guys around here, including myself, so to be able to contribute feels good,” Higgins said. “It was my first goal here since my first game with the Canadiens, so it’s been a while.”

And it’s been some time since the Rangers looked this good. Henrik Lundqvist was his usual self stopping 26, although he probably would want the two that went in back. Yet, with his team scoring three, the netminder  felt good about his chances.

“When we score three goals, we are going to have a good chance, no question,” Lundqvist said. “We had some guys, who haven’t been scoring for awhile, step up scoring some big goals. That is huge, because Gabby can’t score them all. It’s a crucial tie right now. It’s a big month. It is important to get everyone going.”

Yet, in less than a year into the John Tortorella regime, the Rangers stand at 14-15-2.

Say what you want about the Rangers abrasive coach, but the fact is that record is not getting the job done. Renney, for all his flaws, knew how to win on Broadway, something many a good coach could not do.

Maybe, we should add Tortorella to that list. He came here with a reputation as the Anti-Renney, an offensive coach, who is as abrasive and outspoken as he is an up-tempo genius. But now he has a team that just can’t score any goals. Just look at the numbers. In the last 19 games dating back to Oct. 28th, 15 times the Rangers scored two goals or fewer.

And, tonight was no exception with the Rangers scoring just two goals in their 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.

“Bottom line, we know we have to win,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “We are doing a lot of good things and the work ethic is definitely there. We work really hard. We just come up short a lot of nights. I don’t know what else to say.”

To help Lundqvist out here, the Rangers come up short because they are in an offensive system that doesn’t score. Too many times their all-world goaltender is left naked out there by a very suspect defense filled with two overpriced and underperforming veterans and a bunch of youngsters, who are just learning.  Under Renney this worked, because the trapping system masked defensive deficiencies, but they are now exposed under Tortorella.

And that is where the problem just starts. Every night it’s the same story and over the past few weeks changes started to happen. But frankly, they are the wrong ones. Was it really Stephen Valliquette’s fault that the Rangers are playing so poorly? And why was Matt Gilroy sent down and not Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival?

Tortorella was brought in because Renney was considered too nice to bench or demote any of his high priced veterans., but we have failed to see the tough love given to players like Rozsival, Redden, Chris Drury, or Christopher Higgins, all of whom could use a game or two sitting in the stands and maybe one or two of them should be shown the Hartford shuttle. Yet all are enjoying NHL minutes and NHL meal money on an everyday bases.

Earlier in the year, Tortorella was shocked out the press’s reaction when it comes to benchings, saying it’s “treated like crucifixions” here. But how can anyone take his no-nonsense seriously when he refuses to sit down some of his veteran. His rules seem to just be for the players he can push around and not the ones who deserve it.  But what do you expect from a coach who benched his best agitator in the playoffs last year, only to make a fool out of himself by squirting a bottle on a few fans.

Is there time to turn this around? Of course. But it also means the team needs a personality transplant. They need to bare down and the veterans need to step up and lead this club, or John Tortorella’s Rangers are destined to become a failure, like many other successful coaches when they came to Broadway.

You see, there are three spots open on defense and four very good candidates. There’s just so much room to go around.

And after tonight’s 3-2 Ranger win over the Detroit Red Wings, the decision’s are getting harder and harder.

So how’s the Blue Line Lottery going?

“It’s going,” Tortorella said. “[Alexi] Semenov had another good night tonight. I thought he did well. I thought it was good for [Matt] Gilroy and [Mike] Del Zotto to feel the heat from Detroit’s sticks. The next game, you will see more NHLers.

“So how it’s going? It’s going. I don’t know what the six ‘D’ will be.”

Right now Bobby Sanguinetti is in competition with Semenov, Gilroy and Del Zotto. Although there are two starting spots open, you would figure Tortorella will take seven defenseman with him to start the season.

Among them you can probably pencil in Gilroy, the 25 year-old rookie from North Bellmore, who was Hobie Baker Award winner last year. He has played every game and looks ready for the NHL, scoring a goal and an assist for a plus-three this preseason.

Yet, he is not a lock and Gilroy is not taking any chances, but he is an offensive defenseman, which is what the team has been craving since Brian Leetch was traded before the lockout.

“When I play with [Marc] Staal or [Wade] Redden, they just let me go,” Gilroy said. “Their game is to stay back and I play up. They cover for me. They have been willing to let me go, which is nice and they don’t yell at me if I caught up. I work well with them I think and I get more and more comfortable each game.

Also fighting for a spot is Semenov. The 28 year-old on a tryout with the Rangers seems to have put himself on the radar. With two assists this preseason, the former San Jose Shark is plus-4 and is fast securing a slot.

That would leave one slot open. In a perfect world, the Rangers could correct a mistake if they took the wrong player, but Del Zotto is only 19 and if he gets sent down, the team loses him to juniors for the whole season. He looks very good on the offensive end, although his defense is left to be desired.

The main thing, though, is that he out played Sanguinetti, another former first round pick. Yet, the decision is going to be a tough one.

“We have to weigh what is the best development for him,” Tortorella said. “He is stating the case. He made a few mistakes but we have to live with that. But he is stating a case.”

Del Zotto is taking it in stride, knowing this is house money if he makes the team. The Rangers, though, could take him and then cut him after nine games, so they have a longer look with the rookie.

The young defenseman is not having too many hopes, though and said, “You take it a day at a time. Whatever happens, happens.”

Sounds like an attitude Tortorella really likes.

You might remember that one when the Ranger’s GM scrambled to fill his team with Czechs, just to keep Jaromir Jagr, his one superstar, happy. That worked with the Rangers making the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

But since then…Uggh.

The next off-season, Sather signed Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, and Brendan Shanahan. Sure, Shanny worked out ,but he solicited the Rangers, not the other way around. While Cullen was gone the next season and Ward turned out to be a disaster, coming into camp out of shape and getting into arguments with Jagr.

Then came the signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury the following year. If you listen to Sather you can hear him admitting his mistake.

“If you perform up to expectations, play hard every day, game in and game out and be productive, there’s a chance you’ll never be traded,” Sather said.

Gomez was shipped to Montreal on Tuesday.

And then we had last off-season with the bad signings of Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Markus Naslund. We all saw how that turned out.

So now with the Rangers signing Marian Gaborik to a five year contract worth $7.5 million a year, you can see where the trepidation comes from. It looks good on paper, but with Sather’s track record in the free agent market it’s hard to get excited.

If healthy, Gaborik gives the Rangers the sniper they needed since Jagr. He’s scored over 30 goals in five of his eight seasons in Minnesota, including 42 goals in 2007-08. But last year was an injury riddled season with hip surgery in January limited him to 17 games last year.

“His health is fine,” Sather kept repeating last night in a conference call. “He came back and played the last (11) games last season, and it hasn’t bothered him since.”

Sorry if I don’t share Sather’s optimism, but with his spotty track record, the Rangers general manager will have to show me proof before I start believing. Each off-season you think the team has enough to make it to the next level, but the season always ends in disappointment.

For this off-season to be a success, Gaborik and Chris Higgins – acquired for Gomez on Tuesday – need to play healthy seasons, while Donald Brashear, who was signed earlier yesterday, needs to play a more controlled game, meaning no suspensions and no stupid penalties.

Otherwise this off-season will be just another typical Ranger July. It looks great on paper, but that all changes when the games are played.

Usually when you hand sports figures press on themselves, they take it, thank you, and you never hear about it again. Not this time. A week later, I received a call in the Sportscene office from a girl who worked for the Rangers, saying Renney really liked the story and thanked me for the story. She also asked if he could get copies for his family and friends. Of course, I obliged and send out the extra issues.

That was Renney, a classy gentleman, who was a rarity in the coaching ranks. Over the past four years, I spoke with many people involved in the NHL. To a man, each had glowing things to say about the Rangers coach. And many even said they secretly root for the Rangers, just to see Renney have some success.

That’s why yesterday was such a bitter sweet day for the organization. Businesswise, a change had to be made. The team seemed to tune out Renney over the last few weeks and if winning is the bottom line, something needed to be done. Remember, you can’t fire the players.

But no matter how John Tortorella does as Ranger coach, the organization lost some class yesterday. When Renney took over at the end of 2004, the team was a laughingstock, with no direction, and a place where players came to collect their checks before they retire.

Then came the lockout and a fresh start for Renney. The lockout allowed the coach to mold the team in his own image. Unlike the pseudo-coaches the team employed in the past, Renney was a true hockey man, who brought organization to his practices, while becoming successful in renewing pride in the Blueshirt.

While doing all of that, he treated the players with class and dignity. He first won over Jaromir Jagr, and then Brendan Shanahan, and that allowed the coach to defer the leadership to the dressing room. When the players needed to be motivated, Jagr and Shanahan took care of it. When Aaron Ward and Marek Malik caused disruptions at different times over the years, the Hall of Famers kept it in house and the problems were solved in the room. They were so good at it, they even kept Sean Avery in check, which is no easy task. Just ask the Stars.

Yet, by having two strong personalities like Jagr and Shanahan, Renney was allowed to be an administrator, rather than a disciplinarian. And it proved to be his downfall. When the team chose not to re-sign either player, there was a void at the top. Neither Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, nor Markus Naslund have the personalities or resumes of a Jagr or Shanahan and wouldn’t or couldn’t control the dressing room like their predecessors. And since it wasn’t in Renney’s nature to knock around some heads, the Rangers lacked the fire needed to succeed over an 82 game season.

So Tortorella now comes in and it will be his job to light a fire under the club. It’s a good hiring and a step in the right direction for the Blueshirts, but there is a price. The Rangers may have become a better team yesterday, but lost some class and dignity and that’s something that’s hard to replace.