Rangers Blame the Olympics....

Petr Prucha sat in the Rangers' locker room Monday wearing a T-shirt, shorts and skates, the mismatched uniform of any hockey team caught between the N.H.L. playoffs and summer vacation...

Looking to assign blame for their quick exit from the playoffs, the Rangers settled on an international institution. Players and coaches agreed that the Olympics were as much at fault for their downfall as the penalty-killing unit...

"I believe the Olympics had something to do with our mental state," Coach Tom Renney said. "If I had a fear of anything, it would be where we were psychologically coming back from the Olympics. I think that had an effect on our team."