Rangers' Dan Girardi: Seeing reduced ice time

Girardi skated just 17:59 and went minus-1 with a shot and five hits in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Stars.

Analysis:

Not that he's ever been any kind of offensive dynamo, but Girardi has only eight points in 41 games this year and has seen a huge drop in his usage, as he's averaging less than 19 minutes of ice time, down from 20:19 last year and 22-plus for the five seasons before that. At this point, the veteran blueliner is only good for blocked shots, and his ill-advised long-term contract (which has three seasons left beyond this one at a $5.5 million cap hit) is a massive albatross for the Rangers.