By MIKE ZEISBERGER

  Had Darius Kasparaitis played this poorly in Maple Leafs blue and white, he almost assuredly would have been jeered by restless Toronto fans, too.

As it is, the ornery defenceman and his New York Rangers teammates have been pelted by more than their share of jeers raining down from the raucous balcony at Madison Square Garden, where the leather-lunged natives are losing patience with the overpaid, underachieving home team.

The Rangers shelled out $70 million US during the summer to ink Kasparaitis and centre Bobby Holik, the two unrestricted free agents who topped the Leafs' off-season wish list. Kasparaitis insists he would have come to the Leafs or any other team that made the best offer, which, in the end, turned out to be the Rangers.

But the only real applause Kasparaitis has heard from the Rangers faithful have been Bronx cheers, the Big Apple's special way of greeting those who are not perceived to be performing up to par.

Kasparaitis is the first to admit his game has been foundering, a point underscored by his brutal stats. Entering the game last night against the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, he had recorded just one point and was tied with the Atlanta Thrashers' Ilya Kovalchuk for the poorest plus/minus in the NHL at minus-nine.

Has the league's edict to cut down on obstruction negatively affected Kasparaitis, one of the most in-your-face competitors in the game?

"Not really," he said. "I never used my stick a lot, I used my body. Eliminating hooking and holding, I don't think I've had a problem with that. I've just had a problem keeping the puck out of our net.

"At first I was trying to do too much, trying to hit too much, and I'd find myself out of position. No wonder I have one of the worst plus/minuses in the league.

"We're in a deep slump, and the New York fans are harsh when you're losing. At least in hockey there are so many games, things can turn around."

Chants of "Refund, refund" echoed through the Garden during the Rangers' 6-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Friday. The crowd even heckled New York coach Bryan Trottier, a long-time enemy of the Rangers during his illustrious career on Long Island.

The Rangers held another meeting yesterday morning to air their differences but, as Holik said, "the time for talk is over. It's time to produce."