5 Things About Rangers/Islanders (Game 2 - 2010/2011). . .

Welcome back! =)

Before I get to any of the Coyotes/Prague stuff (which I will) just wanted to start with some comments on today's NYRs game. I was not able to see Saturdays. Sounded like a fantastic game. And as upset I couldn't see Stepan's amazing performance live - simply thrilled for the kid. He has been impressive and this is only the beginning. Great stuff.

Meanwhile, there was a game on the Island today. I just finished watching in its entirety, hence the delay.

FIVE THINGS:

* Again, I didn't see Game 1 of the season, but both Callahan and Dubinsky looked much improved to me in today's game. Untimely penalties aside, of course. These two players need to be two of the team's most important. I saw almost indifferent play (indifference, Callahan? I know, I didn't think it possible either), from both in most of the pre-season that I saw. Glad to see they've stepped up a bit. Everyone else was doing so and proving themselves; these staples to the team had no choice but to do the same.

* I thought the team, for the majority of the game, passed well. After so many years of watching a collection of epic lack of connective passes, this team has a good sense of where their teammates are, and I'm liking what I'm seeing. We all know Gaborik can stickhandle with the best of them, but how nice to see, for example, the connection formed between Stepan, Avery, and Fedotenko. Three guys in serious question going into camp about where they stood. Three guys that in the pre-season and today's game that I feel really good about. Stepan needs some form of stability because he's a rookie. Avery needs some form of stability because, well, he's Avery. Good things all around.

* Speaking of Avery. I was on twitter earlier and desperately wanting to see the link everyone was posting. I just now watched after the game was over. Look. I never loved what Avery did two years ago. It was certainly not necessary and certainly distasteful. But I was clear in defending the fact that he is not a criminal, not a villian - any more than the anyone else in this league - and that his suspension was in my opinion both excessive and unnecesssary and certainly having to do more with who he was than what he did. I still don't doubt that. So we take Wisniewski. Crude - yes. Unnecessary - probably. Worth six games - no. Worth anger management - certainly no. But, for the league to do nothing would be wrong. If Avery's remarks were crude, hurtful to Dion Phaneuf and his girlfriend, and unbecoming an NHL player, how can the NHL disciplinarians look at what happened today and say that Wisniewski's actions were not a) crude and b) unbecoming an NHL player. To me that's clear as day. So I'll be very curious how this shakes out. The NHL has already looked foolish in their a) suspending Avery so harshly in the first place and b) being so biasedly unwelcoming in his return to the NHL later that season. If they make no example of this, they pretty much prove what we already know - do what you want in this league, just as long as your name isn't Sean Avery.

* A shame that the Rangers took those untimely penalties late in the third that allowed the game to get away. And a shame that it was Marc Staal, arguably the Rangers best 5-3 penalty killer (next to Hank) that was in the box for the high-sticking call. Still doubting how valuable he is? I'm not saying the Islanders don't score on the PP there, but I'm kind betting they don't score twice.

* Speaking of the defense, how beautiful is it to see the shots coming from the point, like evidenced in Girardi's and Del Zotto's goal. The Rangers have the guys that can do this (Staal hit a post in the game, and Rozsival has been known to hit the net from time to, well, time). They have to do it. I see this team being more offensive than last year, but it has to come from the defense. The NYRs started last season getting those contributions, and then it disappeared for most of the year. It can't happen. Look at successful teams, and know, it can't happen.


What can I say - I like this team. I - for the first time in a what seems like a really, really long time - like pretty much every person on this team. So far they've looked good, shown good work ethic, quickness to the puck. I like it - a lot. I like them - a lot.

But, point is, let's not get ahead of ourselves. One, because two games never does a season make. Obviously. And two, because, for the last two years the Rangers, too, have started the season well - amazingly well. And, then proceeded to stumble and flounder and go up/down, up/down, up/getting the picture here...? So, it's early. It's still early.

More on the NYRs when I get around to watching Saturday's game on Tivo, or when the league makes a comment on today's gesture of the moment. And more sometime this week/weekend on Yotes as promised.

=) Happy Hockey season everyone!!!

Thoughts on Pre-Season Games 2 and 3. . .

How wonderful has it been having some hockey to watch? Two games, one weekend. I was a pretty happy hockey fan, I won't lie.

Some thoughts:

*Am I the only one VERY excited for every NJ/NY matchup, even beyond normal excitement, because I think Avery/Kovalchuk is going to be worth the price of admission every time. He may have a $100 million dollar contract, but something tells me that Ilya has not quite gotten over Playoffs 2007.

*I'm excited having watched these new players the last few games: Frolov and Stepan. And these returning players: Del Zotto, Anisimov, and Boyle, who looks much improved. (Gaborik and Staal are always on my excited to see them play list). Overall, I think having levels of competition for spots is playing into the Rangers favor. I like what I've seen. These guys look ready to play.

*Without repeating everything I wrote about two entries ago, let me just say this. The Rangers finally have that depth at center. They are going to be turning centers away. I know Drury hasn't been playing center. (Yes, I know, the $7 million penalty killer who is not even able to play his natural position...) But it seems a shame to me, even now, three games into camp, to send down another winger in favor of Drury. Did you see Frolov and Anisimov on the penalty kill today versus Detroit? I think he's a nice guy, but tell me the team REALLY needs him?

*Tell me that Roszival didn't suddenly jump to the most useful of the three horifically overpriced salaries the Rangers haven't gotten rid of yet? (Au revoir Scotty Gomez and Bon Voyage Wade Redden). This may seem wrong and it may be wrong, but if Rozsival plays the way he did for half of last season - he is more useful to the team, even at $5 million, than Drury, if what he did last year is what we are to expect from him. Clean slate, notwithstanding.

Okay, before I get further into the bash-Captain Mumbles mode, I'll leave off. Not a bad guy, but now that Gomez AND Redden are gone, without a doubt, the guy that - to me - has to do the most to justify his being there. (There, I said it; don't hate me.)


More later in the week. Go Rangers! =)

Avery Quotes: "Be a Ranger". . .

Well it's funny (and by funny, I don't really mean haha funny), that I don't write a blog about the Rangers in a week, and essentially (ignoring those two glorious 6-2, 8-2 wins - where did those come from again?), the Rangers are right back where they left off after having back to back shutouts posted against them.

Sigh.

I could have stepped in here and written how amazing it was to watch those games against Montreal and Tampa last week. The way they fought, the way they skated, the way they scored goals. The way they SHOWED UP.

But, the Rangers are the Rangers and we all should have known better. Perhaps I did. I may love this team but they are flawed. And flawed less in talent to me, than in attitude and drive. And that's what makes us all livid. If they aren't good enough, fine. That is what it is. But if they aren't trying. That's all on them. 100%.

I woke up and read The NY Post as I do every Sunday. Like nor dislike Brooks, he is not vanilla, that's for sure.

He has some dandy quotes from Avery, as have been floating around Twitter this morning. The highlights:

"You can say it's a lack of preparation, but that's BS; it's a lack of competitiveness...We do not play hard enough."

"I don't have the explanation for it. I don't know if it's us not holding each other accountable, or what, but it's a total lack of respect for our fans and the organization. It's a joke."

And lastly:

"It's fine if you get beat. It's fine if you compete and get beat, but to play this way . . . that's not what it's like to be a Ranger."

Like him, hate him, love him, loathe him, at least Sean Avery is one of the few players to tell it like it is.

The sad reality is, of course, as fans we like to think we know what it is to "Be a Ranger."

But, after the last 15 years and counting, and with the exceptions few and far between, isn't the reality of "being a Ranger" less about what it should be and more about exactly what we are seeing: laziness, half-efforts, blase attitude.

I HATE to say that. I praise Avery for realizing it should not be so.

But when does "Being a Ranger" mean Pride, Passion, Tradition, like I used to think it meant. Loyalty to a sweater. Passion for a game. Pride for an organization that had been around for over 80 years.

Sean says he gets it. But is that enough?

The Mystery of Sean Avery. . .

First of all I feel pretty badly that I've been so busy trying to watch all the
Rangers and Coyotes games, in addition to my real job and trying to have a life - an other than hockey life ;) - that the blog is much darker than it was to start last season or that I'd like it to be.

Perhaps part of that is how much more there was to gripe..er talk about
last year - with the record sertting start, to the dismal decline, to the
boring play, to the lack of personality of the players.

Actually, now that I'm listing things, this is sounding a lot like last year on the surface.

Well, with personality that is.

Anyway if you read this blog you know I don't do the Xs and Os thing. There are so many more bloggers that do this and do this well. So instead what you get from me is creative rambling.

Why you haven't gotten that thus far is because - ignoring time constraints that is - I honestly have no more answers than the rest of you.

Which brings us to a topic I can ramble readily about -

Reader Luke mentioned it in the comments here on NHTP. Carp on Rangers Report mentioned it after the Vancouver game two weeks ago. It was a Milbury, McLean, Hrudey conversation on HNIC two Saturday's ago . And Larry Brooks finally out right wrote about it in today's NY Post.

The topic at hand, you ask.

Just what the heck is up with Sean Avery?


First let's break down all the possible things that can be causing Sean Avery to be the anti-Sean Avery.

- He's still playing hurt and either playing through it or not being honest about it.

- He is playing timid because Tortorella has pressured him to do that.

- He is playing timid because he is afraid he can't be the real Sean Avery without punishment from referees.

- He has something personal going on and doesn't have his head in the game.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now, let's analyze:

Option ONE -

None of us can speak to. I have no more information than you. I
would only hope that if he were injured he'd man up, say so, and take the time to get healthy.

Option TWO -

Tortorella seemed to deny this by his CBC comments and in the Brooks'
article today.

Tortorella got on HNIC when the Rangers were up in Toronto and said that he and Avery had a good relationship and were on the same page.

In Brook's article Tortorella is quoted:

"It's very important for the club for Sean to show his personality," Tortorella told The Post. "I think there are a lot of people around the club and who follow the club who think that the coaching staff is holding Sean back from being who he is.

"That is not the case. I want and we want Sean to be who he is. And he knows that, I guarantee you that he knows that. We've talked to Sean. It's not only the coaches. Everyone in the organization has told Sean that he needs to show his personality out there."

So it would seem, and we would hope, that this is the case.

Option THREE -

When Sean came back last March and started his second stint with the Rangers few could deny he got some unfair treatment by the referees. Things that were very marginal got called because they were committed by #16 in blue, not because they were actually cut and dry penalties.

That isn't to say that Sean didn't earn any of his own penalties or that he was always a target, but it's hard to say he wasn't treated differently. Whether you agree or disagree that he did (or that he deserved it) will probably tell which side of the Sean Avery line you fall on.

The culmination of this "situation" happened in the Rangers first round playoff series versus the Capitals. After a game of four penalties, two of them marginal, in game 3, and 2 penalties in the closing minutes of game 4, Tortorella did the thing everyone wondered if he'd do - he benched Sean Avery for game 5. The Rangers slept through most of Avery's suspended game, and Sean returned a quiet man in Game 6. Sean's best game of the playoffs, and perhaps his renewed Ranger career, came in Game 7, where he skated on the Rangers best line and looked fantastic.

But since the season started and Sean returned from injury (he missed the Rangers first four games of the season), he has not looked at all like the Sean we've known. He had six points in his first 7 games (4 wins and 3 losses in that order), and has had no points in his last 8.

As for penalties, he was called for none in his first 4 games back. He's taken 19 penalty minutes in his 15 games, but that included a five minute fighting major versus NJ on October 22nd.

Surely doesn't appear that he's been getting called as much as he was - although one boarding call was pretty absurd - but that doesn't mean he still isn't playing scared. The league has painted him as a villian. Chances are he still remembers that.


Option FOUR -

- Is Sean distracted? As much as he loved playing in New York, is he over it? Is he over hockey? Is his mind on something else?

Again, only he can answer this but this is the one option I'll be very disappointed in knowing is the right one. Not everyone gets second chances, in the city and for the team they love. Sean is not evil and he doesn't deserve all the crap he endures - at least I don't believe he does - but he owes it to me, and all the others who support him, to be trying with all he has, every single night.

______________________________________________________________________________

Overall:

Now, we may never be able to truly answer the question and pick an option, but I can say this much.

For Sean to be effective he needs to be aggressive. Smart but aggressive. I haven't
seen that yet from him this year. He's played too safe, definitely too safe. And when he's trying to please other people, rather than be himself, he is just not right.

So, if I had to take a guess, I'd say it's option number three we are looking at. For some reason Sean is playing scared, and not being who he can be, who he needs to be. Now, perhaps he is scared Tortorella will not support him if he goes too far in the other direction, afraid he'll be called for too many penalties (a very real risk), and he just doesn't know how to balance that fear.

Sean also, it seems, hasn't had the opportunity to work through it all that much. In the loss in Montreal, he'd have his season high ice time of 18:45. His season low - a mere 5:56 in Edmonton on November 5th. The less effective he is, the less he'll play, as per Tortorella.

However, this was a guy that "potentially" was coming into the season to play with Gaborik and Dubinsky. That may have been tried in the ever-changing switcharoos, but it didn't last.

Sean, when he's been in NY, has played best when he's playing first or second line minutes, with guys of speed and/or talent.

Sean's greatest assets are his skating, his ability to get the puck to where it needs to be, and his work around the back of the net as a setup guy. I haven't seen these things in enough abundancy this year. I fear in addition to whatever fear it is he has, that his lack of production may also be a result of who he is playing with.

I felt, I think rightly so, that Sean could get 15-20 goals this year. But if and only IF he is playing with the right players. But it seems no one on New York that isn't Gaborik, Prospal or Kotalik is the right players - for scoring that is. Not sure where that leaves Sean.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The bottom line is that Sean needs to be the player he can be. He really does. One, for himself, two, for the team, and three, to prove some of his critics wrong. He can't fix everything that's happened. No one expects him to. But if Sean is every able to make the best of his second chance, it's by being a good teammate, and an effective teammate.

It was pointed out, by Milbury in fact, that Sean looked disinterested. Well a disinterested Sean is essentially a useless Sean. He needs to be involved. The Rangers need him to be involved.

Larry Brook's in today's article said,

"This Avery might even get Gary Bettman's seal of approval."

If that doesn't tell you just how far off the right path Sean is, I don't know what will.

What I want, what the team NEEDS, is to have the REAL Sean Avery here, in New York playing for the Rangers. What I want, what the team NEEDS, is to see Sean Avery smiling again.

Even though you never know exactly what he's smiling about, Sean Avery is just so much more likeable when he's smiling, no?

Not Standing Back - Rangers/Ducks Wrap-Up. . .

So, another day, another win at the World's Most Famous.

I can get used to this!

They aren't perfect, and it's still early, yes, but it's nice for the Rangers to start a season well AND to look exciting doing it.

We all remember last year's remarkable start...and the boredom that followed. Let's all hope that such a scenario does not repeat itself this year, even though I don't think it will.

The powerplay looks better, even when it doesn't score. The defense, even though they are young, are moving the puck and getting involved.

Did you see Staal go WAY out of Renney-position to attack the puck carrier and keep the puck in the offensive zone for his teammates?

That sort of thing just would not have flown under the "quite honestly" guy.

But Tortorella encourages the young d-men - Staal, Del Zotto, Gilroy - to be offensive and be involved. And I love every minute of it.

Even Redden appears to have transformed, although slightly it may be, this season.

Gaborik continues to make the 3rd period his own.

Callahan continues to hit everything in sight.

The team continues to win. And win in a way you are happy for them to win. By not standing back.

Such a relief.

And big props, by the way, to Valiquette. It's no secret here at NHTP - I like him a great deal. To those who say he is not good enough to be a full fledged NHL starter, perhaps because of that game in Dallas or the one versus Toronto where he let in like five goals. I argue that it is games like these were I feel when he has a team in front of him, a team that will not collapse and play dead, that he can and will be fine. Maybe he'll never be a starter. Maybe not. But we really don't know how he'd react if given the opportunity. No one does. So I'm just super happy for him when he plays and get the chance to grab a win for the boys. And a shutout, to boot. Good for him. I find it hard not to cheer for him.

Tonight also marked Avery's return to the ice. I swear, Prucha, Hank, and this guy, are the only players in recent memory that have had their names chanted at the Garden with such intensity.

All Avery had to do was hop over the boards onto the ice and he's being greated with chants of Avery, Avery, Avery.

Say what you will. I'm glad he's back. If there is one place he can play and be effective, I'm glad it's here.

Remember the record when #16 is in the lineup?

Now 62-26-17 and counting.

Where Are Our Game Changers. . .?

I listened to the majority of today's game on the radio not being near a TV, although I did watch the last 8 minutes just now.

I hate to say I'm not surprised, but I am not.

On the radio, Dave Maloney, whose insight and lack of hesitancy to say what is on his mind - popular or not - I applaud, pondered whether the Rangers had a game changer on their team.

He said the Bruins had plenty on the ice, even more on the bench.

What is a game changer?

To me, someone who can take a game over. Someone who when the team is down and needs a goal, that's the guy you can go to and he can get it done.

Goalies, too, can be game changers. But in the case of today, Lundqvist would have had to give up zero goals to be a game changer.

Well, in that case, add Tim Thomas to Boston's ever growing list.

Point is, I agree with Dave Maloney. I sadly agree. The Rangers do not have that guy. If they have a guy that has showed up at times, in certain games, in given situatuations, that's great. But to have someone, or preferably a couple someones, who can be counted on and called upon to get the job done, would be fantastic.

But if you look at this year, collectively, from beginning to end, the Rangers just do not have that guy.

There'll be plenty of time for more thought on this season and this team, but that's what I'm thinking right now.

I was at the 1-0 Rangers loss in Boston in January, where one misplay caused them the game. Boston is not a team you can mess around with. They are lethal at getting one and shutting the door, especially against teams like NY that struggle to score anyway. This has been the Rangers/Bruins track record for the better part of 3 years now. 1-0 games. At least if it was 1-0 in overtime, the Rangers would have gotten a much needed point. As it was, three games to go, all again, must wins.

As for the Sean Avery stunt, that moment was the first time I have been disappointed with him this year since he came back. It was unnecessary and pretty classless to be honest. Would it have "hurt" Thomas? Probably not. But it's that sneaky, behind the back bs that other people hate a guy like Avery for. And honestly, I don't like that. Get in his face, yap at him in the crease, but something like that. . . I think it was badly timed and foolish.

Now, if he got Thomas off his game and garnered the 4 on 4 and the Rangers made something of it, we'd be calling the move smart.

As it was, he has to be thankful it was only a minor to himself. You can argue that it became 4-3 for the Rangers in the next few seconds when Savard took the penalty. But it very easily could have gone the other way and the Rangers could have been down 3-4 at that key period in the game.

Avery had to have been frustrated, but I think he can do so much else effectively. Today was a rare moment I disagreed with his intentions.


Bruins:

Since I got the radio feed, I heard the Bruins give away their team awards. Chara, Savard, and Thomas got the team 3 star awards, and Savard picked up one for being the best player on home ice.

Maloney speculated that many Rangers fans might not like to think about Marc Savard's success because he was, first and foremost, a Ranger.

I've made no secret here at NHTP that I love Marc Savard. I think he's a funny, likeable guy. And I think he is a hell of a hockey player. The right mix of talent and spunk.

I hate (hate, hate, hate) that the Rangers lost him for nothing, in the end, and that he went on to become one of the hottest point producers in the league, for Atlanta and now for Boston.

But to hate him, the player, because the Rangers got rid of him and he became something of himself? Please. I'm a Rangers fan. They disappoint me on a yearly basis with who they get rid of. Savard is just another one of the many. But a great hockey player I enjoy watching, for sure.

I heard on hockey night in Canada a week ago (?) that his first game as a Ranger was at Maple Leaf Gardens and he got four points.

Gosh I wish ANY Ranger on the team right now could get four points a game.

As for Milan Lucic, who also won an award, he's a fun guy to watch, and I've heard big fan favorite in Boston. What I didn't know until today, and perhaps you didn't either, is he's a saxophone player who went through a lot to make it to the NHL, including overcoming a spinal condition. Check it out here.

Avery Versus The World. . .

Got back from the Rangers/Devils game a little while ago. And I must say, that was certainly an exciting evening. It lived up to the hype, although perhaps not for the reasons most of us originally thought.

For it wasn't Avery and Brodeur.

It was Avery and Clarkson. Avery and, umm, Holik, Shanahan, Zajac, White, Langenbrunner, Rupp. . .need me to continue?

It seemed Avery was more in the heads of the Devils players than they were in his. And that is where Sean has been effective against them and where he can be effective against them going forward.

If I were New Jersey, for that reason alone, I would not want to face New York in the playoffs.

Sean can provide a decided edge. He did again tonight.

If there was a moment that disappointed me it was during the Clarkson/Avery scuffle, and not for Sean. I was not disappointed in Sean. I was disappointed with the refs, I guess much in the same way many Rangers fans have been upset for a while now.

There is no denying that Sean Avery is being looked at differently while he's on the ice by the officials.

No doubt in my mind.

If the media, the other coaches, the other players, if they are all looking at him differently, what makes us think the referees are going to be any different.

The problem with that - the officials are supposed to be impartial. It's their job. But I guess we really don't have to go into a long and drawn out conversation on the overall state of officiating in the league now do we?

But it disapointed me. And if it continues, which I am afraid it might, it will continue to disappoint me.

Sean Avery did all that was asked of him and I personally think has done a very, very good job of holding himself in check since his return to the league earlier this month.

Does that mean he's been a perfect angel?

Please, I wouldn't recognize or want Sean Avery on my team if he were that.

But he's done nothing to warrant any major retribution. AND, he has not gotten the benefit of any calls when something is done to him. And it's the latter that is most disturbing. It is a blatant slap in the face to Sean, and his team. And it takes credibility away from a league that sometimes walks a very fine line in that departmnet already.

If Sean does something warranting a penalty - send him to the box. He'll go. But if someone does something to Sean - they should be sent on that same path. Anything less, is a detriment to the sport of hockey.

Oh, wait, you've heard that one before.

Players that physically hurt their brothers in this league are given endless chances and infinite patience, sometimes to the degree that almost that confounds understanding.

And yet a guy that did nothing, really, except draw some negative attention to a minor moment of bad judgement and make himself look like a moron in the process - he has done the unforgiveable. He can't catch a break.

That is a shame.

And an embarassment.

I think we all as Rangers fans have one plea - let Sean be viewed the same as any player in this league. Let that endless and infinite patience fall on someone that has and can do good for this league on the ice and in the press. Let him play.

Putting him in this no-win situation is just asking for him to eventually snap. Not this year, but if it continues. Maybe that's what they all want. For the great voice to be right. That Avery is not a player in this league and that he's nothing more than a side show to it.

I hope with all I have that they don't get that wish, if that is what they are trying so desperately to do, and I hope that Sean Avery has the will inside him to withstand all that is unfairly being thrown at him.

The league has a lot of villians to contend with. Like it or not, Sean Avery is not one of them.



Other game notes:

Larry Brooks was quoted in today's NY Post as saying:

"But to believe that Avery-Brodeur is somehow just a sideshow is missing the point, which, quite simply, is that Avery the Ranger is as singularly responsible for tilting the rivalry Manhattan's way as anyone since Mark Messier."

I will agree, to the extent that he is one of the two people. Applaud Sean Avery for being a MAJOR reason that New York has once again become a respectible rival to the Devils once again. For he is. He truly, truly is. And not for the antics, if you will. But because he is, and I continue to believe in this, a legit hockey player.

BUT...in applauding Avery, I don't think we should forget about the other guy, Henrik Lundqvist. Including tonight Hank is 14-5-4 versus New Jersey and 14-2-4 against Brodeur. (*I want to confirm those numbers*). And he has an incredible GAA too.

That is domination right there. And - and! - he did it last year when it counted. In the playoffs.

So as much as the world wants to focus on Avery and his play against New Jersey - again, rightfully so - do not lose track of the fact that Hank himself plays masterfully against New Jersey and deserves applause as well.

It is so nice after being on the bad side of a one sided rivalry for seven years, to finally be on an upswing.

Kudos Avery. Kudos Hank.



Lastly, Naslund, in what I saw of him, looked like a much more determined man tonight. It might be a flash in the pan, but it's something to keep an eye on going forward as the season closes out.



Around the League:

Just have to mention this. On my way home I listeded to a bit of Coyotes/Stars and in the first intermission they did a 'Hot Stove Report" of sorts. Now, Dave Strader was on Versus with the Dallas Stars guy, so Darren Pang jumped to Dallas TV. This was the Coyotes radio broadcast team; forgive me for missing names here. The whole segment began and ended with the song "love the one you're with." (Kinda a play on the fact that so many regular broadcast partners were in different places tonight). Anyway, a question is asked and answered by [fill in the blank.]. The announcer then goes, "okay, Panger, you got sloppy seconds."

Yes, you read me right. On air, professional broadcasters used the term that almost had Sean Avery banned from this very league!

Now I am not stupid (at least I try very hard not to be). Granted Avery's context was different and his connotation might have very well been of the negative variety. But who has not - seriously, folks - used the term like the broadcasters did above?

Because, in all honesty here - which I do preach at NHTP - my first thought any time I hear sloppy seconds, and this includes the time Avery said it, is not anything sexual or negative.

I'm thinking the guys above, they probably were not thinking along those lines either.If we are being truly honest here.



Yotes/Stars Notes:

Kudos from the broadcast crew (whose names I will find tomorrow) for the reunited Prucha-Lombardi-Upshall line that combined for a goal - (Just checked the score) - 2 goals so far on the night. It seems the three boys can play in almost any combination with their teammates and they all bring that energy and tenaciousness. That's the word I am going to use to describe the Coyotes in my three weeks watching them. Tenacious. On the puck, on the boards. Tenacious. They might not score a lot(although they are againt Tobias Stephan tonight) yet, but they are punishing other teams with their work ethic and consistent pressure. The goals, I believe, will come. And they did tonight. 5-3 in the 3rd.


**Thanks for reading. Goodnight folks.**

On edit: Prucha just got game winning goal in OT! More tomorrow. :) But to see the jump in his step. Well, well deserved.

Many Questions With Fewer Answers. . .

I am actually a little bit at a loss for words on this one. Usually, at least in the majority of the short John Tortorella era here in New York, the Rangers bounce back after a bad showing and have a much better game with a better result the next time around.

Well perhaps the game was a bit better than the game of disgust in Atlanta on Thursday, in that they were able to keep coming back to tie a better team rather than give up three goals to a worse team, but the result was no better. Worse, in fact, in that the Rangers did not gain even a point.

The common trend: getting into serious penalty trouble. I used to joke for years, even before this blog existed, that if the Rangers were going to take so many penalties, they should learn to be the best penalty killing team in the league. The whole practice makes perfect mentality.

BUT...

This never meant that they should aim to achieve or fail to correct being a team that is penalized so much. Having a top two penalty kill in the league is nice, but that doesn't mean that the Rangers should parade to the penalty box every single game. And yet, most nights, that's exactly what they do.

Disheartening. That's what this game was.

I was skimming some clips from Bathgate/Howell night - who knows why because goodness knows that was an uninspired game to say the least - and Al Trautwig was on with Dave Maloney between periods saying that he couldn't understand the Rangers lack of urgency. He said, after the previous night's game in Buffalo, he'd think the Rangers would look at the standings and realize this is getting close, we better feel some desperation and play like it.

Well it didn't happen that night.

And it didn't happen today.

I always get tired of the post game interviews where players are talking about looking ahead and making changes for the better, but at this time of year, it's rather infuriating. There are only so many games in a season. And this team has had the same problems throughout, especially in getting energized for important games.

Sure, there may be some players playing with more a sense of urgency than others, but overall this team should be playing their hearts out to gain every point possible. They need to be.

And yet, I don't see it. I just don't. Which probably has lead me to the conclusion - again - that they are not capable of it. That no matter whether it was Renney or Tortorella trying to get this team to play, that they, they themselves, just do not have that killer instinct necessary to compete with the other teams in this conference right now.

That may sound pessimistic - and it is - and it may seem unneccessarily harsh - but it has to be. This team - and anyone who doesn't realize this is probably lying to themselves; players very much included - is simply running out of time to gain points. The time for having pass-me-by games like this one should have ended a long time ago.

That's my honest assessment.

You can think whatever you want regarding the officials and what affect they may or may not have had on the game, but the fact remains, in Pittsburgh, against Pittburgh, away against Atlanta, at home versus Ottawa - wherever - this team has taken enough penalties on its own - no help from the officials needed.

But if we are going to talk about today's referring, and it does seem necessary to do so to a certain extent, it has been disappointing me for almost as long as I have been a fan.

I will forever remember in the mid-to-late 90s going to a game versus Detroit at the Garden where the puck was floating somewhere around the blue line in Detroit's zone. Nedved went to get it at the same time Hasek left his net to do the same. So at the blueline Hasek slammed into Nedved and they called a penalty on Nedved for interference. I looked and my father, not understanding. But I quickly got it, if not that day, then in the years to come.

A team like Detroit was going to get calls versus a bad team in New York. When the Rangers finally got good again in the mid-2000s, I saw the Rangers get similar bounces against bad teams. And now, since the dawning of Sidney Crosby's NHL, the Rangers have been on many short side of calls both in Pittsburgh and at the Garden versus the Pens. It is disgusting and it just speaks to the horrific state of NHL officiating. Which makes me sad because it's a sport that we all love and respect and when faced with that reality, it is hard to respect all that goes on.

In regards to the Colton Orr penalty, I was shocked, but not surprised. A five minute major for interference and a game misconduct. The call was absurd. The fact that they'd choose to call it was not. A bloody Eaton, and Orr was the guy that hit him. That's all you really have to know.

If anyone confirm this for me, I'd appreciate it. Did Colton Orr not receive a five minute major and a game misconduct when he put his arms up in accidentally colliding with Matt Cullen in the middle of last season. Originally no call was made but they conferred and made the call. A good guy in Cullen - and he is - broke his nose and that's all they needed to see. I was there and to me it was a perfectly accidental open ice incident that ended badly. Carolina has never forgotten it though.

Interesting that I found out, in the post game today, that it was a linesman - a linesman - that made the call against Orr in today's game in Pittsburgh.

But I have another one for you. Can someone refresh my aging memory at who in a Rangers game within the last two weeks at the Garden took a five minute major for high-sticking? There's another call you'll never see. A two minute minor, a four minute double minor - sure. But a five minute major for high sticking?

What the refs pull out of their helmets will continue to astound. What is unacceptable is that nothing is done by the league to prevent it from happening again.

Did the Orr penalty change the outcome of the game today? In my opinion, the Rangers were undisciplined enough on their own and Paul Mara, with his eye swollen shut, should have been back home in New York icing it rather than playing in this game, but really, who am I to judge?

Tortorella, post game, said he hoped for nothing else except that the referees let the teams decide the outcome of the games, and that, in regard to Avery, that the calls on him be fair.

We can, all of us, only ask that much.

He Belongs In Blue. . .

The Home and Home:

I was lucky to attend both games of the home and home between the Flyers and Rangers this weekend. Luckier certainly it would seem to see today's game, as the entire Rangers team actually showed up to this one, but lucky nonetheless.

Without stepping too much into yesterday's game which was, at best, a half effort, where defensive irresponsibility abounded (just what, by the way, was Derek Morris doing on the Richards goal. If you watch the replay, there is a 2 to 2.5 second span of time where Morris stands in front of Hank staring at Richards allowing him to take not one, but two shots uncontested. I'm not saying it stops the goal, but you look foolish not trying to a) poke the puck away or b) go after the damn man), a good start with a nice goal by Antropov was allowed to waste away, and Avery was one of a handful of players that showed up ready to go.

In yesterday's game, the Flyers looked the bigger and the better team, hands down. And Biron had one of those games that make me think he's a legit goalie in this league. (He impressed me a lot in last year's playoffs, but I've more often than not given him more credit than others, even when he played behind Miller in Buffalo).

The highlight of yesterday's game for me came in the stands where the little boy sitting next to my friends and I at one point stopped, looked at my friend, and said in this quiet voice, "you are cheering for the Rangers?" He paused, "They suck." Our immediate reaction was tearful laughter. He just said it so adorably, and frankly, he did have a point. As my friend pointed out the Rangers couldn't seem to string more than one pass together at a time. I, sadly, was forced to tell her this was not a new thing.

Moving onto the bigger and better things of today's game and the point of this post.

Sean Avery is made for Manhattan. Made in the mold of and effective in this uniform. I will not go so far as to say there is a perfect athlete or a perfect player, but if there was ever a player where you said, he can only work there, that is his perfect match, that's Sean Avery and New York.

Granted, half of it might be because he, after having been here and been happy here, had this thought in the back of his mind all along that this is where he belonged and if he wasn't here, he wasn't going to be happy, effective Sean. Which on some level you can't even blame him for. We can all name athletes that just played better in one location over another in their careers.

(Although I'll pause for a moment and say, again, he did nothing on the ice in Dallas that was ineffective or selfish. Unfortunately it just never worked. Perhaps had Marty Turco started the season like he ended the last one, or the rest of the team scored a few more goals, it wouldn't have been a point to talk about at all. As it was...well you know the story. The experiment in Dallas failed, yes. But to say Sean Avery was the only thing that affected that team would be an injustice. I stand by that still).

So Sean comes back to the place he has proven he can play, and play he does. Whatever the connection is between the two, it has been a sight to see. From the first game back on Long Island, to his sixth game in Blue today, Sean has been one of the best players, if not THE best player in each game. He's scored goals in three consequtive games, including two on the powerplay today.

In the Rangers worst game of the stretch on the scoreboard, arguably Monday in Carolina, Sean was still one of the better players. (Blameless Valiquette was certainly the other).

In the Rangers best game of the stretch, arguably today, he did essentially everything right. He got himself in position to score two nice, clean goals. He agitated in a way that got the other team off their game. Minus having Richards skate around trying to rip his head off - no, you didn't miss that when the cameras cut away, as they did when Coburn tried to behead Antropov, ironically - it was reminiscent of the best games played two years ago in the playoffs when Avery so incited the Atlanta team that their best players lost focus of their priorities and made it a Sean Avery show.

That's exactly what happened today. We saw yesterday how good Philadelphia is. I don't see how they are not a better team than the Rangers are, in more than a few ways. And yet, today it was a completely different story and a completely different ending than yesterday.

Why? Because not only was Sean Avery, again, the best player. He made the rest of his team better today too.

It is a precious thing to have a player in any sport that makes the players around him better. And Sean Avery does that.

Goalies can carry teams, but they rarely make the team around them play better. At least not in the way I am implying.

Players, usually of the superstar nature - as we saw day in, day out, with Jaromir Jagr - can make those around them better.

Sean, certainly not a superstar in the way we know them, has that gift too. For two distinct and separate reasons.

For one, he's a legit player. He can skate better than just about anyone on the team. And I don't mean fast, although he is arguably one of the fastest as well. He's powerful. In his strides, in his direction, in his push. He gets to open ice to get to pucks. He puts pucks in great places. He works behind the net better than many I've seen. And he gets himself into great places to score. All these things work in sequence and make his linemates and his teammates around him better.

We've all seen the way Gomez has responded to playing with Avery. And Gomez couldn't play well with anyone, it seemed, for the longest time. As much as Gomez is a playmaker and his teammates can see the benefits from that, Avery is just as much able to make plays for his teammates. He really is. It seems no matter who he has played with, he makes the whole line look better.

And make no mistake, he is a smarter player than most will give him credit for. He really, really is.

The second reason is one of my personal opinion. Those may agree or disagree, but I think there is, at best, some level of truth to it.

Surely, not everyone on this team loved Sean Avery or wanted him back. They might, and I mean this nicely, not view this stick of dynamite, as welcomed on their nice, little, calm team. They might, perhaps, view him as less of a hockey player because he is not, was not, and will never be, just another quiet kid from Ontario who plays the game typical or stand up.

That's not Sean.

So I suspect, for that reason, and just because he is who he is, that he without even asking them to do so, pushes his teammates to be better BECAUSE they don't want him to be the one that stands out. And I mean stands out in a GOOD way.

The Rangers this year have lacked effort. Lacked cohesiveness. Lacked backbone. Lacked drive and, with the exception of a few, lacked the ability to make us believe they cared when they won and cared when they lost. They were many more times to count, shadows of themselves, skating lifelessly, moving tiredly, and bored in both action and explaination.

Now how would it look if Sean Avery cared more than everyone else (minus the goalies) on this team? How would it look if he tried the hardest? Skated the hardest? Shot the most? Scored the most? How would that look really?

On a team with Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, Avery would never be that guy.

On a team without marquee superstars and legendary leaders like those men that command respect, Sean Avery could easily be that guy.

I mean no disrespect towards my favorite team in saying that, but the fact remains that after painful losses this team looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. Hell, often during the painful losses they'd already look that way.

Sean is one of those players that is incapable of looking like he doesn't try and he doesn't care. Even if he or the result is not perfect. That's just not the way he works.

So I'm of the believe that some players - not all, but some - have been and will continue to respond with better efforts on ice. Not just because Sean may directly make them play better, but because they are being pushed by something inside that he tugs at, something that makes them want to play better than they have been. Even if only to save some of their own sense of pride.

Harsh? Perhaps. But regardless of whether I am the only one that feels that way or not, I think more people than not will agree that the Rangers since Sean Avery's arrival have been anything but vanilla, anything but indifferent, and four times out of the six games, a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

The Rangers might not get to the playoffs because of reasons both in and beyond their control.

But they will not miss the playoffs for a lack of effort from Sean Avery.

Avery simply belongs in blue.





Around the League


Yotes:

In the desert on Saturday night, one more than a handful of guys made their home debut. I didn't watch all the game because I was exhausted, but in what I saw, they continued to look in sync. They can't seem to score, unfortunately, and with 18 shots they didn't really go out of their way to test Pekka Rinne. But they are trying. The game was scoreless for just about half. And Nashville, a team fighting for it's playoff life, finally got a goal to break the stalemate. The second one was an empty netter.

In the "Watch Your Gum Tom" moment of the night, Petr Prucha again saw time on the penalty kill. That's right, folks. The man that couldn't even crack the lineup in New York is playing every role imaginably for Gretzky's team in Phoenix. Powerplay time and 2:11 on the PK, where he looked good.

Perhaps it is the weight of tension lifted from his shoulders, but I am seeing a confident and better player emerge, even in this short time. I do not mean to imply that he did not look good in his limited opportunities this year, but it became clear to me last night that Prucha looks much more confident in all aspects of his game. Skating with the puck, passing, positioning. Everything. And I think that's due not only to more ice time, but what is quite obviously a genuine sense of trust. A trust that he is being looked at and taken care of, and being used in situations where he was not previously given a chance. His confidence shows more with each passing game, even if the results are not there yet. And as fans of him, we can all be happy to see him playing that way again.

I know I am.

Lastly, I was expecting the home Phoenix broadcast, but I actually enjoyed what I saw of Nashville's tandem. They weren't biased. And it was, minus a few corny moments, a clean and pleasant broadcast.


Brodeur Watch

Yes, as most of us would have bet on if we were of the betting kind, Marty Brodeur went into Montreal, his hometown, and won the game versus the Habs, tying him with Patrick Roy for all time wins by a goalie.

Not as expected was the standing ovation for the goalie, especially considering the dire state of their own beloved team right now.

That makes it all the more classy.


Where Are They Now. . .?:

I unfortunately don't have time to realy do the Where Are They Now segment in full form right now. Perhaps next year I'll find the most effective way to do modify it. For now, I'll only show the surprising or substantial ones.

The surprise of the last week, one time Ranger Jamie Lundmark, still up from Tri-City, on Thursday night scored not one, but two, goals (3,4)in Calgary's 6-5 shootout win over the Flames.

A Win In Music City. . .

Not a perfect symphony for the Rangers, but two points very much needed after coming away empty three nights ago in Carolina.

I didn't see every part of the game's first two periods; I was going back and forth between the NJ/Coyotes game. So I can't speak to everything. And what I saw to start, honestly, was very sloppy. A lot of penalties and some laziness to boot.

As the game got into the later stages, the Rangers thankfully woke up and righted themselves. Big goals from some key contributors and overall good play from Avery, Callahan, Gomez, Staal. That's now 4 games in their last 5 that the Rangers have scored four or more goals (Colorado - 6, Islanders - 4, Boston -4, Carolina - 0, Nashville - 4). Very important to see them rebound in that manner both after being shutout and after the season they've had overall.

And as for Sean Avery, he played an effective game from my eyes. Getting to the net, making nice passes from behind the net, and getting the puck to the net; all things that have been lacking this year from this team. He's not going to be perfect, no, and he's not the master solution, but I still believe that with him on the ice and Tortorella on the bench the Rangers stand a better chance at making the playoffs than they do without.

Of course, it might not be up to them. Surely they have to play their part, but a few things may stand in their way. Time. Other teams. The Rangers might have temporarily ended up back in the playoff standings, but it's going to be an up and down, in and out battle. And they did it to themselves with their two month break in the middle of the season that they couldn't afford to take.

Also of concern, the plethora of penalties they took. With this team, it's almost never one and done. They always go to the box in bunches. And it was the return - a first in the Post-Renney era - of the two man men penalty.

I'm also going to take a moment to say that I am not sure why Naslund's play has regressed so. He led this team in goals, essentially all season, and if Antropov didn't join this team, he still would. BUT, besides finding the net from time to time and scoring important goals late, he has not looked steady in the last month or two. In fact, where he used to be more vocal and more mobile in the beginning of the season, I'm now seeing a player that looks tired and ineffective. Not at every moment, but certainly more often. Perhaps a mid-season break for a game or two might have helped. Or perhaps it truly is not 2002 anymore, for Naslund or for me.

Overall, good win, and a very important one heading into a home and home set with the Flyers this weekend. It's not going to get easier. Every night is a must win.

One last thing. Congratulations to Henrik Lundqvist for becoming the first goaltender in NHL history - NHL history - to have 30 win seasons in his first four years in the league.

Yes it may have been aided by the shootout wins. Yes things certainly have changed over the history of the league. But goodness knows it wasn't as if he was aided with perfect defensive teams for the last four years. I repeat and hold true that he's kept this team in more games than he's kept them out of. Big Kudos to Hank. Very, very impressive stuff.

Who Says You Can't Go Home. . .

As long as I've taken time to clarify what I did in my last post, let's get back to the real hockey stuff, and back to the NYRs.


Rangers/Isles

So on Wednesday I made my first trip to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Its pretty hard for me to believe - and perhaps for you as well - but I had just never had the opportunity to go. But I finally did.

The day after trade deadline day. On a day where so much shook my immediate hockey world as three Rangers departed, and two new Rangers made their debuts.

Oh and some guy named Sean Avery might have played too.

;)

Before we get to the game, let me get this out of the way. Despite everyone - it seems - warning me for years of what a dump the Coliseum is, I did not think that was true. Despite traffic - both inside AND outside the arena - it was a great rink. The arena cooridors were horrific to navigate because everyone is walking the same narrow path. But this is no different to me than the old Brendan Byrne or the historic Spectrum. However, as those two buildings no longer house NHL teams I think that alone is a reason the Islanders definitely need a new arena. But we don't need to go there now.

Point is, I must say that the Colliseum might just have some of the best views of the ice that I've seen in my travels. I had marvelous seats, but it appeared that any seat would offer you an unobstructed view of the ice. I had no complaints whatsoever.


Now I am only admiting this in hopes of being the honest person I've always claimed to be here.

I had plans of going to the game before Sean Avery's return was anything more than a whisper, let alone a real and tangible actuality. But as the date drew closer this really became a big reason I wanted to go. To see this player - THE player's - greatly anticipated return. And after Wednesday's movement, perhaps one of my greatest reasons.

And again I only say that in a measure of my being honest. After my favorite player on the team was traded, I needed something, or someone, - especially at this early and most vulnerable stage - to root for.

Someone with a sense of passion.

Someone with intensity.

Someone else who knew what it meant to - Be a Ranger!

And someone who wore the sweater with pride.

Like him or not, you have to admit, that was definitely Sean. He bled blue.
He cared for this team and his teammates, in a way only he knew how.

Face it, they couldn't have been more different off the ice. But I think on those most basic and respectable levels Sean Avery and Petr Prucha shared some common ground.


Now some may have thought I'd be bitter given the events of Wednesday. Hell perhaps even I thought I might be. But I wasn't.

Now, I wasn't going to do cartwheels if Derek Morris was the first star of the game (wouldn't that have been a story?) or if Nik Antropov scored a hat trick.

But, I did want them to win the game.

Before I go into the who/what and why on that, the game was what it was. A game where the Rangers started slow and were in no way the better team for the beginning half of the game. But a game where, again, they woke up in the 3rd and got some key scoring. The powerplay - yeah, you know that thing the Rangers don't usually score on - came through with two. And for the most part it was a legit victory.

Sean Avery played probably as docile a game as one could expect him to, but he was not invisible. I tried to pay close attention to him, and I thought for a guy getting back to a game he hadn't played at this level in months, he did well for the first time out.

Reasons the game was a good one. The Rangers

a) beat the Islanders
b) scored four goals for the second game in a row
c) won for the 2nd game in a row
and
d) won a game on the road.

New Ranger Nik Antropov got an assist on the Drury PP goal, for his first point.

I didn't notice Derek Morris as much, admittedly.

Overall, important win, considering timing and who it was against. And because, face it guys, every game is going to count from now on. Every single one.



Rangers Trade Deadline Notes:

I don't think I need to express that I wasn't one of the people thrilled with the Morris deal.

Shocked, you are, I know.

And once you subtract the obvious reason why, I just have to look at it in its simplest way. The Rangers gave up 3 guys for one guy. One guy, who despite saying he was "excited" when the Rangers name came into play, I do not believe will be here next year. So three guys, two of which were the part of the promised youth of this franchise, for a guy who will play the remaining games, and if the Rangers make the playoffs, a few more.

Mathmatically, that doesn't add up.

BUT, if you like math - and chances are that trust me you'll know more than the guy I'm about to introduce - meet Glen Sather. He is, quite possibly, the worst mathemetician ever. Ever!

He thinks that paying four guys - three of which are not worth it - 49% of the team allotted salary pool is a smart business decision.

Forget smart.

Forget business.

Forget decision.

And sure as heck forget putting the word think in the same sentence with that man's name.

Dawes and Prucha were both RFA after this year. And Sather has no money to sign the young guys that actually WERE playing on the team. (Sad to say, but true). There's no way he was going to sign these guys as long as all the BIG money players remained.

I'm guessing no one wanted Redden, Drury, or Gomez at those nicely packaged, salary cap friendly contracts, now did they Glennie?

Shock of the year, right there.

So therefore, Pete and Dawes were sent away because there was no place and no money for them here.

No disrespect to Derek Morris - I saw him on After Hours ironically two weekends ago and he seemed a down to earth guy - but you send one of those players and Kalinin to get him. If that. But not Prucha and Dawes. Not Prucha AND Dawes.

Unless you have no choice.

And Glennie, well, the deck is not stacked in his favor.

Now again, he was given the deck, allowed to manipulate it as he wanted, and allowed to keep it, tucked away where no one can touch it, but it's still not stacked in his favor. Some people should just not play cards.

Or manage professional ice hockey clubs.


As for Nik Antropov, I guess the bloggers who had been pining for this guy for months knew more than I did. (Or Sather really does read the blogs. Stranger things, I'm sure). I have no problem with him. But while this is another guy that may help a team that can't score, score a little more than the nothing they had been (before the 2/28 breakout, mind you) he's just another guy that probably won't be around next year.

If that was the plan, rent away. I just still do not think this team has legs to take them beyond a round or two. I won't lie to myself and believe that much changed from what I've seen before my eyes all year long. ALL YEAR. Not just from the point many other people's blinders came off. But even back on game 5 of the season versus Buffalo, the things I was starting to realize.



A Look Ahead:

Rental players or no, sadness over a favorite player gone or no, there are three reasons I want the Rangers to make the playoffs. Three. (Besides the I'm a fan, rah, rah, rah, bs).

1) John Tortorella. While I didn't hate Tom Renney and while I appreciate what he did in the grand scheme, enough of his actions this year put serious doubts in my head that this guy should remain behind an NHL bench. The fact that Sather brought in a guy like John Tortorella was like an unbelievable moment that might only come once. And I think you have to try your best to embrace it. Tortorella, opposite of Renney, will light a fire. He will scream and yell. He will make players lives a living hell if they make his one. And I still think that's what the 75-80% of this team that didn't seem to care, needs. I want to see what he does with this team. Not even this year, but next year. And the first step to that process is this team making the playoffs. They built up their point lead - on boring, stale, vanilla play and shootouts! - back in the first two months of the season. I do not want a new coach, and a better coach in my mind, to miss this first important opportunity to make a statement that a new attitude - offense is not a sin, we can score more than 2 goals, our goalie is not perfect, so we shouldn't make him have to be every single freakin' night - will not ruin this team. It will make them better.

2) Sean Avery. I always hesitated to say I out and out defended Sean before, but you know what, I did. I stood by his ability to play hockey and I will continue to stand by my belief that he can be an effective player in this league again. I had it wrong in Dallas. We all had it wrong in Dallas. But he's getting an opportunity to come home again. A gift that many perhaps thought he did not deserve. Me, I'm still firmly holding true to the fact that Sean was being punished for having a big mouth and a less than keen sense of timing and that there are much, much, MUCH more harmful things going on -repeatedly - in this league that people should be concerned about. If Sean Avery re-born can be even half the Sean Avery that left the Rangers/Pittsburgh series with a bleeding spleen, I think any Rangers fan will take that. The guy is a battler. A bleed for your team guy. A guy that had intangibles, that with the exception of a few players(see below), were very much absent on this team. If Sean can bring that, I am all for it. And for Sean's story to be successful, at least chapter one of book two here, I think helping this team get back on track, and stay playoff bound, is of vital importance.

3) Some Gave All. Guys like Marc Staal (early and through most of the season), Ryan Callahan (every single night), Hank Lundqvist (not perfect but certainly blameless in this season's defeats) and Paul Mara (one of the best attitudes on the team) gave a lot to this team this year. They didn't take day's off. They understood what it meant to come to play and to want to win. They were the ones - namely in this case Hank and Mara - sounding angry and defeated in the locker room post-game. When Gomez was heckling John G for his wardrobe (funny the first dozen times) and while Drury was saying before the fans even had a chance to leave the building things like how he wasn't going to let yet another embarassing loss ruin his holidays, guys like Staal and Callahan brought their games, guys like Mara and Hank got visibly upset. I still believe no one - no one - cares more about this team and is harder on himself than Hank. And to see everyone else (and yes, I'm picking four names, there may have certainly been others that do not fall into the indifferent mold) seem to care so little, not only on the ice, but off of it, really upset me and definitely changed the way I viewed MY Rangers this year. And that fact makes me want the Rangers to make the playoffs even more. To reward the guys that night in, night out, made sacrifices of their bodies and promises to themselves to wear the sweater with pride. Those guys deserve it, especially after dragging 75% of the rest of their team this entire damn season.


Reality?

Now, can the Rangers do this? Can they make the playoffs? Will the new guys help that much?

Probable. Possible. Eh.

I think if the Rangers play like the Rangers of 2/28 and 3/4, and can maintain that sense of energy against clubs better than the, um, well the two worst teams in the league, I think they can still make the playoffs.

But things got a heck of a lot harder Wednesday. Pittsburgh got much better. Buffalo got much better. Carolina won't go away either.

The Flyers are falling a little, and Montreal, sadly for Habs fans, are in a tailspin again.

If the Rangers do have a chance to make the playoffs, one of those teams has to stumble, and Montreal probably needs to continue to fall.

There's a bit of the season left, but not a lot. The Rangers December struggle that lasted through late February, may prove to be too much time taken for granted.

Time, it seems, will tell.

Around The League: Woah Manny, Hossa Injury, and A Note on Tomorrow. . .

I'm not going to touch on Sean Avery now. I debated back and forth and thought, well, as long as he is here - and I am for the record glad of it - I'll wait until he's played or is going to play his first game before I go any deeper into this. So on hold with that. Except for one very quick and very genuine, Welcome Back Sean.


Where Are They Now. . .?

There were no "WATN" moments in yesterday's single game, but damn if there wasn't a GREAT moment for one of my FAVORITE all-time former Rangers tonight.

Manny Malhotra had 2 goals, including the game winner, and an assist to help the Blue Jackets beat the Kings 5 to 4. He was named the #1 Star.

I LOVED Manny in New York and followed his career to Dallas and to Columbus. While he already found his own, being a fan favorite and a great team guy - not that I am surprised - he seems to be chipping in more this year than in recent years on the score sheet. Playing with one Rick Nash, perhaps?

Kudos to him!! :)

In a quick pass of the scoreboard, it looks like PLENTY of former Rangers had good nights in the NHL, but I'll post that at some time tomorrow.



Scary Stuff. . .

In the bad news of the night, Red Wings Marian Hossa went head first into the boards, stayed down for 10 minutes and was removed on stretcher. He was taken to hospital.

Again, never like to see things like this. Prayers for him.


In a followup to Ethan Moreau's eye injury, the Edmonton captain has been experiencing "water torture" symptoms (as per Craig MacTavish, which we'll take to mean constant and uncomfortable) but he is not in very much pain, and is starting to regain his sight. That is very, very good news. Upon returning to play - yet to be determined - he will wear a visor going forward.



Tomorrow:

As was the case last year, I am at work this year in meetings pretty much during all the key times. (I keep telling myself every year to call in sick!!) I'll bring my blackberry and try to keep myself as up to date as possible. But do not expect any updates here at all during the afternoon. And do not expect any reaction until later in the evening. Although, I'm hoping it will be more joyful reacting than mournful reacting. . .

16 hours and counting. . .

Around the League: Trade Rumors, Milestones, and Tums and Tylenol Part 2. . .

Trade Rumors:

Toronto:

I'm listening to the Team 990 on this snowy day here in Metro NY. Sounds like former Ranger and current Maple Leaf, Dominic Moore, may be on a few team's radars this Wednesday. He's had a better than pretty good season for Toronto (12G, 29A for 41P), and could definitely fetch some interest.

Trust me, I always liked Dom Moore. Good guy and as I alluded to in Where Are They Now a few days ago, a guy that was able to center a line that made Hollweg and Ortmeyer look good. (Come on, I'm not the only one that misses HMO? And I greatly miss Jed as well.)

Also on the block for TO are Ukranian Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov of Kazakhstan. And Czech Tomas Kaberle who said he'd waive his no-trade clause.

Remember, news originally out of Toronto was that anyone minus Johh Mitchell, Luke Schenn, and Mikhail Grabovsky were up to be had. It was later alluded to be anyone but young super guy Schenn.

The only thing that gets me is that Toronto did significantly better than I thought they would this year. Imagine if Vesa Toskala did not start so slowly and was playing as well as he does against the Rangers, well, against everyone else. I thought they'd be a bottom two team in the East.

Now, granted, if they give up most of their team, they might very well fall back there. But at present, they are in 11th place with 62 points, but only 7 points behind Buffalo and Carolina who both have 69. It would be a long shot, so I have no problem with them selling, mind you, but they surprised me quite a bit this year.

Montreal:

Well, so a two day break makes Alex Kovalev look like "good" Alex once again (2G, 5A in 3 games after coming back). Also in the plus column for Montreal is Tomas Plekanec who has 6G, 4A in 6 games since rejoining the Habs lineup.

Interesting though is Mike Komisarek's play starting to fall again; Randy and Tony on the Team 990 are not sure why.

I'd honestly take Komisarek on my team any day, but thanks to Sather's money follies, it appears the Rangers may never get the true stay at home defenseman they coveted. Unless they find a way to convince someone that Gomez, Redden, Drury, and the rest of the Fab Five, are valuable to their own teams.

Now I thought Montreal was going to contend for top spot in the East. Obviously the 100th season in Montreal was anything but what Habs fans thought it would be (understatement of year). I still think they'll fall to the middle of the playoff pack though.



Milestones:

Big kudos to Flames Captain Jarome Iginla for now being the all-time leader in points for the franchise. It's unfortunate that on a night where their leader and captain had five points (2G, 3A) including his 400th career goal, that the Flames could not overcome Tampa Bay, falling 8-6.

Takes nothing from his great accomplishment though. The do-everything poster boy has now, well, done everything.

Almost.


In NJ, Marty continues to shock us all. Although should we really be shocked anymore? Four months off. Surgery for the worst injury of his career. Guy comes back to record two shutouts for his club in three games, the second being the 100th of his NHL career, leaving him only three behind the all-time mark set by Terry Sawchuk. With five more wins, he'll pass Patrick Roy for most wins in league history.

It should be more shocking. But it isn't. We're apparently accustomed to his greatness.



Rangers - Buy/Sell/Stand Pat?

If I had a vote, I'd say stand pat. Well as much pat as you can stand when it's essentially a given they will at least do all within their power to regain their fallen winger, Sean Avery, as Dallas is supposed to waive him today, at noon.

And I'm fine with that. If this is truly the only place that Avery can play, then let him play here. A 6-1 win over Colorado is nice, but I still think Avery can help provide a spark to this team. I'm still really holding onto my words earlier this year that Avery has been and can be an effective NHL player. If he couldn't prove it in Dallas, then let him come back here. I'll welcome him, with open arms.

My concern - hence the Tums and Tylenol Part 2 - is what exactly the Rangers will do besides that. The cause of all my worries.

When I was younger, Trade Deadline Day did not hold the joy and anguish it does today. In fact, it's now a seasons worth of Tums and Tylenol days, especially being a Rangers fan.

But it's at this time of year (July 1st Free Agent Frenzy Day being the other), that I keep both medicinals close at hand as a buffer to whatever Glen may do.

Look, bottom line: I think the Rangers can and should make the playoffs. As is. I really do. It might be close, but I think they do. I had them in at 6. I can see them being no higher than that, or certainly being 7 or 8. It remains to be seen whether the final team becomes Pittsburgh, Carolina or Buffalo. But I think the Rangers can make it.

That being said. I do not see this team being a contender. Again, 6-1 was nice. And I think Torts will make them a better team going forward. BUT, the big contracts have and will continue to handicap. That's a fact. And them, along with the other less expensive pieces, just do not have it. At least not that I can see. They probably will/should make the playoffs, but I do not see them making it past round one, unless whoever they are playing stumbles, badly.

Therefore, I am hoping - probably in vain - that there is no major, major shakeups to this team. Because I would hate - HATE! - to see them mortgage the young guys and the future - AGAIN! - to get some old guy/rental player that will not be on this team next year and will not make them better this year.

Besides Avery, I don't see what you do. I hope they don't mess it up.

Tums, Tylenol...the countdown continues.



Where Are They Now. . . ?

Team Player Action Note
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan Assist
Calgary Jamie Lundmark G(2)
Columbus Manny Malhotra Assist

A Fun Game Long Overdue. . .

You will not find me complaining about one thing in last night's game. Not one thing.

It had goals - a season high 6 of them!

It had fights and rough stuff - plenty to go around!

It had spunk.

It had fire.

It had heart.

And man, it was FUN!

Again, fun is a word not too often used regarding the Rangers this year. But one that could not be denied in describing last night's goal fest at the expense of Colorado.

Even Paul Mara said: "I don't think there's been a better feeling in this room all year."

The bigger picture, however, is where it gets more fuzzy. The timing of the 6 goal outburst was somewhat bittersweet. But then again, the timing of everything this year has been less than ideal though, hasn't it?

Allow me to explain.

It was necessary and perfect the Rangers were able to win, and win convincingly, on the last day they play before they go on a four day hiatus between games, in the last game they will play before the trade deadline on Wednesday at 3pm. It gets the pressure off these guys, shows them they can score, and gives everyone the feeling that with a new coach, this team isn't really that bad.

The flip side, the bittersweet part, is that it really was the do-all, be-all. Say the Rangers had this slump more in January, than in February, and say Renney was let go after the Penguins/Rangers game on January 28th (random bad game I'm pulling at there). Say they hired Tortorella then. Say everything that happened now, happened earlier. Perhaps instead of two good games where the Rangers were a better team that could not score and win, and a third game where the Rangers scored plenty and did win, we'd be talking about a string of 7, 8, 9, or 10 games so that we'd all have a better idea of where this team truly is and what they need to do - if anything - before next Wednesday.

Bittersweet.

Bittersweet in that this group of players who played last night played what was quite possibly one of the most entertaining games the team has played this entire year, they might not all be here come Thursday night.

That is sports, no apologies need be made. But the timing of everything - coach fired, coach hired, team plays 3 games in four nights - was so condensed, I am not sure if I were a manager, a coach, I'd have any idea what to think or what to do. That's the difficult part.

And given our GMs track record of brilliant decisions, I might as well get the Tums and Tylenol out right now. Hell, I probably should have started already.

I'm not going to sit here and hypothesize on what they will do, what I want them to do, what I think they may do. At least not today.

But on the surface, it appears Sean Avery will return. Only mildly ironic in that he'd be returning after the Rangers finally - FINALLY - showed how well they could play and stick up for one another. But fact remains, someone will have to be moved for this to happen.

Who? Who knows. Again, I am not going to speculate here. I'm going to wait and see like everyone else. And medicate, very heavily.

For I'd hate to see the youth of this team go - the heart and the fire - for yet another big name, big guy who will only be here til April. [Not talking about Sean here.]

I do see this team making the playoffs. I just do not see - despite the romping over a last placed Colorado team I must add - them going very far.

That much has not changed.

Thankfully, the fun returned. I hope that big fact does not get forgotten in this bittersweet time crunch.



Other Thoughts:

It's mildly ironic that I opened The Post this morning to read Larry Brooks' Slap Shot column talking about Michael Nylander and how that was a changing point in time for this team. For not only did I mention that to someone at a bar last night, but I have been saying this for years now.

Going back to my blog from October 17th of last year, I said:

"I personally believe we can bring all this back to Michael Nylander's departure from the Rangers. If Nylander stayed, Jagr would have been fine. He would have scored more goals, triggered his contract and would probably still be a Ranger today. That's my opinion. But Nylander couldn't get his 4 year $4 million contract, and they gave $7 million a piece to both Gomez and Chris Drury instead, neither of whom could play with Jagr. I personally, and I won't know for a few years, maybe more, think this was the turning point for the franchise. Now, if the Rangers go forward and succeed, fine. But if they go back to the dark ages before the lockout, I'll look back to that moment. That's my lesson on chemistry. Savoring it when you have it because you don't know when it'll come again. Or if. . ."

Now that's not even taking into consideration PJ Stock's rumor from late in the week that Sather never truly meant to sign both Drury and Gomez. Because face it, if Nylander were around, maybe he wouldn't have had to sign either. That, we'll never know.

Talk about bittersweet.



More on Last Night:

It can't, or shouldn't, be lost in the joy over last night and the way the Rangers broke out, just how bad apparently Colorado really is. I picked them to be in the playoffs this year. BUT, that was without the ESP factor of knowing captain and heart Joe Sakic would miss pretty much the entire season with a horrible string of bad luck injuries, and that Paul Stastny would miss much time as well. None of that excuses my thinking Raycroft and Budaj were good enough to get them through, but I did not think they'd be that bad. Keep that in mind as we bask in the joy of the Rangers beating them, will you.



The Heart:

Prucha continues to impress not only us, his fans, but his teammates and the new coaching staff as well. He, surely, is one of the players that stood to benefit the most from Renney's dismissal. We may never know all the details, and although I've speculated, I know no more than the rest of you, on why Renney disliked the young kid so much. Thankfully that doesn't matter now. I see Prucha being more of John Tortorella's type player. In making his case, he scored a big goal - the goalie chaser - and was the guy who jumped in to defend teammate Brandon Dubinsky as things got dicy in the late stages of the game.

I said it before, and I meant it. If given the chance, Prucha could own this town. He might not be the best player on the team, or even one of the top ten, but when he's confident, he sure plays like he is. And he wants it more. He wants it so much more.

Last night as he scored and the Prucha song returned to the Garden, I smiled. It made me feel like it was 2005-2006 again. A kid doing what he was meant to do. As the Garden responded, I said, yes, these people do appreciate a guy doing more than anyone thinks he should and going it with determination many of his teammates have lacked.

When he entered the late game scrum, I took a breath. When he was pulled away and held at center ice, I felt a stillness.

As he was finally escorted off the ice and into the lockeroom to cheers of his name - yet again - I felt a lightness in my heart. I watched an arena full of people, some who like him, some who love him, and surely many who were at times indifferent, stare down united at this little ball of fire that would just not be put out.

I thought, surely many times, that Renney had done everything he could think of to snuff all the spunk and fire out of this kid.

But it remained. The spunk, the fire, and the heart.

Remember, it's not the size of the man. It's the depth of his character, the will of his determination, and the passion of his being.

Hart candidate? No. HEART candidate.



Around the League:

I didn't really catch much of the action around the league yesterday, but I read this earlier today.

Prayers for Ethan Moreau who looks like he took a horrific accidental high stick to his eye. You never like to see these things happen. No more recent updates beyond this on TSN.ca.



Where Are They Now. . .?

Team Player Action Note
Boston Marc Savard 3 Assists
Washington Tom Poti Assist
New Jersey Brendan Shanahan G(4), Assist
Florida Radek Dvorak 2 Assists
Montreal Mathieu Schneider Assist
Toronto Dominic Moore Assist

Remember When I Said I Didn't Want Brendan Shanahan Back. . .?

I do. It is the topic of one of my favorite posts of mine, "With Apologies in Advance to One of Hockey's Greats."

For those who missed it, I pretty much went on a long tangent (I know, what else is new) about how I didn't want Shanahan on the team this season because:

a) He was asking for a limited role but I feared they would play him first and second line minutes and use him on the powerplay because he was Brendan Shanahan and that is how it had been in New York.

AND

b) In doing this, he would take away spots from the young guys, like Prucha, or Korpikoski, or other players from Hartford.

In retrospect, I could not have been more wrong, eh?

But how could I have known this. In a normal world of rebuilding a team after key departures, one would think that the coach would look to a player who had been there before and had success with the team before to fill in the blanks. One would think.

But we all know Rangerland is anything but a place where normalcy lives. Prucha does not play - hardly at all this year and certainly not anymore. Other young guys stay in Hartford and have great seasons, only to come up, get a sniff, and get sent back down as soon as their regular/overpaid/ineffective/lazy/horrific/blunder-ridden replacements are ready to come back into the lineup.

So if my reason for not wanting the Rangers to sign Brendan Shanahan truly was to protect the chances of the youth on this team - and please believe me that it was - I owe Brendan Shanahan one heck of an apology. I should have known better than to assume that the Rangers coaching staff and management would do anything that made sense. Do anything that was the logical or the right thing to do.

Brendan, I am sincerely sorry.

You have no idea how much I wish you were on this team instead of [fill in blank with name of one of the Rangers random overpaid underachievers]. NO IDEA!

I must admit though, it brings me a sense of satisfaction that I did not know it could to see Brendan have immediate succcess with his new team, even if that team is New Jersey. Good for him. Sincerely. Good for him. A class act; I never did or would deny him that, for it's the truth.



As for those Rangers, they did indeed get shutout by New Jersey tonight. Their 2nd time being shutout in their last four games. [And we aren't even counting the almost being shutout against Atlanta on Graves night].

Start raising your hands if you are shocked?

*For the record, my hands have not left the keyboard and will not for next five minutes or so. No hand raising going on here.*

Look, I had no intention of watching the game tonight, and for the most part I didn't. I had on the first period while I ate dinner and checked back from time to time. But I did not "watch" any of it. I didn't need to, which should make me sad, but I am beyond feeling guilty for not enjoying this team and am not going to begin trying to make apologies for them.

I mean, sure, this team might have accidentally scored a goal. Anything is possible. But Renney called it a "watershed" game. [Gosh how I hate that term.]. Some players were quoted as saying they were ready to come out, put the game in Dallas behind them, play hard, play committed, get the job done or whatever other crap one says when they don't know what to say and they are programed, like robots, to say whatever PC thing they've been spewing all year.

I didn't believe it for a second.

I'm still - still - of the belief this will not magically get better. This team is not good enough. The last half dozen games should have done nothing if not raise that fact in 3D lights. They don't have it in them. They never did.

This team is not a playoff team. Hell, at this rate of decline they might not even make the playoffs.

Which brings me back, for a moment to the man of the hour [day, week, month?]

Does Sean Avery change that? Make this team a team. Make them better? I am not sure. I certainly do not think he alone can do that. I repeat again - he has no one to help him score goals. He has no one to help him do anything really.

I will also stop and say that I heard a few player interviews while I was in the car Friday night. One by Blair Betts saying stuff like, I'm happy with the team as is; we have a great group as is. Another one by Marc Staal, pretty much saying, he liked Avery, don't know what happened in Dallas, but liked him when he was with the Rangers and would welcome him back if he came. [I'm summarizing, but I was driving and didn't have a pen.]

Two very different opinions. And yes, we are all entitled to opinions - players too.

But after yet another loss - another SHUTOUT loss - these players do not get to say what they want or who they don't want.

We tried it their way. The team led by Captain Drury the quiet and Gomez the vacuous. The one that opened up an impressive lead in the conference playing low scoring hockey, then transitioned down the path of boredom and lifelessness, that currently finds themselves falling, slowly and painfully, into a heartless and scoreless level of despair.

That team? I say blow it up.

Now we do it Sean's way.

It might not work at all. It might be a monumental failure. But at least I know someone on the ice will be truly caring about his team. And, who am I kidding, it should be entertaining as hell.

Avery, Avery, Avery. . .

Even though I was not able to write a blog entry (and oh how I wanted to on Friday night!) and was out of computer-land, I had a blackberry that allowed me to slightly keep up with the hockey world. So the news of Sean Avery's potential return is not completely unknown to me. (And as if a bunch of us weren't curious the moment it came out he'd never play another game for the green, black, and gold).

If anyone wants to go back in this blog and search "Sean Avery", they will find that I was a fan of his and went so far as to defend him at times during this season. I won't belabor that fact, but you can feel free to check up on it.

Therefore, if Sean Avery does indeed become a New York Ranger - again - as it appears may very well happen, I for one will welcome him with open arms. Here's why:

Sean Avery will never be the best hockey player. Not on talent. Not in points. But he, like many of the others cast aside by New York management in recent years, got it. He got what it meant to wear the sweater. He got what it meant to stick up for his teammates. He got what it took to win and did everything he could for that cause.

The Rangers sorely lack much of the above. The fact that even with Colton Orr, Aaron Voros, and anyone else who has ever "fought" for this team let Zherdev's broken nose go unpunished (clean hit or not) is unacceptable. The fact that this team, with those same players, has let its goalie get run without so much as a dirty look all year is disgusting. I like Colton Orr just fine, but I really thought that was the reason he was here. Please tell me it was not just to fight Eric Godard 3 seconds into a game because he wanted to. And please don't tell me it was to score goals.

When I heard that no one, save Dubinsky, really said anything to Steve Ott after that incident on Friday, my first thought to myself was, well, Sean Avery would have.

So essentially I want Avery on my team because I think he, in a perfect world, will bring back all the great things he once did for this team and all he meant.

The fans loved him. He loved the fans. The Rangers, in every capacity, were a better team with him than without him. I was, indeed, sad to see him go.

Notice, though, I said "in a perfect world."

Here-in, fans, truly lies the rub. The Rangers, right now, are not a perfect anything. Team, destination, situation. To think that adding one person, even Sean Avery, will make a difference, is silly.

I personally think Avery has the potential to score more goals than many on this team, but on a team that so lacks the ability to put the puck in the net, I don't know who would help him do so.

He's not going to help the defense. He's not going to be a miracle. That much I do believe.

Also, and potentially more importantly, we are getting a possibly "re-created" Sean Avery. While I do not believe that he has been re-constructed to the point that he is not the Avery that I love anymore, I would be lying if I didn't admit that in the back of my mind I did have some small fear that he will not (not cannot, but will not) play the same way he did up until his lacerated spleen last spring.

That is a risk that anyone takes. After injury. After something unprecedented like this. You never know what you are going to get.

Look, some people are going to be very mad if Avery is a New York Ranger again. Some people think he's a jerk. Hell, maybe he is.

But just like Tom Renney can't be his team's coach and their best friend, Sean Avery doesn't have to be everyone's best friend, he just has to be their teammate. A good teammate.

I really don't believe all his teammates hated him, just as I'm sure not everyone loved him. But on the ice, I think they all know he had their back.

For that reason, and the fact that I am still holding - very firmly - to the fact that I think he can be an effective player in this league, I want to see him come back and prove it.

If nothing - if nothing! - else, the Rangers that lack almost any form of passion, excitement, pulse, and drive, should hopefully get all that and more from Sean.

That alone will be reason for many who have, and understandably so, turned off their TVs and stopped watching this team play dead, to come back this season.

I'm sure as this potential situation comes closer to reality, I'll have more comments. We all will. But for now, I'll think back to Larry Brook's quote from late June 2008 in The Post that I commented upon:

"The Rangers can pay Avery now . . . or they can pay for the next four years for not signing him. The choice is theirs. They have approximately 48 hours to make it."

Gee. I mean I honestly wonder which self proclaimed "good game" or "dominating" performance Sather saw that convinced him that he needed to rectify this horrible mistake that he was once warned so clearly against making. . .?

"Unprecedented". . .

A have a few more minutes so I wanted to write a little more on Sean Avery in light of the recent six game suspension for the winger for his off-ice activities.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/12/05/avery-nhlpa.html

Obviously the NHL immediately made it obvious they were going to suspend him for his actions. That much was clear. I still don't agree with the logic there. It's been five days and I still am not sure how his "off-ice" remarks which have nothing to do with the game of hockey can get him suspended for six games. I don't.

And I'm not defending him. It may sound like it. But trust me, I think if Avery and I were ever friends, he would have found a way to anger me or insult me personally. I feel that is in his nature. But that just means that I wouldn't want to be friends with the guy.

So the NHL because they do not get a warm and fuzzy feeling from Sean, because he doesn't send the NHL commissioner a Hannukah card, that gives them the feeling it's okay to saddle him with a six game suspension.

I repeat that if Sean were to have made actual "threats" with his words. Something of the "Dion Phaneuf stole my girlfriend. I hate him and I'm going to -ill him" variety, I can actually understand this.

Instead all he did was make the crude, insensitive remarks of someone that apparently is a crude and insensitive man. In all my defending Avery - again of this which I am not currently - I've never said he's a warm, teddy bear, or a genuinely good person. Never. Look back. I've said I genuinely enjoy him and I like him. There is a big difference.

Think about it. If he didn't say "sloppy seconds" Tuesday morning, the game would have been played and we'd be talking about something else. Perhaps who won the battle of Calgary versus Dallas, Phaneuf (a guy the league likes) versus Avery (a guy the league hates).

Instead, all throughout Canada and even the US, hockey is being talked about for this. For it's "unprecedented" suspension of the winger.

I still think that if his actions in Dallas have been so horrific, that he Stars should have sat him down a long time ago. Brett Hull convinced the organization he was worth the 4-year contract. If he was not behaving. If he was becoming a distraction, that is the team's responsibility. I truly believe that. If he became literally "impossible" they could have taken actions to get further help.

But instead, the league stepped in. And that is what it is. They should have fined him. Personally. Not suspended him. And as for the anger management, that's actually fine with me. He might very well need counselling of various types. I've never said he wasn't a unique and different human being. Perhaps the character I like and enjoy is really someone who is crying for help and dealing with something that NONE of us know about. I'm not sure.

Bottom line, I am thrilled with the NHLPA stepping in and saying they are going to make sure this situation does not get further out of the "unprecedented" realm it has stepped into. Sean, like it or not, is a player under contract by the Stars to play hockey. If anything else stands in the way of that, it'll be an injustice.

I'm not saying he's an angel. I'm just saying he's not a criminal.

Which brings me to any comparisons of Avery to Plaxico Burress. They are two incomparable situations.

One guy brought a loaded gun (illegal) that he did not have registered (illegal) into a night club (illegal) and shot himself (stupid).

One guy called over the press (amusing), took the stage (typical), said a crude, insensitive, and unnecessary comment about his ex-girlfriend's relationship with another NHL player (stupid), and got suspended for six games (unprecedented).

Plaxico Burress is being made example of because he broke numerous laws and could have KILLED somebody with his stupidity. He might go to JAIL.

Sean Avery is being made an example of because the league has made it clear they don't like him, don't like dealing with his off-color and slightly demented sense of humor. But his actions did nothing more than make people think he was an idiot - which most already knew - and maybe hurt Elisha Cuthbert's feelings.

There is a BIG difference here. Sean's actions were, by comparision, very innocent. If anyone thinks differently, they are thinking with a biased brain. End of story.

Lastly, I am posting a link that I got from Rangers Report, and saying, two things:

http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2008/12/04/one-fans-vulgar-confrontation-with-sean-avery/

One, this lady, while she certainly did not deserve the harsh words Sean Avery tossed at her, most definitely has herself to blame for provoking him. Actions have concequences. By taking the time to repeatedly bring signs that distastefully depict Sean and displaying them at a a game, you are drawing attention to yourself. You are saying, look at me. And you are also telling the world you have way too much time on your hands. I'm sorry if her feelings were hurt by his remarks, but, lady, you are not innocent. Since you probably think so little of Sean (or again, you think too much of him because you took the time to do what you did), think of him as a zoo animal. It is cruel and wrong to poke at zoo animals while they are in their cages. Sean in the penalty box is a zoo animal in a cage. He is responsible for his actions absolutely. But when provoked repeatedly, he's going to lash out. He didn't hit her or threaten her. He just called her some bad, distasteful things.


Which, brings me to the thought that perhaps anger management is only the tip of the iceberg. I think he can benefit from that counselling, absolutely. What's more. I think it's somewhat curious that in these two incidents, his "anger," his "comments" are of a less-than-romantic sexual nature. They are crude, sexual references. I am not a fan of that. But, I think, perhaps, maybe, there is a root to why Sean is doing that. Making sexual references when he didn't need to (in terms of the Calgary/Dallas incident) and when they were completely unnecessary and even more crude (with the lady in Nashville). Honestly, and excuse my language, but he could have just called her an ----ing --tch or a ---ce of --it and it would not be as disturbing. I'm not a psychologist (barely paid attention in college psych 101 in fact) but to me, that is more telling than people are realizing.

I really and truthfully hope - in any way - that Sean is able to get back to the league and be productive. I want him to be able to do that. Half because I've seen him be a really effective player in New York and I believe he can be again. And half because I want the people who don't like him (most of Canada, let's face it) to be forced to realize, he is more than just a side show. Because I really think he can be. Am I stupid or naive? Maybe. But I'll take that risk.


Other links:

Courtesy of PJ Stock/Team 990:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8888964/Avery-might-be-dumb,-but-Bettman-overreacted


Around the league:

I am going to be unable to watch the NHL games or HNIC tonight. Everyone enjoy. I will check back in before Calgary/NY tomorrow, a game I am looking forward to.