The Avery Era Is Over (for good this time)

I'm not sure what there is to say that I haven't already ranted on Twitter. John Tortorella always hated Sean Avery and, with Sather's summer signings, finally had the opportunity to get rid of him and he used it.

That simple.

The nonsense about Erik Christensen getting the job because of his versatility is just that, nonsense. Yes, Christy can play center and wing, but he can also lose the puck at the lightest touch and not play defense. And show up for two, maybe three games a season. And be a supremely smug jerk in interviews and to fans. And not be Sean Avery.

The writing has been on the wall since Torts was hired but it still is sad that this day has come to pass. The head coach of a team should do everything he can to make the team better, to make it win games - not to placate his own ego and carry out a personal vendetta.

I, an avowed Avery supporter who has gone to bat for him before, fully admit that he didn't perform up to par last season - I gave him a C- in my report card - but he was still a valuable player for the team.

As I wrote in my Facts of Life:

The Rangers were 12-4-1 when he registered a point. ... Torts never gave him the chance to gain any chemistry with his teammates, bouncing him around the lineup. And the super pest was stupefyingly scratched for several games down the stretch and once during the playoffs (Torts clearly not learning his lesson from 2009).

I truly hope that Sean is able to find another NHL job, just not in the Atlantic division. Perhaps there is a GM out there willing to look beyond the bad reputation and see a voracious forechecker, a guy who actually stands up for his teammates and a lightning fast skater. Off the ice he is also great for public relations as he is great with the fans and a charitable person.

Hopefully Avery can find someone who believes in his ability and puts him in a position to achieve, not someone who refuses to give him a fair shot. Best wishes to a good and loyal Blueshirt.

4-1-0: Quack Attack Silenced

The Rangers - notoriously terrible in weekend matinees - bucked the trend to beat the exhausted Anaheim Ducks 3-0 on Sunday evening.

They came out firing and battered J.S. Giguere with 13 first period shots. Anaheim managed just one before the adrenaline started pumping in the second period. The Ducks rose to the Rangers challenge but couldn't get the puck past Steve Valiquette and a surprisingly composed Ranger defense. The second intermission took the wind out from under their wings and Anaheim got sloppy. Two power play goals spelled their doom as the Rangers rolled to their fourth straight win.

Holy s%^&, I just wrote that. Fourth straight win. The Rangers. These Rangers. Consider me surprised. But there was little shock that the Ducks were easy to hunt after their draining battle with Philly on Saturday. A bigger test will be Toronto tonight, as they are fresh, hungry and physical.

*Speaking of physical, Vinny Prospal was 10 times more physical than Donald Brashear. Prospal played some motivated pucks and stayed involved. His feed to Arty for the Russian's first NHL goal was a work of beauty and, as my buddy Angelo said, he and Gaborik clearly carried Brandon Dubinsky.

*Dubi missed several good chances and seemed to enjoy watching his linemates as much as us fans. Not a good thing. And that late high stick wasn't good either, even if it did lead to Dan Girardi's shorthanded empty netter. A team with more gas left in the tank could have made the most of it; the Ducks certainly weren't up to it.

*Girardi was fantastic. Well, after his shot on Valley early in the first period. He threw his body around, was great positionally and looked like the pre-Redden version of himself that was headed towards stardom.

*Redden and Rozy weren't bad. They weren't good either. Neither saw a second of power play time. All the better ...

*One of these days Chris Higgins will convert on one of his chances down low. It is going to happen. It has to happen. He is so involved and gets himself the puck in good spots but has been stoned time after time after time (sounds like an old roommate I used to have ...).

*At one point in the third period Brian Boyle lost his stick. He fell to the ice and shoved the puck along with his glove. Seeing a teammate nearby, with a Duck closing on him, he got half up and kicked the puck towards the teammate - avoiding the hand pass. It was a little play, but it was a smart play and certainly rose my opinion of him a few notches.

*If you have actually read this far, you are kind of wondering about Sean Avery. Well, Avery finally made his season debut and he was ... (wait for it) ... awesome. Dallas' problem is clearly our solution. Sean just does it all. He mixed things up, went to the net, forced the puck deep, didn't do anything dumb and made some perfect passes. He nearly got Arty his first NHL goal with a centering pass in the second and then did get him it with a pretty drop pass to Prospal that was one-timed to Arty for the power play goal in the third. Go Sean!

*And before I call it a night, best wishes to Todd Marchant. That was one hard fall into the boards for the former Blueshirt. Always liked that guy, hope he heals well/fast.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Vinny Prospal - one assist.
2-Ales Kotalik - one goal.
1-Steve Valiquette - 18 saves.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Valley - All that you ask from your backup is that he come in and give you a chance to win. Valley did that and more. He stood tall in the Ranger net and shot down the Ducks. Plus, maybe it was me, but he seemed to be coordinating the defense a lot more than he has in the past.
2-Giguere - Jiggy had no shot at stopping either of the goals against him. Sure, he was beat four other times when the Rangers hit the post but he still made 35 saves and looked a lot better than his teammates.
1-Avery - Prospal was great, Girardi was awesome but neither one was under the microscope of Avery. The building cheered for him when he stepped on the ice. The building cheered for him when he made his first hit. The building cheered when he took his first shot. And he raised to the occasion. Yeah Sean!

Peepin' Foes: New Jersey Devils

Ah, the battle for the ages resumes: Avery vs. Mmmmaaaarrrrtttyyy. As a fan, one gets chills thinking about the possibilities. As a realist, I don't think much will happen. Each player is under too much pressure to perform as the Devils have lost four straight and the Rangers are clinging to a playoff position. Nevertheless, Rangers-Devils, 7 p.m. Madison Square Garden. Even Versus can't screw this broadcast up, right? (Don't answer that.)

Where We Are: The Blueshirts have given no signs of being a capable playoff club. The goaltender lets in soft goals, the defense is porous and the goal scorers can't score when it counts. The power play is atrocious and the head coach shockingly seems to believe his team can play their way out of this slump. The last head coach thought that too and look where that got him.

Where They Are: Fatso came out flying from his injury to break St. Patrick's record and since then hasn't been all that great. He couldn't come up with the big saves in Jersey's last two games and has lost four straight. Still, the Devils did so well thanks to Scott Clemmensen that they maintain first in the Atlantic.

Who To Watch For: The usual suspects. Zach Parise, Hepatitis Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner are always dangerous against the Rangers. Langenbrunner, in fact, is one of the few players on either team who seems to really play with a chip on his shoulder - he really doesn't like the Rangers and I can respect that. Travis Zajac has been stellar this season setting up and clearing room for Parise.

What To Watch For: Does Avery vs. Mmmmaaaarrrtttyyy become a sideshow, the main event or a nonhappening? Will Brendan Shanahan torch the Rangers in his first game back since being unceremonially dumped by the idiot front office? Will the Ranger defense be able to stop Parise, who has turned into one of the top talents in the league?

What We'll (Hopefully) See: A nice salute by the fans and Garden staff for Shanny - the man at least deserves a video tribute. Better officiating then in Pittsburgh. Hank not to allow two or more soft goals. Wade Redden to be injured for the rest of his career. Mike Rupp to get his untalented ass kicked by Colton Orr.

Also Check Out: The solid Fire & Ice, my former fellow NY Times Hockey Night in Blogdom foe In Lou We Trust moved to SBN and Rich Chere's MSM blog.

35-25-8: Hoo Wee, A Win In Tennessee!

Could this game be the St. Louis of this season? The Rangers blew a lead to the Blues when Sean Avery first came to town and Avery helped power the team to a comeback victory. Well, Sean seems to have found his form and was a profound pain in the ass to the Predators and it helped propel his team to a 4-2 victory.

Each team gave up a fluke goal that their goaltenders should have stopped, each team got a bad goal in off of a defenseman's skate but just one team had Avery. Sean set the tempo early and the Rangers followed. When they sat back at the end of the period John Tortorella apparently reignited the fire and the Blueshirts outplayed the Preds the rest of the way. Because Torts benched Nik Zherdev for halfassed play, that left Avery to play alongside Scott Gomez and Ryan Callahan and they overwhelmed Nashville. He finally gave Callahan someone to skate with and turned Gomez back into a real hockey player - put that together and you have two points in the standings.

This was tremendous for the Rangers as they head into the tough home-and-home with Philly. They will have one helluva fight ahead of them so for the team to show some moxy in coming from behind to win this one was huge. It was fun to watch and hopefully is a sign of things to come. After so many months of dreary hockey and dread, this is just awesome. Let's go Rangers.

*Continuing my love affair with the fourth line - they saw limited action but created chances when they were out there together. And on the penalty kill, there aren't many better than Betts and Sjostrom. Torts had them split up through much of the first kill in the third period but were able to reunite them and Sjo scored a one timer on a great play by Bettsy. Win the faceoff, take advantage of the pointman's mistake, use your speed to get free and make a perfect pass to your partner. Money. Too many times this season we saw the other team do that so it was great to see the Blueshirts net a pretty shortie.

*Yes, Hank won his 30th game to become the first goaltender to get 30 in his first four seasons but seriously, it doesn't matter. They used to have these things called "ties" back in the day that takes the luster off of this achievement.

*For months I called for Dan Girardi to be paired with Marc Staal. They were together for most of one shift early in the season and looked great but no matter how much Tom Renney juggled his lines, he never juggled the D. Tortorella came in, put the two RANGER PRODUCTS together and finally had a worthy first pairing on the blueline.

*It is quite easy to mock hockey in Tennessee but it looked like the Preds had a really good crowd there - a lot more than the Isles and Devils get at home.

*With all of that second period talk of Nik Zherdev being in "Chateau Bow Wow" was there anyone else who got extremely mad at Joe? Ok, we can accept that he isn't J.D. but several years later he still has no chemistry with Sam and still has no clue. Coming out of the next break he was 'analyzing' two Hank saves and said that the "puck went back to whoever followed up the play and Lundqvist made the save." Whoever. ARG!!!!!!

*Kinda OT: Fox Soccer Channel has a fun show where they get fans of opposing teams to call the EPL games together. I think that would be really fun - call a game the way I saw it, with someone sitting alongside as an easy target for rooting for the wrong team ...

*Totally OT: The Two Brothers Scrap Metal makes me laugh, every time. Apparently teenage girls have a lot of scrap metal lying around their homes and they talk about it with their hot little friends.

*Markus Naslund got pinned with two first period penalties. While he could be excused for the interference call - Scott Nichol came under him and got caught - the other was a too many men on the ice where Nazzy just jumped over the boards. Senior moments like that just can't be allowed and you have to hope that the Rangers make up for the mistake of signing him and buy him out this summer.

*Nice to see Wade Redden playing his game. He lofted a shot at the Nashville net that was easily blocked and then was grossly out of position as the Preds went the other way on a breakaway - with Redden trying to waterski back. What a useless clown. We need to come up with a good nickname for him. Just throwing this out there - Wade "Out and Drown" Redden.

*Derek Morris finally contributed to the Blueshirts, drawing a penalty late in the second period. For a big money defenseman who was acquired for three players, it is about time Morris did something positive. Then again, Morris was a huge help to Hank and the rest of the team tonight by allowing Tortorella to give less ice time to his new partner, Redden. Point of observation, Petr Prucha had a power play point, giving him four points in four games with Phoenix.

*Better beard: Paul Mara or Greg Zanon? Mara looks more like a lumberjack but Zanon's looked immaculately kept.

*KGB Watch: Nik Antropov contributed virtually nothing. While he went to the net once or twice, he sat back and watched the play more often then not. Nik Zherdev also sat back and watched - because he was benched. The mercurial forward got an assist on the opening goal and then made a half-assed play that led to a Nashville goal and spent the rest of the night on the bench. That is what we call accountability. Now if only Tortorella would use that on Redden and/or Rozy ...

*I'm serious, before every game someone needs to sneak into Chris Drury's room while he is napping and repeat "you are playing the Islanders tonight, you are playing the Islanders tonight. The Islanders." How he can be so big in those games and so small in others is beyond me. However, he did win nine of 10 faceoffs so at least he contributed something tonight.

*Stat of the night: Rozy was awarded with four hits while Avery and Callahan were credited with just one. I think that pretty much proves that no one in Nashville knows anything about hockey.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Henrik Lundqvist - 19 saves.
2-Ryan Callahan - two assists.
1-Scott Gomez - one goal and two assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Gomez - New coach, new pain-in-the-ass linemate and Gomez has gotten his lackadaisical ass in gear. Whether he was shamed into playing hard or not, Gomez matched the intensity of his linemates and is finally playing as well has he did when he helped the evil Devils win a Cup.
2-Avery - What can you say? Sean is back. Sure, he still took a few spills on the ice but his hands are matching his mouth and he is playing smart, pestering hockey. He is clearly the sparkplug that gets the Ranger engine running.
1-Cally - I used to call Cally the 'new Little Ball of Hate' after he looked like he would step into the Pat Verbeek role. He is not Beeker - he isn't nearly as surly. However, he is just as energetic and makes just as big an impact with his relentless physical play. Cally has played this hard all season long and now that he has linemates working as hard as he does, it is paying off.

34-24-8: Another Great Memory

What is it about the Original Six matchup against the Boston Bruins that seems to provide memorable games more often then not? Think about it. Recent history of this rivalry is filled with some magnificent moments. Since the lockout we have seen the return of Brian Leetch to the Garden, Jed Ortmeyer (of all players) scoring a penalty shot goal, two 1-0 shootout games in one season, one of the best saves of Henrik Lundqvist's career and yesterday a standing ovation for a player who got an assist on a garbage goal.

Welcome back Sean.

The Garden buzzed every time Avery stepped on the ice (Torts should have started him) and he didn't disappoint. Sean was Sean, working hard to get the puck, getting good opportunities and running his mouth. Sure there was the break down the wing where he took a shot and missed the net by 10 feet. Sure there was the 10 times he fell down. Sure there was the ridiculous interference penalty on him. All have to be expected - he is getting back into NHL shape and the referees will call anything and everything they see as remotely borderline (even though it wasn't even close) as he is public enemy No. 1.

Now, I understand what Torts was trying to do by putting him on a line with Ryan Callahan and Lauri Korpikoski but I hope that experiment doesn't last. Both Callahan and Avery work better alongside skill players. They will certainly get chances to score, but their best offensive work comes when they are making room for playmakers - Jagr, Z, etc. Korp just seemed to be lost out there, trying to figure out where he fit in beside these two lunatics who were throwing their bodies around. But this was just their second game, there are 16 more to go so we will see how things flesh out.

But back into the Bruin game:

*That memorable moments things goes both ways - Boston fans are sure to recall Zdeno Chara's slap shot shootout winner and Tuukka Rask's 35 save domination of the Blueshirts. I bet the Bruin faithful wish that Rask started this game. I know I would Manny Fernandez singlehandedly gave the Rangers the win by allowing three pitiful goals. After standing tall during the pressure-filled first period, Manny lost his bearings and his mind and started spinning and flopping and letting pucks in. While there is no way to say that Rask or Tim Thomas would have fared better, it is almost certain that they wouldn't have fared much worse.

*How cool is it that Hank likes to head away shots? Ole!

*Did Markus Naslund play? I couldn't tell. How about Chris Drury? I am serious, they need to get him a hypnotist or psychologist so he just sees the opposing team wearing Islander jerseys every night.

*Where was Marty Straka when you needed him? Without Straka, Zdeno Chara had a clear lane to the net and rocketed a shot past Hank to make it a 3-2 game.

*Why is it that when Drury and David Krejci went at it in a real hockey fight - one that was actually a result of play - the Garden was deathly silent? When the idiot goons Colton Orr and Shawn Thornton battled in a contrived, pointless dance at center ice the building shook with energy. It is that kind of stupid hooliganism that will get fighting banned from hockey and for folks to go nuts over it is just sad. I love, LOVE a good hockey fight but it has to have some kind of reason. When the other team scores to tie the game at one, there is no reason to fight off of the ensuing faceoff.

*On the fisticuffs note, what is sadder: that we all complain that there are more fights today after clean hits then ever or that it felt like someone should do something when both Scott Gomez and Brandon Dubinsky got absolutely creamed in the third period?

*Stat of the game: Maybe it was me, but as physical as the game was, I really don't think there were 89 hits between the two teams. Somehow Sean Avery had just three while Milan Lucic led all players with nine.

*Sticking with old time hockey, it was a shame that the Garden didn't hold a moment of silence before the game for Alf Pike. Pike was a big enough part of the history of the franchise that he deserved that. Instead we got a quick history lesson during a first period commercial break that most people ignored (for shame!).

*The two newest Rangers got some respect from the home crowd and Nik Antropov put up a pair of points. As much as I dislike Borat, I gotta give him credit. Granted, he got lucky on his goal because he dodged to avoid contact and looked up to see Dubi screening Manny, but it was a nice effort for the big softie. Derek Morris still needs work. Morris clearly has yet to regain the chemistry he had with Paul Mara and nearly collided with his partner at least once. Petr Prucha has two assists in two games with Phoenix.

*When is John Tortorella going to come to his senses and realize that Redden and Rozy are two of the main reasons that the power play sucks? They are useless out there and prone to turnovers.

*My buddy Pete had the line of the day. When I compared Redden to a traffic cone he pointed out that that wasn't true because "people try to avoid traffic cones." Redden may just take over the place of my most loathed Ranger, he has already surpassed Malik and is treading into Poti territory ...

*PHW Three Stars
3-Brandon Dubinsky - no points.
2-Zdeno Chara - one goal and one assist.
1-Nik Antropov - one goal and one assist.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Chara - He is the size of a small mountain and will very likely never win a Norris Trophy (at least not while Nick Lidstrom is still playing) but he truly is an incredible defenseman. Chara is smart, moves well for a big man and that shot ... damn.
2-Nik Zherdev - Z disappeared in the second period like most of the Rangers but in the first and the third he was incredible. Maybe Torts has indeed lit the fire because Z played close to his potential and was a constant offensive threat. A better goaltender probably would not have given up Z's game winning goal but that was just one of many times he threatened the net.
1-Avery - Sure the new coach and aggressive style of play has helped, but Avery brought life back to the Garden. That place has been dead for most of the season so far and it was exciting to see him back. There is just something right about seeing him in a Blueshirt.

Watch Out World

Sean's comin' back.

Rangers claimed him off the wire and John Tortorella's job just got that much harder. How soon until the rumours of a locker room brawl break out?

Sean should help kick Zherdev, Drury and Gomez in the ass so perhaps they will start playing somewhere near their potential ... perhaps.

EDIT: New poll question - will Sean help or hurt the Rangers? Hey, there are some people out there that don't like this guy, are you one of them?

Sloppy Seconds

Causin' Chaos: Sean Avery On The Island

The New York Islanders gave me a photo pass for this evening's game against the Dallas Stars. My assignment for them? Get a good shot of Doug Weight. I did that. In fact, I used my dumb luck mad skills and came away with a good number of decent shots not only of my primary target, but of several other players. But since the spotlight heading into this game was on one player in particular, I made sure to get him.

So here is Sean Avery's night at the Coliseum, in pictures:









The only one I want to put a caption on is this last one. Avery wasn't talking trash and starting trouble with Islander fans, he had thrown his glove up into the crowd towards a kid wearing a Ranger jersey. Of no surprise, an older female Islander fan made the grab and refused to hand it over. Avery tried to get her to pass it along but, unsurprisingly, had no luck. Either way, it was a nice gesture by him.

Avery-Proof Equipment??

As the NHL and NHLPA announced today, a committee has been formed to find ways to make goaltender equipment smaller while maintaining its protection. Even though goal scoring is actually up these playoffs, I think its a great idea as netminders have turned into Marshmallow Men.

In an odd choice, the three goaltenders included in said committee are: Martin Brodeur of New Jersey, Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders, Ryan Miller of Buffalo. What do they have in common? None of the three are playing right now. All three are from New York-area teams. All three have a healthy dislike for a certain Sean Avery. Wonder what equipment changes they may come up with:

*Sharper stick blades, better to chop him in the groin.

*Extendable blockers, better to punch him in the back of the head.

*Weighted catching gloves, better to knock him out of the way.

*Masks that stay on, so they don't look like this.

*Chest protector with a spring loaded boxing glove inside, so they don't have to leave the crease to clock him.

*Margarita mix in water bottles, so they can put all of the ice shavings to good use; easier to cope when drunk.

*X-ray vision goggles, so they can see though him. Or blinders, so they can ignore him.

*And you can't forget sunblock dispensers on top of the net, to keep away the burns from the red light as he scores.

This Could Be Fun ...

As the Rangers still are forced to await their future, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, I just wanted give you something to look forward to in the possible match up with the Pens:



Let's Go Rangers!!!

Proof Positive The NHL Hates NY

If the horrifying excuse for officiating hasn't been enough to give the Rangers the disadvantage, the league is now making up more rules to call the Blueshirts on. After yesterday's highly entertaining, exceptional job of screening Martin Brodeur by Sean Avery, the league has decided to legislate against him:

INTERPRETATION OF RULE 75 - UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) -- National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct: "An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender's face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play."

So it is perfectly acceptable for the player to wave his arms and stick around, as long as his ass is to the netminder? This is just another arbitrary rule for the incompetent officials to mangle. What happens if the puck is behind the net and is shot out to the point with a guy in the crease? If he doesn't see the puck come out and turn around quick enough, he could be culpable as he moves back and forth looking for the puck.

Say what you want about sportsmanship and honour, Sean Avery played the game within the rules and the amount of press that it got triggered the league to legislate against him. If this wasn't a playoff game, if this wasn't Martin Brodeur, if this wasn't Sean Avery, this rule wouldn't have been made. The league is as childish and immature as they claim Avery to be and its pathetic.

But at the end of the day, they are the people in charge and you can't do anything about it. The best possible solution? The Rangers need to win the Stanley Cup so Avery's name is immortalized forever.

23-21-6: Feasting On Roadkill

To steal a line, the Rangers destroyed the Thrashers the way Sherman marched to the sea. Now that they had a successful campaign against Atlanta, what will they do? Will the Rangers go drown themselves in the water or will they win the war? Maybe it is from having guested at The Dark Ranger, but I am not so optimistic. After all, these are the same Thrashers who lost 10-1 on Friday to Buffalo -- 10-1!!! And the Rangers lost 3-1 to Boston Sunday; the Bruins also played Tuesday, losing 8-2 to Montreal. So while its nice to actually win, what the Rangers do and where they go after this will be the true test. We'll just have to see ... and onto what I saw at the game (pics to be added later):

*Everyone is going to rave about Jaromir Jagr's performance, a goal and two assists will do that, but he really wasn't all that great without the puck - doing his usual lazy hooking and holding behind the play. This time, luckily, Kerry Fraser's hair was in his eyes and he didn't call anything. Don't give me any nonsense, because the same officiating crew missed the puck hitting the netting in the first period. Four zebras on the ice at once, not one paying attention.

*You can't mention the refs without mentioning the boarding major and game misconduct issued on Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovy elbowed Rozy early in the play but no call was made. He then came around, leapt and slammed Rozy, who didn't see him coming and went hard into the boards. I don't know what is more amazing, that Atlanta's best player did something so dirty/stupid (I would have thought Exelby would be the culprit) or that Jagr came off the bench to speak to the refs. Jagr usually leaves the captain's duties to Shanahan, but I guess because it was one of his Czech buddies he felt compelled to make sure justice was served.

*On that play Colton Orr went after Kovalchuk, only to miss as Kovy ducked him. Orr got two minutes for roughing, but didn't do much of anything. Did the officials not want to give an instigator when there was no fight? Several other Rangers paired up with Thrashers and hugged, but no other calls were made. Strange. Orr, btw, also 'fought' Eric Boulton early in the game ... two unskilled goons trying to justify their existence and failing miserably in a short, unremarkable tussle.

*A question I walked out of the Garden with was where did Boulton go? For that matter, where was Exelby? You are embarrassed yet again, and will play the same team again in two days and don't try to send a message? A little bit of fisticuffs would have made for a more exciting third period and much more anticipation for Thursday's game, which will likely be a ghost town after everyone leaves once the Leetch ceremony is over.

*Slava Kozlov wears an 'A' for Atlanta, and should be stripped of it. He ignored the power play in front of him to go for a change, allowing for Chris Drury's clearing pass to go all the way out to Marty Straka for a breakaway that he finished with just the third shorty of the year for the Blueshirts. Straka made a smooth move and put it past Lehtonen for the goal. The sad thing is that Straka should have had a hat trick, having blown an empty net from the doorstep and having given up on another breakaway to make a bad pass to a nonexistent teammate on the far side. It was like Michael Nylander was still on the Rangers ... unbelievable.

*Ok, enough darkness, onto the good: Malik still was soft, still made pathetic clearing attempts, but didn't do anything that ended up in a goal against or even a very good attempt against so that is a nice start for him. Girardi was reunited with Tyutin and they played a fantastic game together. Avery looked great alongside Gomez and Jagr, maybe the trio will continue to click and the team will finally have a dangerous front line. It makes sense from a chemistry point of view - scoring winger + playmaker + grinder = magic. Let's hope that Avery can stay healthy and they stay together for more than a game. And, of course, Hank played a good game. He had one shot against through the first 17 minutes of the game but stayed focused and made a few good saves on his way to the shutout. Two out of three good games ... its a pleasant change but at this point in the year he needs to be good every single game if we are to even make the playoffs.

*PHW Three Stars
3-Straka - one goal.
2-Tyutin - three assists.
1-Jagr - goal and two assists.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars
3-Dubinsky - the kid got a goal, looked comfy carrying the puck ... if he fills out his frame, there is little doubt he could be a shorter version of Jason Arnott.
2-Tyutin - he was involved on both sides of the ice, made a huge hit on the midboards and looked happy to be back with Girardi.
1-Sean Avery - he wasn't baited into doing anything dumb, he sparked Jagr, made room for his linemates and had a sweet goal.