Posts tagged ‘Avery’

Unbelievable! Really, it’s unbelievable. Tonight was supposed to be the night. It was supposed to be the first time since opening night that the Rangers were completely healthy. But just when you think you’re out of the woods, the worst happens. Sean Avery goes under the knife and is set to miss at least the next two weeks.

Now, I don’t think I’m going overboard by saying “the worst.” Well, that’s not true. If Henrik went down, the Rangers would be, for lack of a better term, screwed. But the King aside, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Avery is the worst person to have out of this lineup. At some points, you can’t ignore numbers and the numbers are this. Since “The Grate One” joined this team last season, the Rangers have gone 26-10-7. Last season he sparked a 17-6-6 stretch run and this year the Rangers have been a mess when Avery’s out of the lineup. The difference? Without Avery, the Rangers are 4-5-1. With Avery? 9-4-1. If you don’t think having this guy in the lineup makes a world of difference, you’re just not paying attention.

And as if the injury itself to Avery wasn’t bad enough, the timing couldn’t be worse. The Blueshirts are struggling right now, losing three of their last four. The best way to snap out of it would be a big win tonight against the Isles, in a physical, team-bonding game. Nobody would set that tone better than “The Agitator Extraordinaire” himself. And while we’re on the topic, the fact that this will be the third of four games against the Isles that Avery will miss this season is almost comical. #16 lives for these games and is at his best in them. Anybody think his absence has a little something to do with the 0-3 record against the boys from the Island?

So now the Rangers need to find a way to come together and win in Avery’s absence. They haven’t shown they can do it in the past, here’s to hoping they can figure it out now.

Just wanted to update the Avery situation for everyone. The league has fined Avery $2,500 for the incident with Darcey Tucker in Toronto (Tucker was also fined $1,000). NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said that Avery was fined because the incident in Toronto came less than a week after the pre-game altercation against New Jersey. Fortunately for the Rangers, Avery won’t miss any games. This has resulted in Greg Moore being quickly sent back to Hartford.

Regarding the accusations that Avery made comments about Toronto’s Jason Blake’s cancer; Avery says they are completely false. Via a statement, Avery said:

“I am extremely upset and hurt that false and damaging comments were attributed to me regarding Jason Blake. I made no such comments. I have lost two grandfathers to cancer and have been a consistent contributor to multiple cancer related charities, first and foremost, Hockey Fights Cancer. I am unable to comment further, as the matter is now being addressed by legal counsel.”

Obviously Avery is hurt by the accusations regarding these alleged statements. Steve and I argued on today’s Podcast that trash talk on the ice has its limits and there is a line one should not cross. Our good friend Inferno at www.rangersreview.com had a nice counterpoint to our argument that you all should check out. It’s an interesting debate, one we encourage you to email or call us about because I am sure we will be discussing it more in the future.

Thomas Pock was placed on waivers this afternoon. This doesn’t come as a whole lot of surprise, although it could indicate some more moves are coming on the defensive end. Steven mentioned that the game against Atlanta was Pock’s big shot to prove he should be playing over the likes of Marek Malik. Pock was -2 in that 5-3 loss at the hands of the Thrashers and his play was unimpressive at best. Personally I don’t mind the move. If in the days and weeks to come management makes a move to improve the defense that’s fine by me; it’s all about finding ways to make the product on the ice better. Thomas Pock was not helping this team and putting him on waivers shouldn’t ruffle too many feathers.

The second piece of news that comes out of Rangerville today is the injury of Ryan Callahan. Callahan has a knee sprain that won’t require surgery but will keep him out indefinitely. Hopefully, indefinitely means only a few games but it could mean many more. Add Callahan to the list of injured Blue Shirts that already include Martin Straka and Sean Avery and the Rangers find themselves in quite a hole. The Rangers Report today said that Callahan’s spot could be filled by a number of Wolf Pack players including Alex Bourret, Lauri Korpikoski, and Greg Moore. No matter who it is, the Rangers are going to be dealing with more young, inexperienced talent. Callahan has looked very good and it’s another unfortunate injury that is going to hurt this team. Hopefully both Avery and Callahan will be back sooner than expected. But until they are back, Rangers fans need to collectively knock on wood for the rest of this team’s health.

Hey guys, so I wanted to do a blog today where I touch briefly on a bunch of different thoughts I have on this team. I’m going to try and do this at least once a week. Here it goes:

• Tonight’s game pits brothers Marc and Jordon Staal against one another for the first time. Don’t be surprised to see Marc lay out his little bro at least once, when Jordon comes down his wing.
• Martin Straka’s out 4-5 weeks. Sean Avery is still recovering from a shoulder separation. A key to the Rangers success over the last couple of years has been their ability to stay healthy. You wonder if their luck is running out in that department.
• With Straka out, who gets his ‘A’? It’ll probably go to Drury, but wouldn’t you love to see Renney slap that sucker on the King?!
• And speaking of #23, can the real Chris Drury please stand up? None of the big guns have been getting it done, but Drury is the only one you never notice on the ice. For a guy Barry Melrose termed, “The best leader the Rangers have had since Messier,” he seems to be blending in a lot more than he stands out.
• Henrik Lundqvist has given up an average of 2.14 regulation goals a game. The King deserves better than 2 wins.
• Jaromir Jagr has one goal (and it was in garbage time) in the first seven games. He looks absolutely lost with every center Renney pairs him up with. Anyone miss a certain #92?
• One brightspot early on in the season has been the play of Brandon Dubinsky. The rookie looks good and is strong on the puck, but still hasn’t hit the back of the twine. Look for that to change sometime in the next week
• Dan Girardi is looking more and more like one of the bigger steals in the NHL. With every passing game, the formerly undrafted free agent looks more and more like the real deal. With him, Tyutin, Staal, and the crop of youngsters coming up, this Rangers D could be one of the best in the league within a few years.

That’s it for today. Big game tonight for the boys. Need to finish out the road trip strong and build momentum before 7 of 8 at the Garden.

Nigel Dawes has been called up from Hartford and will play tomorrow night against Atlanta. As I talked about in an earlier blog and in the first podcast, I thought Dawes deserved some time with big club while Sean Avery was injured. That didn’t look like it was going to happen with the recent play of Marcel Hossa. But, Hossa is also injured now, only skating for a short period of time during practice this week. Dawes is the logical choice to play on the first line with Gomez and Jagr.

Fans can also breathe a sigh of relief that Renney didn’t go with Dave Scatchard instead of Dawes. Scatchard’s best year came with the Islanders in the 2002-2003 season (81 GP, 27 G, 18 A) but hasn’t played a full NHL season since. Many speculated that Renney would try the veteran before Dawes but thankfully The Scatch was sent packing for a 5-day tryout with the Wolfpack.

If all goes well with Dawes, the Rangers are put in quite a predicament. If both Dawes and Hossa have played well enough to deserve more time, what happens when Avery comes back? That’s a question that may need to be answered soon but right now its time for Nigel Dawes to show what he’s made of on Thursday night.

First off, if you haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the podcast yet, welcome to the NYRangerscast, part of the New York Sportscast Network. Steve and I will be keeping you up to date on our thoughts regarding the goings on of the Blueshirts all season long, both via podcast and this blog.

To get right into things, Steve and I touched on the implications of Sean Avery’s injury in our cast but I’d like to discuss it a little bit more. As of today Nigel Dawes (nor anyone else for that matter) has been called up to the big club to fill Avery’s role. Instead fans will see Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hossa on the ice with the second line against Washington.

Now, we have all seen what the potential is in Marcel Hossa. Spurts of greatness from the former first round draft pick. His performance in the playoffs last year (2 G, 2A, +5), I believe, has earned him an audition for the Avery spot. But, Tom Renney needs to also audition Nigel Dawes.

With Avery being out four weeks at the very least, that leaves ample time for Hossa and Dawes to get their time to shine. Dawes has been a prospect long enough and there are only so many chances you can give Marcel Hossa before it’s out with the old and in with the new.

With the influx of new talent from the offseason, it looked to most fans that time for Dawes on the first or second lines would be nonexistent. But, if the Rangers take advantage of the Avery injury and let Dawes play with the big guys for a couple weeks, it may pay off huge dividends in the future.