March 31, 2009, New Jersey Devils-New York Rangers game story and notes for Metro (NY) newspaper
Avery dizzies up Devils
NHL. Sean Avery was once again a pest. And Martin Brodeur was one again annoye with the Rangers forward.
Avery was a force. In 22 shifts totaling 15:41 of ice time, he took three shots on goal, legally screened Martin Brodeur, recorded an assist, was plus-one, delivered four hits and generally drove the Devils batty.
In his 13th appearance since returning from way off-Broadway, Avery was at his best against the critics that hate him the most. Playing his rambunctious game, Avery led the Rangers to a 3-0 win over the Devils last night at the Garden. It was the Devils fifth straight loss, while the Rangers climbed to 89 points, good enouhg for seventh in the East -- just three back of the Flyers for fourth place.
Avery was a big part of that.
So much so that with 10:12 remaining, Devils forward David Clarkson attempted to goad Avery into a fight. The Rangers left wing did not drop his gloves and turned away from Clarkson, who had a handful of his sweater. Enraged, the Devils right wing jumped Avery and wrestled the unwilling Ranger to the ice, while linesmen Tony Sericolo and Mark Shewchyk watched Clarkson for reasons known only to them. Clarkson received a four minute minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct. Avery was assessed a two minute roughing minor for, well, you would have to ask referees Kelly Sutherland and Dan Marouelli.
“It is a 3-0 game at that point and I don’t think there is anything to gain by doing anything at that point,” said Avery. “It certainly takes discipline (not to fight), for sure. You fight for your team and fight for your teammates. At that point, I didn’t need to fight for either of them so there really was no point.”
His teammates praised the job he did, while questioning the call.
“Aves did a great job. He played a great game. He was drawing a lot penalties (and) played hockey the way it’s supposed to be played: up-and-down, hard, finished his hits. I think he got under their skin because of it,” said Derek Morris. “I don’t understand why that was a two minute penalty. I thought Sean wasn’t doing anything that warranted a penalty. Maybe it is because of his reputation but they called the way they felt it was going to be (instead of the way it) was.”
“In that situation, (we) could have got nothing (called) there,” said Ryan Callahan. Callahan was one of the Rangers’ three goal scorers, along with Brandon Dubinsky and Dan Girardi. All three of the Rangers goal came in the second period. “It didn’t seem like he did much. But at the same time, they got the extra two which was warranted. So I guess it could have gone either way there. If Sean keeps battling, working the way he does and skating away from those things, the refs and everyone in the league will take notice of that and the call will start going his way.”
New Jersey is going the wrong way at the wrong time. Since Brodeur set the all-time wins mark on March 17, the Devils are 1-5-1. New Jersey has allowed 249 shots and 20 goals in seven games—an average of 35.5 shots and 2.85 goals per game. That has not gone unnoticed by Brent Sutter.
“There was no offense because there is no urgency. You’ve got to pay a price to score goals and we don’t want to do that right now,” said a livid Sutter. “We aren’t paying like we need to play at this time of the season, bottom line. The first two periods we were very passive. Their goaltender didn’t have to make any tough saves tonight; where he never saw the shots. He saw every shot taken on him. It’s not good enough. That’s the bottom line.”
They may not have been tough but Lundqvist stopped 38 shots to earn his 35th win and third shutout of the season. Against Brodeur, the standard bearer for which all current and future goaltenders are and will be compared, Lundqvist is 14-2-4 in regular season matchups.
“Every team you face in this league has a great goaltender, but there are a few goalies in the league that stand out a little bit more. Marty is obviously one of them. What can I say? It was an important game for us. It was a playoff atmosphere on the ice and in the stands,” said Lundqvist.
While Sutter may not have been overly impressed, Lundqvist’s coach was appreciative of his efforts.
“Henrik was very good. I don’t know much about the technical part of goaltending. I just want him to stop the puck,” said John Tortorella. “I don’t think there was too much wasted motion. He seemed to be in the right spot at all times and the puck was hitting him. I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping pucks to the outside; protecting the middle. But when he had to make a couple of big saves, he did. If we want to be who we want to be and be where we want to be, he has to be a mainstay and he certainly was good tonight.”
Three things we saw last night:
1) Lundqvist tops Brodeur: Two of the NHL’s elite goaltenders put on a spectacular “Can you top this?” battle last night at the Garden. In the Rangers’ 3-0 win, Henrik Lundqvist turned away 37 shots while the NHL’s all-time wins leader, Martin Brodeur stopped 33 for the Devils. Brodeur allowed all three goals during the second period, as Brandon Dubinsky and Dan Girardi scored 2:04 apart to send the suddenly punchless Devils to their fifth straight loss.
2) No sideshow: Sean Avery does not hold Brodeur in high regard. The Devils have nothing but contempt for the NHL’s pre-eminent agitator. In his second stint with the Rangers, Avery’s played his first game against the Devils since last season’s playoffs. Perhaps there was a feeling that the game would degenerate into something out of “Slapshot” or mixed martial arts. Instead, Avery played a fantastic forechecking, aggravating game. And yes, he still kind of shielded Brodeur.
3) Ryan’s flyin’: Perhaps no Ranger has benefited more from the coaching change than Ryan Callahan. In the 16 games since John Tortorella’s puck-pressuring system replaced Tom Renney’s trap, Callahan has responded by scoring eight of his career-high 21 goals — including the Blueshirts’ final tally last night at 15:06 into the second period. The goal, Callahan’s fifth in the last seven games, was assisted by Avery and former Devil Scott Gomez.
Rangers coach John Tortorella on these so-called “must-win” games.
“I just don’t get those must-win [statements]. What happens if we don’t win? What do I come back with to them? I believe we should win all 82.”
In the standings: The Rangers get a bit of breathing room with the win. They have 89 points, while eighth-place Montreal has 86 points, Florida has 85 and Buffalo has 82. And with five games remaining for the Blueshirts, 92 points should be enough to guarantee a playoff berth.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 9:45 AM
