When the Rangers were winning hockey games the first half of the year, they credited their success to the bond they’d created as teammates and off-ice buds. It was pretty much all they talked about.
Now, the chemistry has been altered and the bond been tested by trade-deadline maneuvers that brought Derek Morris and Nik Antropov into their locker room and Sean Avery back into their lives, up close and personal.
The Rangers, who go into tonight’s Garden match against the Sabres (7:00, WPIX, WABC 770 AM) in the middle of the seven-team pack between fourth and 10th place in the East, don’t seem to be any the worse for the changes.
“Nothing really has changed,” said Henrik Lundqvist. “The three new guys have all kept a low profile and blended in, so the group seems exactly the same to me.”
The three low-key new guys, Lundqvist was quickly reminded, include Avery.
“Sean is who he is, and he’s going to get a lot of attention from the media and the players on the other team, but he has kept a low profile in the room,” said The King. “He has said himself that he’s different and I think he is, as a person and a teammate. He’s more quiet, more relaxed. We were a good group before we made the changes and we’re a good group now.”
Chris Drury, meanwhile, was lauding Antropov and Morris for being “pros” and Avery for being himself, or maybe the new himself.
“For two weeks before Sean got here, it seemed like almost everyone on the outside was so worried about whether he’d be welcomed back and how he’d fit in,” Drury said. “But he’s been great as a teammate.
“I think maybe he’s a little more focused on hockey. There’s no doubt that’s his No. 1 priority. He wants to play well, he wants to make a difference, he wants to win, and he’s been competing like crazy.”