So tonight’s game could not have ended more aptly. Sean Avery, instigator extraordinaire, driving to the empty net and getting hooked down. He was hustling and making a play that not many other players on this team would have made.
Just so happens that on his way down, the puck went in to finish off the Rangers 4-1 win over the Islanders at the Coliseum. It also happens that it was his individual effort, coupled with a spattering of other individual efforts, that won this game. To say the team played as whole would be far fetched.
It was an ugly, hard-fought battle that the Rangers needed to win. And with the win, the Rangers are now in sixth place in the conference. They took three points away from the home-and-home with the Isles, and now they need to keep moving in the right direction.
Excuse me, Mr. Sather? Yea, this guy right here is Sean Avery. We need him.
No need to go over the numbers of how this team does with Avery in the lineup as compared to how they do without him. He is fundamental to this team’s success, and it goes far beyond the score sheet (of which his name happened to pepper tonight).
I think it was all exemplified in that final play. He broke down the ice when the Isles had an extra man on. It was risk he took, and it turned out to be a risk that was well worth taking. That’s the kind of player he is. Sometimes he takes a chance and it turns out for the best, and sometimes it doesn’t. But he’s always doing it because he thinks it’s what is going to help the team win.
I don’t think this can be overlooked as they talk about his contract now. Yea, he’s outspoken about how important he thinks he is to this team. He thinks he deserves more money. Who doesn’t? But he has always put the team first. “”My main concern is winning for the Rangers. I’m just worried about beating the Islanders,” Avery told Larry Brooks on Monday. And what happened? Avery almost single-handedly beat the Islanders tonight.
The other performances I have to give credit to don’t stray too far from Avery. Jaromir Jagr is playing great hockey at a time when it matters most. He’s going hard to the net and he’s not playing like the European highlight reel that he was trying to be early in the season. I’m thinking that the guy has played a lot of years in this league and knows when it’s important for him to start showing up. That’s not an excuse for his early laziness, but maybe it’s an explanation.
And Dubinsky. To see him and Avery getting in scrums together is a sight for sore eyes. The two of them seem like they genuinely like each other – or as much as another human can really like Sean Avery. They’re both not afraid of giving or receiving the face wash and some grit is what this team needs.
I’d also like to mention that Lundqvist looked solid tonight. It was nothing spectacular, but he got the job done. The Isles continually tried the wrap around, and Lundqvist was there, stick on the ice to make the play. This might be one of the easier games he sees in a while, and if this team is planning on cruising into the playoffs on games with this little pressure on him, forget about it.
It’s weird, isn’t it? The Rangers are now 13-4-3 in their last 20 games, and it seems like they’re still underachieving. All the talk is about how they need to perform better and how talent level is not equal to the number of wins. But, as Jagr said the other day, it’s about getting into the playoffs and then performing.
This team is peaking at the right time. If they pick up a 4-5 points in the next three games (all three of which they should win) then they’ll be flying high for the real homestretch: the playoffs.
bcyrgalis@nypost.com