I've written an Avery piece for the paper and newsday.com, so check that out along with an advance on the Isles-Rangers game, and here's some more:
After practice, during which he shared his spot on the Shanahan-Gomez line with Marcel Hossa, Avery discussed the pain in his wrist and hand---it's the hand without the black nail-polish---which was worsening, and the decision to have surgery tomorrow at the Hospital for Joint Disease in Manhattan.
"They're gonna take a look at everything (in there), but they're going to clean out the fracture. I got it frozen last game, so I didn't feel anything," Avery said. "Today, I wasn't really shooting, we were still waiting to see the CAT scan and MRI. If I was gonna play (tomorrow), I didn't want to take three days off."
His personality adds some juice to the Rangers---who are 4-5-1 without him in the lineup this season---but Avery tried to underplay his importance. "I think the way we play, we know the kind of team we are and can be, and I think we know what type of game we need to play. I don't think that me in the lineup should make a difference. If we play a simple, hard-working game, everything's gonna be fine. We've still got some pretty good players out there."
Said Brendan Shanahan: "It's been bothering him a lot. He feels like he's got to get in tighter to the goalie. He has a lack of confidence getting power behind the shot. So it's (the surgery) a good idea."
Although Avery couldn't pinpoint how long it would be before he could play, defenseman Paul Mara, who had a scope of his right wrist in May 2002 when Phoenix's season had ended, said he was working out two weeks later and could have played. "No problems since," Mara said.
Coach Tom Renney, who mentioned Mara's operation and recovery to reporters, said that Avery's "got a little bit of pain and discomfort in there that we can take care of really quickly. In as much that we don't want him to miss a single game moving forward, the best thing for our hockey team is to do just that, have him not miss too much. It certainly suggests it won't be too long."
Avery admittedly wasn't the nicest person during the rehab from his shoulder injury in October and expected the same frustration to flow. "I just feel sorry for everyone that's gonna have to be around me," he said. "It's not so much me, but how I act toward everyone else."
Comments (8)
Avery hit it on the nail on the head. Smart, hard working hockey. Control the tempo and everything will be fine.
Take it to 'em boys!
LETS GO RANGERS!
Does anyone miss Orty?
Ortmeyer or Orr? hummm?
It's not good for the Rangers in the short term, but better get this taken care of now then risk it getting worse over the long term. Hopefully he'll miss less then a month.
Well regardless of the time hes out if he can start putting more ummph behind his shot he will start scoring more. I have been thinking that hes been playing kinda "safer" hockey then he normaly plays. This may be good for him. He was on a role when he came back from his shoulder problem ...
I don't miss Ortmeyer at all. He was a great guy, but couldn't shoot for his life.. good on the PK, but we at least have Drury for that.. heck we didn't have a second line center last year and now we do.. the problem is our stars are not performing to standards (other than Henrik).. the coaching staff needs to use some logic, such as the following:
Put Prucha on the first PP unit where he excelled at his rookie year.. keep Straka with Jagr, but put a good face off guy between them (Drury). Gomez and Shanny have played well together, so put someone with them that plays a similar style to Avery... maybe Hossa or Dawes (for the extra offense)..
Dubinsky is a great kid, but he's not good enough to be on the first line, not yet. Put him with Callahan and Prucha and you have a young, fast line that WILL put up points.
Hollweg - Betts - Orr is slowly becoming a shutdown line.. give credit where it's due with more ice time.
Disagree. Hollweg--Betts--Orr is 90% of the problem with this team - they don't score and they DO let in opposition goals. What the hell are you talking about? Anisimov-Moore-Korpikoskis should be up here in place of the wretched Skunk Line - NOW! They can score, you know.
I sure would have taken Orty over Orr. Shot blocking, PK, great fore-checking, hitting and was able to finish on a blue moon. Orr on the other hand... knuckles, knuckles and hitting and penetlies with more knuckles! ;)~
oh, well what's done is done.
Watch Pru tonight. More ice time, more goals!
Let's go boys!
Git-r-done!
Im sorry, but there is no way that the 4th line with Orr and Hollweg can be considered a real shut down line. Betts, sure.... but the other two, no way.
In fact, most times, I see that line pinned in their own zone and it normally results in a penalty against the Rangers (usually a D man has to take the penalty). It happened in the last few games, and in the Dallas game, they got the game winner on the power play.