jaydee

I think his antics are effective when he plays how he has played with the Rangers. When he was on LA and Dallas (didn't see him much on Detroit so can't say) he wasn't very effective - he just instigated and caused chaos. Generally as a Ranger he has been pretty effective, but still crosses that line sometimes.

you're not very good at putting words in my mouth... you probably should let me do the talking for myself. Why? You have said multiple times that Avery stoops lower than anyone else in the league. The fact is he does annoying things that don't injure anyone but do a great job agitating/instigating opponents. There are plenty of guys in the league who go around playing dangerously and sometimes trying to seriously hurt other players. That is much worse than what Avery does in my opinion.

i think i'll be a casual duke fan from now on

no i wish injury on him because he's a terrible person. i've seen all of them play; i haven't seen any of them consistently stoop to the level that avery stoops to. Actually Ott has many times. He actually TRIES to injure people when he gets pissed, Avery just becomes a bigger douchebag pest. Ott took out Sharp for 6 weeks with a dirty knee-to-knee hit just this year. Oh and lets not forget what happened a couple days ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRHHk86KhU Clearly, giving Thomas a love tap on the back of the head is worse than running around causing serious injury.

thomas must be really scary then, because avery turtled like a little girl when the goalie came after him. Jumped him from behind. right i'm sure avery had no idea that a goalie who he'd just hit in the head with his stick would come after him. He probably figured it would be more infuriating to the Bruins if he turtled and refused to go with anyone after that. I think rational hockey fans who don't like Avery would at least admit that he has no fear in his game and takes more punishment than anyone else who plays considering his size.

rodman was way better than avery is Rodman was liked by his teammate---for the most part---and hated by opponents. Avery is simply hated by teammates, opponents, coaches, fans, refs, his mother, etc, etc. If there is one person that everybody wants to punch in the face, it is Sean Avery. Does anybody actually think his Rangers teammates were thrilled when the Rangers brought him back? I know the Rangers current head coach absolutely did not want him back. I really can't think of another player as universally hated in his sport to compare Avery to. Maybe Ty Cobb. There are certain similarities, but this is a case of red apples .v. green apples. Tortorella said something on TSN about avery after he made fun of Dion. I wouldn't put much stock into what he said on TSN. They have people come on and act outraged about hockey stories similar to what ESPN does with football. Tortorella was told when he got the job that the Rangers would be bringing Avery back. If he was so opposed to it he would not have taken the job. I think Avery is good friends with Gomez, Henrik, and several other rangers so he clearly isn't always hated by teammates.

oh right, because it wasn't proven it didn't happen? what's avery going to say, "yeah you got me, i called him a monkey." have fun playing in russia because your nhl career is over. given avery's track record of doing or saying anything to get under somebody's skin, i'll believe the black guy who's never accused another player of usinng a racial slur over a lowlife like avery. by skating through the crease or giving them a jab behind the leg. they don't knock goalies behind the head as they're skating down the ice, jab the goalie beneath the mask or jump around like an idiot in front of the net. the guy is an unprofessional clown who conducts himself in a manner unlike any other player in the league; one of these days i'd like to see him get his face broken by a great enforcer (which isn't likely because he'd just run away or turtle) and spend the rest of his potential playing years eating through a straw. So you wish injury on him because hes annoying? Your a flyers fan, right? I guess that's what I'd expect. If you don't think anyone else acts like him you should watch Corey Perry, Steve Ott, Matt Cooke, Patrick Kaleta, Tootoo, Tucker, or Jarko Ruutu play.

He didn't call anyone a monkey. Laraque said he did but it was never proven. Plenty of other guys around the league mess with goalies to try to get goalies off their game,make fun of french canadian or european players, and talk about each other's wives and girlfriends. I guess the difference is Avery brings it to the media as well. And is probably better at hitting sensitive spots while trash talking.

If pests actually increased the effectiveness of the opposing team they wouldn't exist. The truth is they can make their opposition less effective. Avery does this by making himself the focus of the other team. This has helped the Rangers win for the past two years when they had him. He is quite good at getting into the head of the guys he is playing against, just ask any Devils fan.

What Avery did to Thomas was pretty funny I thought actually. He isn't bad...he doesn't do anything dangerous that hurts anyone. He is the best pest there is though.

so there will be a big ten team in the final...nice

THIS IS AWESOME. Oh and ESPN's 'analysts' are basically angry, stupid, and uninformed. Great combo.

I don't know. This team can beat anyone except San Jose/Detroit in a best of 7. Can doesn't mean will, though.

disgusting how much luck goes into hockey sometimes.

dumb penalty by his brother :)

Something tells me the Canucks didn't leave that game worried about getting pounded. When a team is willing to lay the hard checks and make a lot of contact, it impacts how a lot of guys go into the corners after pucks. It's just an instinct and a split-second reaction to take a path to the puck that won't get you killed. And that path is probably less likely to lead to possession of the puck. "Worried" isn't the correct term for it. Not to play word games, but I would say "mindful." On the flip side, the Hawks should be mindful of the fact that Vancouver will run them out of the building if they come out sleepwalking again. Thats not what the Hawks did though. They cheap shot the goalie and during all the tie ups, Burish went after one of the Sedins, who everyone knows doesnt fight. Why? Because they owned the Hawks all night. If the Hawks want to show me heart. In a big game, win the battles in the corners, finish their checks, make life miserable for the opposing goalie by having traffic in front of the net. Not only does this help you win, it disheartens the other team. My guess is Vancouver did not come out of last nights game worried about the heart the Hawks showed. Hopefully next game the Canucks will be more worried about Burish, Eager, and Byfuglien than Kane, Toews, and Sharp. At least that is the goal of something like that. See NJ vs. NYR last year. The hawks played terrible, yes, but Vancouver hardly dominated the game. Their goals were a result more of blackhawks mistakes than good plays on vancouver's part. I don't think the blackhawks walked away from the game scared of playing them in the playoffs either. And Luongo wasn't cheapshotted - he flopped Marty/Hasek style. It was definitely a goalie interference call, but it wasn't that bad. Yes you are probably right, the next time that the Canucks play the Hawks they are probably going to be worried that Burish, Eager, and Byfuglien are going to be goons after they get whooped at hockey. That is not what I was saying. Stop being a troll.

Burish is always good for a laugh. If only he was better with the puck he could be kind of like Ott and Avery.

Something tells me the Canucks didn't leave that game worried about getting pounded. When a team is willing to lay the hard checks and make a lot of contact, it impacts how a lot of guys go into the corners after pucks. It's just an instinct and a split-second reaction to take a path to the puck that won't get you killed. And that path is probably less likely to lead to possession of the puck. "Worried" isn't the correct term for it. Not to play word games, but I would say "mindful." On the flip side, the Hawks should be mindful of the fact that Vancouver will run them out of the building if they come out sleepwalking again. Thats not what the Hawks did though. They cheap shot the goalie and during all the tie ups, Burish went after one of the Sedins, who everyone knows doesnt fight. Why? Because they owned the Hawks all night. If the Hawks want to show me heart. In a big game, win the battles in the corners, finish their checks, make life miserable for the opposing goalie by having traffic in front of the net. Not only does this help you win, it disheartens the other team. My guess is Vancouver did not come out of last nights game worried about the heart the Hawks showed. Hopefully next game the Canucks will be more worried about Burish, Eager, and Byfuglien than Kane, Toews, and Sharp. At least that is the goal of something like that. See NJ vs. NYR last year. The hawks played terrible, yes, but Vancouver hardly dominated the game. Their goals were a result more of blackhawks mistakes than good plays on vancouver's part. I don't think the blackhawks walked away from the game scared of playing them in the playoffs either. And Luongo wasn't cheapshotted - he flopped Marty/Hasek style. It was definitely a goalie interference call, but it wasn't that bad.

Yah, Burrows was pulling Keith's hair.

Just reading the box score, I would say you can have your agitator and Vancouver will take a sister, and win. Great job reading the box score, I guess. Those things can get confusing! And the sisters will be bolting from Vancouver in a few months most likely, so enjoy them while you can. Unless they lower their demands from $6M a year each (i think this is correct).

Well, that sucked. Burish is becoming a pretty effective agitator. He had O'Brien really angry, and kept punching a Sedin sister. Ha.

will be at the game tonight - weeeee

Yesss!

Nooo!

no one is going to pound ovy for that. no one pounded sean avery for doing pushups after he scored a goal a few years ago, no one is going to go after him now. The Tampa guys will remember. The Avery thing is different because he's insane and you can't just take runs at him. Yah, I really doubt the Tampa guys care. The only people who care are people like Don Cherry, and they don't matter much.