Bantering Points: The Cameras And Sean Avery

The coach is not going to play a player he doesn’t like, if he can help it.

Completely agree…BUT…last night it was obvious the team/crowd needed something to get going. Sean could have been it…but we’ll never know. Prust tried with the fight…it just seemed like a lost cause after that point.

i think these guys might have read the papers, they were always looking to make the cute extra pass which is not their game AT ALL. They seemed to completely stray from the style of hockey they have been successful with so far this year. Hardly any hard forechecking/cycling/hitting. They let the stars come out and play the perfect road game, looked like pond hockey out there for the most part.

Dubinsky looks lost, seems to have lost his hockey sense completely. Making moves at the blueline is a hockey 101 no no, and he does it constantly causing his linemates to go offsides.

Del zotto moves the puck well and makes sense on the powerplay in my mind, but i wouldnt peg him as the guy we want taking the shots from the point, given his propensity to miss the net and wrap the puck around the boards and out of the zone (perfect breakout for opposition).

Our breakouts were atrocious last night, defensemen just wrapping the puck hard, one of the hardest pucks to handle for a winger with defensemen bearing down on you. These guys should be able to skate with the puck, get their head up and make a breakout pass. If you want Girardi to ever be in the running for an allstar bid hell have to start with that

I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I never saw Avery in a Rangers jersey ever again Brandon.

I would take Avery all night over Christensen or Boyle…….
Avery gets the crowd into the game…finishes his checks, will drop the gloves and does find the net on occasion, something Boyle and Christensen have not done this year.

Is Avery better than EC this year? IMO his play been slightly better, but not by much. EC has a better skill set, however he does not play like that all the time. He has had 2 assists in his time here so he has produced in limited time also. However, you have to take into account the affect on the atmosphere he brings. Good/Bad/Ugly he does get the crowd going game in and out. EC hasn’t played badly, he does not bring anything to the game that Avery does. Plus, you think Avery would have had a chip on his shoulder playing against the Stars too.

On a side note: would Avery on the PP be worth a shot? he thinks shoot first and is also a guy who likes being in front of the net. He was effective at it years ago, but like everything else that was ages ago. Maybe its worth a shot just to try and shake someone up who hasnt produced and get him going.

I think you need to let Avery play 6-7 games and then sit him for a couple, simply for motivation. I am sure that I am not the only one that believes that Avery played so well after Hartford because he was focused after almost losing his NHL job. I think his effectiveness plateaued and then dipped – and don’t complain to me about dropping from 9 to 6 minutes per game so what could he do, if you can string together 3-4 good shifts you get the 9 rather than 6. So, I think he is a player that responds to lighting a fire under his ass, and all season long there needs to be the threat of being benched or sent down.

I have to admit that benching Avery, does seem to motivate him……Also, not playing Christensen makes no sense either.
Trade EC or Boyle, no one wants Avery, so let’s use him.