Rangers Win Again
The fact that Sean Avery is an asshole worked out well for the New York Rangers last night. The 27-year-old forward, notorious throughout the National Hockey League for his trash-talking, goaded Pittsburgh forward Gary Roberts into a four-minute penalty and scored on the subsequent power play, leading New York to a [4-2 victory].
I definitely think teams want me to do poorly, they probably want me to get hurt, and want me to take penalties and generally not play well, Avery said. That's part of the thing that motivates me. Avery, who along with North Korea, Iran and Iraq was on Georges Bushs Axis of Evil, clearly revels in being Public Enemy No. 1. But at least last night it worked out, as the forward broke out of his season-long slump. Not only did he tally his first goal of the year, he also assisted on Scott Gomezs first-period lamplighter.
Michal Rozsival and Brandon Dubinsky also scored for New York, who has now won five of their last six contests. They sit just [one game behind] Philadelphia for top spot in Atlantic Division, and with struggling Toronto on the schedule for tomorrow, Canada could be the gateway to first place.