NEW YORK — Sean Avery was all
talked out after popping in two goals following a one-game benching.
The noted agitator had little to say
after leading the Rangers to a key 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia
Flyers that gave New York's late-season playoff push a much-needed
confidence boost.
Long after the Rangers' dressing room
had cleared out, Avery emerged and spoke briefly while never breaking
stride.
"Great game. Great two points. Thanks
for waiting, guys," Avery said.
And that was it.
"The thing I liked about his game, he
let his play do his talking," said coach John Tortorella, who sat Avery
for the Rangers' win at Atlanta on Friday. "That is very important."
Avery returned and raised his
hard-edge style to the level Tortorella demanded. He got the Rangers
even in the second period and drew three penalties, including two
resulting in power plays.
"I don't know if that worked,"
Tortorella said of the benching. "You guys get a little crazy with all
that stuff as far as the motivation. Sean concentrated. He deserves the
credit in the things he does."
Michal Rozsival netted the go-ahead
goal in the second period as the Rangers climbed within one point of
eighth-place Boston in the Eastern Conference playoff race. New York
also shelved urges to retaliate against Dan Carcillo, who fought star
forward Marian Gaborik in the teams' previous meeting on Jan. 21 and
drew the Rangers' ire.
"If they want to play a physical
game, we're going to play physical right back," said forward Brandon
Dubinsky, who fought Flyers captain Mike Richards in the third period.
"If they want to mix it up, then we're going to mix it up. We've got
guys in here that are willing to do that and guys that are good at it.
"We're not going to back down. We're
going to continue to fight, scratch and claw each and every game to find
a way to get into the playoffs."
Avery gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead
with 5:54 remaining when his unscreened shot somehow eluded Michael
Leighton's glove and left the goalie hanging his head. Henrik Lundqvist
needed to make only 17 saves for the win. New York recorded 21 shots.
The Rangers' next task is a home
meeting Tuesday with Montreal, which sits five points ahead in seventh.
"These are desperate times for us,"
captain Chris Drury said.
Danny Briere scored his 24th goal
4:13 in for Philadelphia, which couldn't build off its stirring home win
in the final seconds against Chicago on Saturday. The Flyers then
endured a 7-hour train ride through a strong storm and didn't arrive in
New York until after midnight.
Emotion and fatigue could have been a
factor in Philadelphia's lack of offense. With 76 points, the Flyers
are tied with Montreal.
"It's always tough when you're on
such a high to try to reproduce the same emotion the next day. But there
is no excuse," Briere said. "They came out. They wanted it more than
us. They were more hungry. We have to realize that we haven't clinched
anything yet. Yes, we've put ourselves in a good position, but the way
we came out we had no emotion.
"This time of the season games are
too crucial. We can be tired when the season is over and the playoffs
are over. Not at this point."
After recording only four shots in an
uninspiring first period, the Rangers took over in the second. Avery
scored at 1:53 when he backhanded in a rebound of Wade Redden's shot.
New York received only one power play
in the first and failed to record a shot. The Rangers made the most of
their second when Rozsival fired a shot in off the left post at 4:54.
The physical play and animosity
expected in this game showed up in the second. Avery and Flyers
defenseman Chris Pronger were whistled for penalties at 2:09 following a
scrum that was sparked by Avery's crunching hit on Matt Carle.
Avery then goaded Scott Hartnell into
a roughing penalty with 2:30 left in the period. Hartnell grabbed hold
of Avery and kept yanking him as Avery turned away.
"We got outworked," Pronger said. "We
played a desperate team. We knew they were desperate. We knew what they
were coming in to do and we didn't respond very well. I don't think you
can focus on [Avery] solely."
New York received another power play
earlier in the period when James van Riemsdyk crashed into Lundqvist
while charging the net. Lundqvist was bowled over and lost his mask in
the pileup. When he got up, he and Dubinsky checked the goalie's head
for blood.
Avery drew an interference call
against Braydon Coburn early in the third and exchanged shoves with
Carcillo.
Notes
New York had gone 177 minutes,
7 seconds without scoring against Philadelphia, which won the first
three meetings this season. … Flyers enforcer Riley Cote played for
the first time since Dec. 21. He was scratched for 32 games since.