Post by John Davidson on Sept 28, 2007 17:53:42 GMT -5
After Monday night's slugfest at the Nassau Coliseum that triggered 161 minutes in penalties, a scowling Sean Avery, wearing a dark suit, stood simmering in a hallway between the Rangers and Islanders dressing rooms.
On Tuesday, the super-pest with a sore right leg who was rested against the Islanders and for Tuesday night's game in Detroit, skated hard in Westchester with about 10 other Rangers who didn't make the trip.
And he broke his silence.
"I didn't expect it [the fighting]. It's an exhibition game," said Avery, who grumbled in the press box during the 5-4 OT loss and clearly would have been in some of the scrums. "But I wish I had played."
Why?
"For a very obvious reason, as obvious as reasons can get," he said.
Asked about his status for Friday's rematch in the Garden, Avery replied, "Oh yeah, I'll be ready."
Avery doesn't need to admit it: the bad blood is simmering.
After Monday's game, Rangers coach Tom Renney, who believed an intent-to-injure penalty should have been given to Andy Sutton for a mid-ice elbow to the head on Ryan Callahan at the 51-second mark, insisted that the evening's events were not all that worrisome.
"Let's face it," Renney said, "This was not the Gong Show that we're sort of depicting here. It was a preseason game. There were some hits; yeah, there were some fights, it was emotional, great. Somehow, I don't think when two points are on the line, you're gonna see a whole lot of that."
But two points aren't on the line Friday, the Rangers' final home exhibition game, and some Rangers say they feel the need to defend their turf. It depends, apparently, on whom the Islanders dress as to whether the festivities will shift to Manhattan.
On Tuesday, the super-pest with a sore right leg who was rested against the Islanders and for Tuesday night's game in Detroit, skated hard in Westchester with about 10 other Rangers who didn't make the trip.
And he broke his silence.
"I didn't expect it [the fighting]. It's an exhibition game," said Avery, who grumbled in the press box during the 5-4 OT loss and clearly would have been in some of the scrums. "But I wish I had played."
Why?
"For a very obvious reason, as obvious as reasons can get," he said.
Asked about his status for Friday's rematch in the Garden, Avery replied, "Oh yeah, I'll be ready."
Avery doesn't need to admit it: the bad blood is simmering.
After Monday's game, Rangers coach Tom Renney, who believed an intent-to-injure penalty should have been given to Andy Sutton for a mid-ice elbow to the head on Ryan Callahan at the 51-second mark, insisted that the evening's events were not all that worrisome.
"Let's face it," Renney said, "This was not the Gong Show that we're sort of depicting here. It was a preseason game. There were some hits; yeah, there were some fights, it was emotional, great. Somehow, I don't think when two points are on the line, you're gonna see a whole lot of that."
But two points aren't on the line Friday, the Rangers' final home exhibition game, and some Rangers say they feel the need to defend their turf. It depends, apparently, on whom the Islanders dress as to whether the festivities will shift to Manhattan.