Avery Uses His Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card

Come on Sean. Those two penalties in the 3rd period in that type of playoff situation were probably the most selfish I've ever seen. I doubt Tortorella will bench Avery for Game 5 and you know Rangers fans will continue to cheer him tiredly (and deservedly so for now), but he messed up big time last night in the last ten minutes. He was very fortunate that a tying goal did not come during one of those two penalties because, if it had, it could have been a series swinger. But it didn't, so in my view, we proceed to Game 5 with The King leading the way and Avery as much a part of this team as ever. Avery gets his one break, his one "as-a-fan-I'll-let-it-slide". But if he is undisciplined again, at least in this series, I think he should sit a game out. I'm sure Tortorella has already discussed this with him, so Avery knows he is on the shortest of all leashes. Although, I wonder if the leash has broke in Colin Campbell's eyes. There's certainly a chance that the second penalty results in a one game suspension and undoubtedly Campbell is reviewing the tape today. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if a suspension is handed down given the dicey Avery-Campbell history. If there's any news on that front, I'll have it for you here.

On to Drury. When I saw him take that shot, the first one, as the puck fluttered through the air no quicker towards Varalmov then a curling shot, I asked myself why he's even on the ice. But when Varalmov juggled the puck and the rebound was put home by Chris himself, it was amazing. Now I'm not ready to anoint him "Captain Clutch" status just yet, but I can say that he showed guts, and certainly this is something for the team to eat up going forward. Nice job Chris. And nice job getting Mr. Gilroy to commit to the Rangers (on top of the $3.5 million). Here are two quotes from Matt's press conference last night (the second quote is pretty good stuff):

On Drury calling him during and after the BU season: "He talked about what it was like being a Ranger, where he's been. He told me, 'Matty, I've been all over the NHL, different cities. There's nothing like being a New York Ranger."

On the reason for his late development vs his peers that were drafted years ago: "Those kids are more physically mature than me. The reason why is I'm such a late bloomer. I didn't hit puberty until I was 18 years old. I still don't shave. I'm 24. It's embarrassing."

Those are some great quotes. Definition of a late bloomer: Since 2003, the year he was eligible for the draft, Gilroy has grown six inches and added nearly 100 pounds.