Sean Avery shows the Devils’ Johnny Oduya to his seat.Watching the Rangers dismantle the Devils last night, without any knowledge of the standings, one would have to believe the Blueshirts were the better team. The records would indicate whether they’ve been better all season or not, but last night the Rangers were vastly superior. Their 3-0 win was a well-earned reward.
Henrik Lundqvist posted only his third shutout of the year, but the 20th of his career and he improved to 14-2-4 in head-to-heads with Marty Brodeur.
Brandon Dubinsky showed a goal-scorer’s patience to wait until Brodeur was flailing helplessly on his back before roofing the puck for the first goal of the night. Defenseman Daniel Girardi notched the second goal when he potted a quick shot from the point to take advantage of an out-of-position Brodeur. Ryan Callahan continued his good form by adding the third tally. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Sean Avery who, despite not scoring, continued to be a factor for the Rangers. By letting himself be rag-dolled by David Clarkson, not only did Avery show in earnest that he could reign in his personality and temper, he exposed the officials’ bias against him.
Technically, the referee has cause to penalize Avery for dropping a glove while Clarkson grabbed at and shook him in an attempt to instigate a fight. But what fair-minded official wouldn’t recognize Avery’s right to have a hand free to retaliate if Clarkson had delivered a punch? Avery threw no punches despite his opponent’s continuous baiting. Clarkson eventually threw Avery to the ice twice and was given two roughing minors and a 10-minute misconduct.
In the end, the Rangers got a two-minute man-advantage … but in watching that footage, it’s hard to argue that Avery’s two-minute roughing minor was anything but a reputation call.
Still, Avery and his Rangers got the last laugh. “Fatso” and his Devils were thoroughly beaten and the Blueshirts sit one point behind the Penguins. The Rangers still need wins to ensure a playoff berth, but they started the home stretch with the right result.