Last week, when forward Sean Avery had just been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the AHL, I stressed that it would be crucial for Sean to take it easy and do the simple things out on the ice in his first few games in the NHL this season. After all, head coach John Tortorella did say there were better players on this team than Avery last month, so he couldn't afford to make any costly mistakes out there and prove Torts' theory to be correct right away.
In games one through three for Sean this season, he did exactly what I said he should. He made the most of his ice time, which wasn't very much at all, and played a hard-nosed game, leaving everything on the ice on every shift. He got pucks to the net, he forechecked, he defended and he played physical. Really, Tortorella couldn't have asked anything more of the widely known pest.
Quite honestly, I think his smartest move to that point was when he challenged Zenon Konopka to a fight after Konopka had made s...
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November 15, 2011
