No Avery tonight

Unless you've been in a box today, the startling news is that coach pet Sean Avery will be a healthy scratch in tonight's game against an Atlanta team that's dropped four straight. Niclas Bergfors is producing and Johnny Oduya has settled in but the Thrashers sit a point behind the ninth seeded Rangers, who trail eighth Boston by five. Seventh seeded Montreal is six clear, meaning that the teams ahead are about to put our fraud of a team in the rear view mirror.

When I said I wasn't looking forward to the restart of the season following splendid Olympic hockey, I wasn't kidding. That's what Ranger hockey has become. The same losing blank identity we had for nearly a decade. It just isn't fun anymore. Sure. The games we go to are but that's because of the close friends we've made in our section. The product stinks. The Post Jagr Era Error has been a huge turning point. Like in the classic scene from Planes, Trains, Automobile's with John Candy's classic Del Griffith babbling on while buddy Steve Martin's character Neal Page warns he's "going the wrong way," it's Glen Sather doing the steering with John Tortorella in the passenger seat.

How did it all go so wrong? Never mind. I am probably not going to watch much of this loser match because I'm fed up. The loser mentality is back. If they just forfeited the rest, it'd make a lot of suffering Blueshirt fans happier. Right now, they have the ninth worst record but a bunch of teams are close which means if they continue to lose, it's possible they could crack the top five in what's a good draft.

As for Avery being made the scapegoat, it's true he's done little this season. This despite Tort's nonsensical claims that he didn't hold him back. Sean was invisible versus his favorite opponent in that 6-3 dismantling in Newark. Speaking of the Devils, they play what amounts to a huge game against the Crosby Pens, who lead the division by four. Everyone knows New Jersey has owned Pittsburgh winning the first four while frustrating Sid The Kid without a point. The Pens have been a very different team lately as have the Devs. Will it translate or is it psychological? We'll get a better answer after today and next week's final regular season meeting also at The Rock. Nice scheduling.

Many Ranger Tweeps are up in arms over Avery being sat out in favor of Enver Lisin. It's not because Lisin doesn't deserve another shot as he's worked when in the lineup but cause Tort only made one defining example back in mid-December, benching Wade Redden. Should Sean be the alibi for a poor coaching job by a man who insisted he was anti-Renney and would hold players accountable and have a fourth line? Anyone who's watched this three ring circus knows what a crock it is.

We'll probably keep a closer eye on the big Atlantic showdown while peaking in on our game. Well, at the very least, they won't risk killing anyone.