Sean Avery and the New York Rangers Exit to Rave Reviews

They won two, split two, and lost three in a row, after the coach benched their best player and then got benched, himself, so the New York Rangers are no longer in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Rangers started the series by winning two on the road, then they split two at home.

They gave away two, due to suspensions to Sean Avery and coach John Tortorella.

The final game was a heart-breaker, won because of a fluky goal.

Those of us who live and die with the Rangers were not surprised by the outcome of the series, even though New York raised our expectations by stealing the first two games on the road and took a 3-1 lead in the series at Madison Square Garden.

In the final game, they looked like the better team, again, particularly in the first period. The key appeared to be the play of Sean Avery, which was energetic as always and right on the edge. And the rest of the Rangers were playing like Avery.

The New York Times said, "Sean Avery was easily the best player on the ice, and it was his work along the boards that created the first goal."

Rangers coach Tortorella praised Avery as a player on the edge, according to Steve Zipay of Newsday. "After benching Sean Avery in Game Five for costly penalties in Game Four, Rangers coach John Tortorella had nothing but praise for No. 16 last night," he writing, noting "Avery played 20:59, registered an assist, had four hits and five shot attempts."

He quoted Tortorella saying, "I thought Sean played so well," "I think he's going to be in that world for quite awhile in the National Hockey League," and "he was one of our best as far as keeping the puck."

That's the opposite of what he said on TSN before he became the Rangers coach and had Avery on his team.

Will Avery and Tortorella, or Averella, be re-united next year?