New York Rangers Jikijitsu Avery Wakes Up Bruins with Keisaku in Playoff Preview

Was it an accident, a cheap shot, a warning, a stunt designed to inject emotion into the game and sell tickets for a possible up-coming playoff series, or was it a very Zen Avery moment like a jikiitsu giving a meditator a "wake-up" hit in a meditation hall?

Sean Avery got involved in a new controversy with another goalie when the New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins in their final meeting of the regular season, which looks like it was a preview of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Avery tapped Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas on the back of his helmet during a TV timeout and acted like it was an accident. Thomas responded by chasing Avery to centre ice, hitting him from behind, and then fought with Frederick Sjostrom of the Rangers, hitting him with his goalie glove and blocker.

The Boston Bruins News on the NHLNewsBlog.com headline said, "Avery drops Zen robot act, hits Thomas with stick."

The referees missed it but it looked like a cheap shot to most people watching the game. The replay was shown on the big screen in the Garden in Boston, which referees are not supposed to watch.

Avery calmly skated to the Rangers bench after a fight broke out between Thomas and Sjostrom. He sat there meditatively, watching the replay on the scoreboard, until the referee told him to go meditate in the penalty box, instead.

The Rangers and Bruins meeting in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs suddenly looked a lot more interesting. Ticket sales for the Original Six match-up will soar and if there is bad blood between these two teams, well, guess where the blame will go.

The tap to the back of the head was not violent and might have been an accident. It looked like the 'wake-up' hit used in some branches of Zen Buddhism.

In the Soto School of Japanese Zen Buddhism, the keisaku is a flat wooden stick or slat used during periods of meditation to remedy sleepiness or lapses of concentration through a strike or series of strikes administered on the meditator's back and shoulders.

The keisaku itself is thin and somewhat flexible stick that looks something like a hockey stick.

The Zen stick is called a "Keisaku", in Japanese, which may be translated as "warning stick" or "encouragement stick." It is wielded by the "jikijitsu", or "Ino" or head monk in the meditation hall.

It is used to strike a student's back when they have lost focus. These strikes are generally not violent and will often relieve muscle cramps for the individual being struck.

It is used at the request of the meditator. The request is made by bowing one's head and putting the palms together in gassho, and then exposing each shoulder to be struck in turn.

Thomas was down on one knee, stretching, with his back to Avery, when his stick hit him on the back of the head.

In Rinzai Zen, the stick may also be used at the discretion of the one in charge of the meditation hall. Even in such cases, it is not considered a punishment, but a compassionate means to reinvigorate and awaken the meditator who may be tired from many sessions of zazen.

The headline in the sports section of Canoe.ca captured the moment this way: "Big Apple's bad apple Avery causes stir with stick".

The article with the headline, by Sun Wire Services, quoted Don Cherry on Coach's Corner after the game between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, saying, ""The guy is a jerk, and don't tell me the New York Rangers are proud of that guy".

Avery acted as though it was an accident. He was surprised when Thomas chased him to centre ice and hit him.

It was not the only wake-up call or warning shot in the game. Nik Antropov was blind-sided and clipped at center ice by Boston’s Milan Lucic and had to leave the game, but it was not considered controversial.

Zdeno Chara, 6'9", took 5'9" Avery into the end boards with a high hit and got a penalty for it, but it was not considered controversial.

This is the way AP described it: "Avery hit Thomas as the goalie was stretching in front of his net during a television timeout with 5:24 left. Thomas chased Avery to center ice as Avery kept skating with his back to the goalie.

Thomas pushed Avery then was hit from behind by New York's Frederik Sjostrom. Thomas turned and swung at Sjostrom before officials separated players. Avery and Thomas received minor penalties."

The way it was described in The New York Times was just about the same: Avery skated past a kneeling Thomas and clipped him in the back of the head with his stick blade.

Thomas got up and pursued Avery to center ice, then threw punches at Fredrik Sjostrom when Sjostrom intervened, according to Jeff Z. Klein writing in the New York Times.  Avery did not speak to reporters after the game, but Rangers coach John Tortorella said, “Sean deserved a penalty, and so did Tim.”

Tortorella figured Thomas should have been assessed an extra two minutes, according to Kevin Paul Dupont, writing in boston.com and The Boston Globe.

Dupont added, "it was emotion, which is something Bruins coach Claude Julien said he wishes Thomas could better control in such circumstances."

Dupont's description of the incident makes the goalie look like the more guilty party.

He said, "Thomas quickly pulled up out of his stretch and raced up from behind on Avery, then followed through by using his bulky glove hand to smack Avery on the side of the head," and "The incensed Thomas, of little mind to bargain or mediate, promptly smacked Sjostrom in the kisser with a rabbit punch."

Dupont quoted Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist saying, "I think he (Thomas) overreacted."

Dupont compared Thomasto "Battlin' Billy Smith", the goaltender who backstopped the New York Islanders during their dynasty years (1980-83) when they won four Stanley Cups (1980-83).

Tortorella took issue after the game with the fact that the referees didn't come down harder on Thomas for jumping Avery. "There has to be an extra one given to Thomas," Tortorella said, calling him "the aggressor" on the play, according to Michael Obernauer of New York's Daily News.

Avery had nothing to say to the media, Dupont reported. He said a Ranger spokesman shooed reporters when they approached Avery after the game.

The incident came one day after signing a four-year, $20 million contract extension. Dupont made light of the situation, saying  "It wasn't Tim Thomas's birthday, but with his new $20 million guarantee he can live every day the rest of his life as if it's his birthday and Avery gave him "one to grow on—specifically, a smack to the back of the helmet."

Rich Chere, writing in The Star-Ledger, described it a little differently. He said Avery acted as if it was accidental, but Thomas didn't think so.

Chere got a comment from New Jersey Devils goalie Scott Clemmensen: "It's only a matter of time before one of these little things he does, someone gets hurt. Or he gets sucker-punched back in relatiatory type thing and he gets hurt very seriously. You can feel it coming. It's just a matter of when. That's what I think," Clemmensen said.

The Avery Rule was created by the NHL after Avery screened New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur in the first round of the playoffs last year.

If you want to see it yourself, it's posted online in a number of places. Here's a couple:

http://ballhype.com/video/sean_avery_accidentally_hits_tim_thomas_in_the_back_of/

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/22783/sean_avery_shows_the_class_weve_come_to_expect_of_him

Leafs fans and others probably still remember Thomas launching himself at Jason Blake, who beat him for a goal. Paul McGuire said "This is a defensive back going after a wide receiver!"

You can see that one, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_JRcVcNVBk

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Bruins-goalie-Tim-Thomas-a-k-a-Leafs-se?urn=nhl,136122