Sean Avery No Longer Hated by Pittsburgh Penguins Fans

When New York Rangers GM Glen Sather hired John Tortorella to coach the Rangers, he assured him he would learn to love Sean Avery. Now the Pittsburgh Penguins have jumped on the Avery bandwagon, too.

The last time the Rangers played in Pittsburgh, Penguins fans booed every time Avery touched the puck and cheered whenever he got hit. He got hit a lot. Even Sean Crosby took a cheap shot at him.

It turns out Pittsburgh hockey fans watch Avery even when the Rangers are playing other teams. After New York played Boston, the headline in one Philly publication said: "Avery deserves another suspension."

After the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh fans changed their tune. The same publication ran a headline saying: Today we're all Rangers fans...sorta.

Penguins fans were happy the Rangers beat the Flyers, as it gave Pittsburgh the home ice advantage in its first round playoff series against Philadelphia.

One of the comments on the article explaining why Penguins fans loved the Rangers, for a change, came close to calling the game.

The comment read, "I’d like to see the Rangers and Flyers skate to a 10-9 game, with the Rangers pulling it out with a minute left in the 3rd with a Sean Avery goal. Then, I’d like to see a brawl ensue where Hartnell klonks Avery over the head with his stick and receives a 20 game suspension."

The Rangers and Flyers skated to a 4-3 game, with the Rangers pulling it out in the third, with Avery getting the tying goal. Hartnell fought with Avery at the end of the game and got just four minutes for roughing.

The NHL announced the Rangers-Caps schedule. The series opens Wednesday in Washington.

Game Two, also in Washington, will be televised nationally on NBC on Saturday afternoon. The first home game for the Rangers, at Madison Square Garden, will be televised nationally on Versus.

The Rangers and Capitals play Wednesday, April 15, Saturday, April 20, Wednesday, April 22, Friday April 24, Sunday April 26, and Tuesday, April 28, if they need more than four games.