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Avery scores twice as Rangers romp over Maple Leafs

Apr 2, 2007 - 3:25 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Sean Avery gave the New York Rangers some breathing room in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Avery scored two goals and added an assist as the Rangers routed the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-2.

Jaromir Jagr had a goal and two assists and Michael Nylander had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (41-29-9), who moved into sole possession of sixth place in the East, one point ahead of the idle Tampa Bay Lightning (43-32-4).

The Rangers have won seven of their last eight contests and have recorded at least one point in 15 of their last 17 games.

Avery's first goal tied the game, 1-1, when his shot from the slot beat screened goaltender Andrew Raycroft at 5:19 of the first period.

"I just got lucky and it came right to me off a line change and I just grabbed it and shot it," Avery said. "(Brendan Shanahan) was in front and it went in."

Raycroft, who allowed four goals on just 16 shots, was pulled after Martin Straka's goal gave the Rangers a 4-1 advantage at 4:42 of the second period.

Avery capped his third multi-goal game of the season when he cut towards the front of the net and jammed the puck between netminder Jean-Sebastien Aubin's pads for a 5-2 advantage at 14:53 of the second period.

"I just grabbed the puck and picked it up," Avery said. "I was thinking what I was going to do when I went to the net. I just wanted to make sure I got the shot on and it went in."

Avery, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on February 5, has eight goals and 11 assists in 26 games with the Rangers.

"It's certainly exciting," Avery said. "I was nervous this afternoon. I was thinking that I definitely wanted to play well and have a great game. I really didn't think I was going to get a couple of goals or anything like that. I just wanted to come out and play really well and try to be a difference."

"The big thing for me, and what I really like about (Avery) is he plays hockey first," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "He's on the ice, he likes to talk and get under people's skin and do those things that are aggravating. But at the same time, it's not at the expense of doing the right thing."

New York's Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves to win his sixth straight start. He has allowed just 13 goals in that span.

Alexei Ponikarovsky and Boyd Devereaux scored for the Maple Leafs (38-30-11), who remained ninth in the East, one point behind the idle Montreal Canadiens (41-32-6).

"I don't know what to say," Toronto captain Mats Sundin said. "It was just one of those games. Obviously we are disappointed right now with what happened."

Toronto showed signs of fatigue playing its fourth game in six nights and eventually wore down against the Rangers' pressure.

"We didn't play well tonight," Toronto's Darcy Tucker said. "You got to give them credit. They worked hard and did the things they needed to do to win the game. But we got to leave this here. We can't dwell on it."

The Maple Leafs have three games left, including their season finale against the Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday.