Avery and Rangers shake off Brodeur and Devils

Avery saved his sharpest words about Brodeur for a television interview, calling the three-time Vezina Trophy winner "Fatso."

One could only imagine what was said each time he crashed the crease, or when he waved his arms and stick in Brodeur's face during a Game 3 power play - an act that forced the NHL to amend its unsportsmanlike conduct rule the next day.

"I knew there was going to be a lot of attention on me," Avery said. "I don't know the extent of it because I don't read sports. I read Vogue. I just try to stay focused.

"I tried to do what was best for the team, and I just wanted to play hard and win games."

Four down and 12 to go to win the Stanley Cup.

As the No. 5 seed in the East, the Rangers could face top-seeded Montreal, Pittsburgh, Washington or Philadelphia in the second round. New York would own home-ice advantage against only Philadelphia, a scenario that as of Saturday afternoon seemed unlikely.

Whoever they play next, the Rangers expect to be ready. Last year, New York got to the second round after a 10-year absence before falling to the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres in an excruciating six games.

The prime villain in that series was Chris Drury, who scored the tying goal for the Sabres in the closing seconds of regulation in Game 5. Buffalo went on to win that one in overtime and then eliminated the Rangers at Madison Square Garden two days later.

Now Drury is on their side after signing a big free-agent deal with the Rangers. The ever-clutch forward netted the winning goal in the clinching win over New Jersey.

But the key to any Rangers success will certainly fall on the shoulders of goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who outperformed Brodeur in the regular season, when New York took seven of eight from New Jersey, and in the playoffs.

Lundqvist, in his third NHL season, was a Vezina finalist his first two years. He played very well in holding the Devils to 12 goals in the series.

"Any team that ever goes through the Devils, you learn a lot," said forward Scott Gomez, who also joined the Rangers as a free agent last summer after spending his first seven seasons with New Jersey. "Finally being on the other side, you realize that to go through New Jersey is going to build confidence. It's a big step.

"That first round is one of the toughest to get out of. But that's not the reason that we came here, to win one series. You look at all the guys, we want to bring a Cup back to New York. And we put ourselves in a position to move on."