GREENBURGH, N.Y. — New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, the subject of much controversy during the NHL playoffs, was taken to a Manhattan hospital with a lacerated spleen suffered in Tuesday night's NHL playoff game.
A report from the New York Daily News claimed he was unconscious, not breathing and in cardiac arrest but a Rangers spokesman said this was not true.
The spokesman said Avery went to St. Vincent's Medical Center in Lower Manahattan after the game with a team doctor in a town car. He walked into the hospital and was not on a stretcher, the spokesman said.
"It's not great but he's not in any danger," the spokesman said. Rangers general manager Glen Sather said in a statement that Avery is expected to make a full recovery in the off-season.
New York Rangers' Sean Avery collides with Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury during the third period in Game 3 of their NHL Eastern Conference semi-finals hockey series in New York on Tuesday. (Ray Stubblebine/Reuters)
However, Avery will not be able to play in the rest of the Eastern Conference semi-final between the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins won Tuesday's game 5-3 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. And he remained in hospital by Wednesday afternoon.
"Sean is completely fine," Rangers head coach Tom Renney said after his team's practice on Wednesday. "On my way home after the game, I knew he was on his way to the hospital.
"The way we are able to rally around Sean will be an easy thing to do because of his character. We love him."
Avery, 28, has only been a minor factor in the Rangers series with the Penguins. While Avery did anger the Penguins on a couple of occasions in the series when he took a few whacks at goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with his stick, he was ineffective for the most part.
But Tuesday's game was his most physical of the series, although it is not clear when he was hurt. It may have been in a collision with a Penguins defenceman in the first period. He made several body checks on Penguins players in 14 minutes, 34 seconds of ice-time. Avery finished the game and did not appear injured. In fact, he was on the ice at the end of the game and jabbed Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik with his stick.
Avery drew the ire of the NHL in the first round of the playoffs. He was the subject of an edict by the league that any player waving his arms in front of a goaltender in his crease would be given an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. Avery angered goaltender Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils with those tactics in the first round.
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