Don't look now, but a New York Ranger was spotted in the opposition's goal crease, holding up his arms and waving like a marooned sailor on a desert island.
No, it wasn't the attention-starved Sean Avery this time but the allegedly classy veteran Brendan Shanahan. His technique was different than Avery's but the intent seemed to be the same, to block Pittsburgh Penguin goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's view of the puck.
Where Avery stood face-to-face with Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils in the first round and waved his hands in his face, Shanahan stood with his back to Fleury and made more of a sweeping motion with his arms during Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Pens.
Avery's tactics drew a vow from the NHL that any further antics would result in an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty but Shanahan did not get whistled down. However, the Penguins professed no alarm about this because, they said, the referees told them if the Rangers scored a goal it would have been disallowed.
“The ref said if there was a goal it would be called off,” Penguins defenceman Hal Gill said. “I don't think [Shanahan] was really doing anything, just standing in the crease. I don't know if it was a tactic with him or he was just trying to be a distraction.”
Or maybe Shanahan was just hoping to score a goal any way he could. He is looking all of his 39 years against the speedy young Penguins but head coach Tom Renney is still sending him out there with the No. 1 power-play unit and having him kill penalties. It's getting painful to watch the old fellow, since he's a couple of steps behind the play.
