Let me first say that what Sean Avery said was crude, classless, and uncalled for. We know that. He's not the kind of guy I'd like to see my daughter date (if I had a daughter) and not the kind of guy I would want to hang out with. But 6 games is ridiculous. What am I talking about? Avery was suspended 6 games for his comments the other day when he called his ex-girlfriends "sloppy seconds" when they dated other NHL players.

After the Rangers quickly dispatched the Devils in 5 games, it's on to Pittsburgh to face Sid the Kid and the Penguins. There are some interesting questions to be answered. Will the Rangers veteran team with plenty of playoff experience be able to contend with the Penguins young talent led by 21-year-old Evgeni Malkin and 20-year-old superstar Sidney Crosby? Will Crosby, who is now the face of the NHL, get special treatment from the officials? Will Sean Avery get under the Penguins' skin as he did in the previous series against New Jersey? How will Jaromir Jagr fare against his former team? He had a nice series against the Devils: 2 goals and 6 assists. Who will win the battle in the nets? Henrik Lundqvist, who is a Vezina trophy finalist (best goalie) or Marc Andre Fleury who has lost only twice in regulation in his last 21 decisions. The Penguins have won 10 in a row at home, but are 0-3-1 in Madison Square Garden.

Game 1: Tonight in Pittsburgh 7pm
Game 2: April 27 @ Pittsburgh 2pm
Game 3: April 29 @ MSG 7pm
Game 4: May 1 @ MSG 7pm
*Game 5: May 4 @ Pittsburgh 2pm
*Game 6: May 5 @ MSG 7pm
*Game 7: May 7 @ Pittsburgh TBA

We talked to the Rangers in advance of tonight's big game. Watch the video after the jump.

If Jaromir Jagr were Eric Lindros, I’d say there was a problem with too many concussions. But Jagr should know better. While it’s great the Blueshirts finished off the Devils Friday night, Jagr shouldn’t be saying he wants Sid the Kid and the young Penguins in the next round. Instead, Tom Renney has to get his guys to hold on to the puck-too many turnovers-and avoid the sin bin-too many turnovers that kept New Jersey around even though the series was done in 5. The Pens are no slouch if that is the match up. While Mac Andre Fleury isn’t Henrik Lundqvist, he ain’t bad.

So Jaromir -you won 2 Cups in Pittsburgh and still have a home there-but stop hoping for ANY TEAM. Enjoy a few days off and hope you get the Flyers so that the Garden can be rocking with home ice in Round 2.

Redemption lives-at least in Hockey. After watching John Madden’s OT centering pass go off his skate and end in a Game 3 win for the Devils, rookie Marc Staal put the Rangers in a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in their first round series with the Devils.

Staal took Marty Straka’s third period pass and blasted the biscuit past Martin Brodeur for a 4-3 lead, 5-3 the final.

The Rangers are just the quicker, more talented team at this point. This series brings up the question: How good is/was Martin Brodeur? Brodeur is a few weeks away from turning 36-still an above average net minder. But in the Devs’ heyday he was seeing maybe 15-20 shots, not the 39 he was peppered with last night. Avery wasn’t a real factor last night, but New Jersey’s defense doesn’t protect Brodeur like they used to. Ranger fans complain that #30 is a product of the system the Devils play. There is some truth to that, but Brodeur is still a top five goaltender all time.

But enjoy it now Ranger fans. Montreal and/or Pittsburgh won’t be as easy to get through.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THE NEW YORK RANGERS

The NHL quickly amended its unsportsmanlike conduct rules today (that’s pretty funny when you consider hockey is the only sport that allows and CONDONES fighting) after the nonsense Sean Avery pulled last night. Yes, Avery’s a guy you LOVE if he’s on your team -and HATE if he isn’t.

Avery spent a good part of the game basically face guarding Martin Brodeur -it looked like a cross between Beauty and The Beast On Ice meets The Karate Kid

Though the strategy did appear to pay off as Avery scored the Rangers’ 2nd goal last night -it detracts from this: The Devils outworked the Rangers last night-forced the Blueshirts into taking stupid penalties, and kept the puck in the Rangers zone most of the 6 minutes of Overtime -so much so that the the Rangers were gassed at game’s end. Yes, John Madden’s shot deflected off Mark Staal and past Henrik Lundquist to finish Game 3. But you create your own breaks-and that’s what New Jersey did. Rangers still lead the series, but the Devils have some life-and hockey gets some much need pub on sports radio.

WATCH RANGERS-DEVILS POST-GAME INTERVIEWS AFTER THE JUMP...

Scott Gomez’ sore ribs must be feeling quite better after the Rangers beat his old team, the Devils, in Game 1 of their playoff series last night. Gomez notched three assists-the most important on Ryan Callahan’s go-ahead goal as Martin Brodeur couldn’t corral the puck, didn’t see Callahan-and the Rangers had the lead for good.

It’s not the first time a Brodeur boo boo cost the Devils against the Rangers. In the ’94 Eastern Conference Finals, Stephane Matteau beat Brodeur in OT to win Game 3. Many people forget about Game 3, because Matteau and Brodeur collided paths in Game 7. You remember what happened, Rangers fans.

WATCH VIDEO OF GAME 3 FROM THE 1994 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS AFTER THE JUMP...

Congratulations to the Rangers and Devils, the only two local winter teams to make the post-season (that's unless the Nets pull off a miracle before getting a chance to be swept by the Celtics). Lets face it, the Knicks are irrelevant, and the Nets are mediocre and underachieving. WHO notices the Islanders if they don’t win? Anybody notice that the NY Saints lacrosse team had higher TV ratings than the Devils and Islanders last year? That’s sad for a wonderful sport -especially come playoff time where every game matters and physicality and goaltending take over.

Let’s face it-hockey in the U.S.-with the exception of Boston and Detroit-have very limited fan bases. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, a greater idiot than Bud Selig -has failed miserably at growing the game in this country. Oh, that’s right-he threw away an entire season three years ago to insure his precious salary cap. That REALLY helped sell your game. Gary.
Most media see hockey players as the most gracious and accessible athletes among the 4 major sports. THEY LOVE their sport far more than the high priced divas of the other sports.
My pick-Rangers in six games. They have more firepower and a better goalie-Lundqvist IS BETTER than Brodeur right now. Plus, to demonstrate my previous points-the Rangers might as well have 7 home games in this series. When the Rangers rallied from a 2-nothing deficit Sunday, “The Rock” in Newark became Madison Square Garden South. Matter of fact, after the game, the Devils WFAN radio announcers of Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross were exhorting Devils fans to show up for the playoff games.