Avery, Prust make most of time on ice
Florida Panthers' Darcy Hordichuk (16) and New York Rangers' Brandon Prust (8) exchange punches during a first period. (Nov. 26, 2010) Credit: AP
SUNRISE, Fla. - Sean Avery and Brandon Prust don't get big minutes, but both earned their time Friday night and contributed points in key spots.
After Avery came out of the penalty box, Derek Stepan popped in a rebound of Avery's shot 10:06 in, a kick-start to Avery getting 13:24 and a bigger role.
Prust scored his first goal of the season, a shorthanded changeup in the third to give him something to show for his usual all-around efforts.
"He had legs tonight," coach John Tortorella said of Avery. "He hasn't played a lot here lately. I liked the way he initiated with hitting."
Prust, who played 11 minutes and sat for five after a bruising fight with Panthers heavyweight Darcy Hordichuk, got a cheer from the bench after his goal. He also got a jab from Tortorella, who called it "just an awful shot." Said Prust, "I told him I meant to do that."
Rozsival not yet ready
Michal Rozsival has practiced only once this week, and it lasted all of 20 minutes on Thursday in Tampa. So he's likely to miss a ninth straight game with an injured shoulder Saturday night in Nashville, putting his return off until Monday at home against the Penguins at the earliest.
Rozsival and Chris Drury (finger) skated Friday morning, but the rest of the team had the morning off. Drury still is not cleared to hold a stick on the ice, so he's doing conditioning until the team returns home and he can be examined by the Rangers' medical staff.
Boogaard day-to-day
Derek Boogaard (shoulder) sat out and is day-to-day. Todd White took Boogaard's spot on the fourth line.
The Cat in the house
Hall of Famer Emile Francis, the Rangers' general manager from 1964-76 and coach for five of those seasons - including the 1971-72 team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals - was on hand Friday night.
