Avery, 28, has been a huge factor for the Rangers since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings at the trading deadline last season. He is the Rangers’ premier agitator, a player known as much for antagonizing opponents as for his hockey skills. But he has also developed into a major offensive contributor on the Rangers second line. He scored 15 goals in the regular season and had 4 goals and 3 assists in the playoffs. But the number most associated with him is the Rangers record with him in the lineup: 33-14-10 in the regular season; in games Avery missed with injuries, they were 9-13-3.  Spleen injuries are not uncommon in contact sports. In the 2001 playoffs, Colorado center Peter Forsberg sustained a ruptured spleen, which had to be removed. Rangers center Red Sullivan nearly died in a game in the late 1950s when he was speared in the stomach and sustained a ruptured spleen.  The Rangers will now have to try to dig out of their hole without Avery and possibly without centers Blair Betts and Chris Drury.  Betts was hit in his left cheekbone with the puck Tuesday night. Renney said Betts might have fractured the cheekbone and his prognosis was uncertain.  Drury left Tuesday night’s game for a while with an unspecified torso injury, and he will also be evaluated Thursday morning.  The injury to Avery, though, was the most serious and it took the team by surprise Wednesday morning. Most of the players did not know what had happened until after practice.  “We were on the ice and we knew he was getting evaluated,” forward Ryan Callahan said. “We’re definitely going to miss him. He’s a real big part of the team. He’s come up with some real big points, scored big goals and obviously gets under the other team’s skin.”  The turn of events overshadowed what would have been the biggest issue of the Rangers’ potential elimination game: whether this will be forward Jaromir Jagr’s last stand in New York. Jagr, the 36-year-old captain, faces unrestricted free agency at season’s end and has frequently alluded to the possibility of playing elsewhere.  But he made it clear Wednesday that he was not counting himself or the Rangers out.  “Once you get down, 3-0, you’ve got to look for something positive,” Jagr said. “Of course it’s tough because only two teams did it, but it’s not impossible. Let me tell you one thing. There are millions of playoff series played in hockey over those years. You’re going to forget a lot of them.  “But if you can do something special, everybody’s going to talk about it. There’s a chance. People dream about that stuff. So do I. It never happened to me. I’ve never been down, 3-0, and come back. That’s what makes it special.”  Heading into Wednesday night’s games, Jagr was tied for third among playoff scorers with 12 points. He has been a dominating factor in several games, including Game 3 despite the loss.  Avery was the center of attention in the first-round playoff victory against the Devils, mostly for his persistent antagonism of goaltender Martin Brodeur.  His stick-waving distraction of Brodeur during one power play prompted the N.H.L. to revise its rules so it qualified as unsportsmanlike conduct.  Even before the series with Pittsburgh started, the Penguins were on guard when it came to Avery.  But they expressed sympathy Wednesday when they heard he was hospitalized.  “You never like to see that happen,” Penguins center Sidney Crosby told reporters after practice at the Garden on Wednesday. “On the ice, things always happen. It’s emotional and intense. Guys are not the best of friends on the ice, but you never want to see someone’s health in jeopardy. I think we all wish him the best.”  Once the Rangers were reassured that Avery would eventually be fine, they turned their attention to their team’s playoff health, which is not in the best shape, either.
Forward Sean Avery was hospitalized after he suffered a lacerated spleen during a hit in Tuesday’s loss to the Penguins and will miss the rest of the season.