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Rangers captain Callahan reacts to Avery’s anti-Tortorella tweet

Sean Avery, Ryan Callahan

Sean Avery #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates scoring his second goal with teammate Ryan Callahan #24 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2010 in New York City. (March 13, 2010 - Source: Nick Laham/Getty Images North America)

With the New York Rangers in serious danger of missing the playoffs entirely, retired Rangers forward Sean Avery recently took to Twitter to bash coach John Tortorella:

Fire this CLOWN, his players hate him and wont play for his BS.... @imseanavery is #winning

— Sean Avery (@imseanavery) March 31, 2013

In response to Avery’s criticisms, Rangers captain Ryan Callahan decided to speak on behalf of his teammates.

“Sean Avery’s comments solely represent his own thoughts and opinions,” Callahan said, according to the The Bergen Record. “He did not speak for us as a team when he was here and certainly does not now.”

It’s no surprise that Callahan wanted to distance himself and his teammates from those comments, but he took it a step further by specifying that Avery didn’t even speak for the Rangers when he was a member of the franchise.

The Rangers haven’t scored a goal in 127:47 minutes and have consequently lost back-to-back games. They’re tied with the ninth place New York Islanders in points, although they’ve played in one less contest.

That’s the setup for what will be a tough week for the Rangers as they play against the Winnipeg Jets, the Pittsburgh Penguins twice, and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Meanwhile the Columbus Blue Jackets’ surge continues, setting up a potential scenario where Rick Nash, after giving up on the franchise that drafted him and demanding a trade, might actually miss the playoffs while his former squad advances.