Pierre Mcguire's In The Crease

Rangers pest Sean Avery (right) has again gone over the line. On Nov. 3 his taunting of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur during warmups incited New Jersey forward David Clarkson to go after Avery . Then before last Saturday's game in Toronto , Avery 's verbal jousting with Jason Blake and Darcy Tucker almost ignited a brawl. The NHL needs to put officials on the ice or in the penalty box during warmups.... The most improved player in the NHL could be Wild forward Mikko Koivu , whose ice time has risen nearly three minutes a game from last season. At 24 the third-year player is being used in all situations—and he's a much quicker skater than he was a year ago, one reason he had a team-high 10 assists through Sunday.