ESPN NHL Playoffs 2008

PITTSBURGH -- Throw in one part fingernails on a blackboard, another part salt in a wound and bamboo under the fingernails, a third part Yoko Ono at full volume -- and you have the NHL agitator.

The kind of player who, if allowed, can disrupt an opposing team's focus with his words and deeds and change the tone and tenor of a playoff series.

Long before the puck dropped in this second-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers, the discussion wasn't so much of Jaromir Jagr's return to Pittsburgh or of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Scott Gomez, but of Sean Avery.

The poster boy for agitation, Avery has taken the art of pestering to new levels this spring. Mind games? You bet. As much as on the ice, the playoffs are won between the ears.

As you know, in the first round, Avery tormented New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and forced the NHL into the unusual situation of rewriting its rule book on the go with his bizarre antics in front of the Hall of Fame-bound netminder. After the series, Brodeur said the constant media attention to the confrontation drove him to distraction.

Here in Pittsburgh, the challenge will be turning the other cheek -- or the other ear, as the case may be.

"He was center stage, because that's how the Devils made him. But if you don't pay attention to him, it's a non-issue. Our team is not the type of team that takes offense to anything done verbally. We speak louder with action. He can say whatever he wants, but we have a goal and a mission, and one guy is not going to take the focus off everyone on the team," said tough guy Georges Laraque, who was effective as a fourth-line forechecker in the first round against the Ottawa Senators.

Laraque has a history with Avery, dating back to Avery's time with the Los Angeles Kings. Laraque said that when he was with the Edmonton Oilers, Avery called him a monkey.

Laraque is black. Avery denied the accusation, although he is well known for employing personal attacks as part of his verbal arsenal.

"Some of the stuff that he does, you don't need to get to that level. In the game of hockey, people respect each other," Laraque said.

"When the game is over, you shake their hand. When hockey is over, you want to be respected by your peers because your peers are your brothers; we all respect each other. Some guys maybe don't respect guys, and I think that's wrong," he added.

Gary Roberts has heard it from Avery over the years, too.

"Yeah, he's done that with me, too. He's yelled at me, called me every name in the book," Roberts said.

"But what are you gonna do? Hey, if you drop the gloves and both guys get five [minutes], great. But you don't want to take an extra two. Nothing is worse than costing a team in the playoffs to settle a score. That's when you put yourself ahead of the team."

Rangers defenseman Paul Mara said Avery has been able to achieve that kind of success throughout the season, producing points and bothering opponents.

"In the series against the Devils, it was the same," Mara said.

Avery had three goals and two assists in the first round and took six minutes in penalties.

Coach Tom Renney said Friday he has no issues with how Avery is conducting himself.

"He's got a good grasp of what the moment requires," Renney said. "I don't have to reel Sean in."

Not that Avery is the only player with the ability to get under an opponent's skin. The Penguins have a chatterer in Jarkko Ruutu.

"I've had a front-row seat for more than a few of [Ruutu's antics]. Mostly, it's pretty funny. Most of the guys, even when you're ripping on them, they kind of laugh it off. But at the same time, every once in a while, if you hit the right guy, it rattles. And there'd be nothing better than to have one of their best players not on their game during the series. It would make it that much easier for us," Pittsburgh defenseman Robert Scuderi said.

Having a player like that requires some consideration on the part of teammates, willingness to overlook aberrant behavior and periodically come to his defense. Roberts recalled a young Theo Fleury with the Calgary Flames antagonizing other players and then Roberts himself having to drop his gloves to protect him.

"I got beat up a few times for him. Ken Baumgartner, I think. Fleury started it, and Tim Hunter and I had to fight. Baumgartner knocked out my two front teeth," Roberts said.

Notes

Gary Roberts, who missed games 3 and 4 of the first round against Ottawa with a groin injury, will not play in Game 1 against the Rangers. Roberts skated Thursday and Friday morning but does not want to risk injuring himself long-term. Coach Michel Therrien said he respects Roberts' decision to hold himself out for at least one more game.

"It's not new for us. We've been facing adversity since the beginning of the year," Therrien said.

Therrien has mixed up his defensive pairings in an effort to contain Jaromir Jagr, who had eight points in the Rangers' five-game series victory over New Jersey. Look for longtime Jagr nemesis Hal Gill and new partner Scuderi to draw a lot of ice time against the big winger. Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik, who normally play together, also will get looks at Jagr. The third pairing and second of the new looks features Ryan Whitney and Kris Letang, which will be interesting, given both players' offensive capabilities.

Officials from both teams are to meet with league supervisors monitoring this series before Game 1. Among the issues Rangers coach Tom Renney hopes to address are long-standing complaints that Sidney Crosby complains to officials about calls or non-calls and that he embellishes or dives to draw penalties.

Crosby denied that's his style.

"I never dove, and I don't," Crosby said Friday morning. "If I go down, it's because I've been forced down.

"I think he should be the one worried about guys diving," Crosby added.

Asked about the issue, Renney praised Crosby as a great talent.

"If he took offense to my innuendo, that's his prerogative," Renney said.

The Rangers will make one lineup change for Game 1 with heavyweight Colton Orr coming in and Ryan Hollweg sitting. Renney said the bigger Penguins roster dictated the move.

Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.