The New York Rangers' lineup is sprinkled with future Hall of Famers.

There is a world-class goaltender. A handful of guys who spent much of their careers in this town. One of the game's best young defensemen.

Even so, much, if not most, of the discussion leading up to Game 1 of the Penguins' second-round playoff series against New York at 7:08 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena, figures to focus not on Jaromir Jagr or Henrik Lundqvist or Martin Straka or Marc Staal, but on Sean Avery.

The same Sean Avery who never has won anything at this level. Aside from widespread contempt and a variety of surveys conducted to identify the dirtiest and/or most-disliked player in the NHL, anyway.

The same Sean Avery whose verbal repertoire has, over the years, been purported to include racial and ethnic slurs, as well as over-the-line remarks about the personal situations of some opposing players.

The Rangers profess to be glad to have him as a teammate; one was quoted recently as saying he would "take a bullet" for Avery.

Not surprisingly, players on other clubs view him a bit differently. Characterize their feelings about him as mixed, because some think he's a jerk and a blight on the sport; others aren't nearly as charitable.

Earlier this month, when asked about Avery's celebrated face-guarding stunt against New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur in a first-round game, Penguins left winger Gary Roberts responded by labeling Avery an "idiot."

It was the kind of remark Avery isn't likely to forget. After all, it might be the nicest thing an opponent ever says about him.

Avery has declined to speak with reporters for the past few weeks. The Penguins won't be so lucky once the series begins.

While competing against somebody like Penguins left winger Jarkko Ruutu is as annoying as a pebble in the skate for most opponents, facing Avery seems to be more like having a rusty razor blade in the eye.

Last fall, he actually goaded Roberts -- a 41-year-old who has been around long enough to know better -- into taking a double-minor for unsportsmanlike conduct in a game at Madison Square Garden.

Doing that now could prove to be considerably more difficult for Avery, however. At least if the Penguins stick to their professed intention to not react to his provocations.

"You just ignore him," right winger Georges Laraque said yesterday. "When you give him attention, that's what he feeds on.

"Every time we play them, I always say, 'Let him talk, let him do whatever.' If you ignore him, he's ineffective. ... If you play the game hard and hit, then you're effective. You don't hurt anybody with your mouth."

Such restraint obviously is an excellent antidote; just as obviously, some players find it difficult, if not impossible, to ignore Avery when he is yapping at them or harassing their goaltender.

He spent much of Round 1 in and around Brodeur's crease, and Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can count on spending a lot of quality time with Avery the next couple of weeks.

"I know what to expect from him," Fleury said.

What a lot of people don't know, though, is that when Avery isn't busy transforming the sport into his personal sideshow, he can play it pretty well.

He had 15 goals and 18 assists in 57 games in the regular season, and was the NHL's most accurate shooter in the first round of the playoffs, scoring on three of nine shots. He is a ferocious forechecker and isn't shy about challenging larger players, qualities that give him the potential to be a significant asset.

"He can play," Penguins center Max Talbot said. "He's been a really important part of their team. ... He's a good hockey player. He can play. He can challenge. He can do everything."

If not everything, at least a lot. Enough that, simply by playing the game, he can be a factor in this series without mutating into a caricature.

Precedent says that isn't likely to happen, however. Which means the Penguins' self-control is about to receive a serious stress test.

"All you can do is play disciplined," Laraque said. "Let him talk -- talk doesn't hurt anyone -- and let the goal scoring and game winning speak for themselves."