RYE, N.Y., Jan. 7— Theo Fleury met with his Rangers coaches and teammates this morning and apologized for his behavior in recent games. Coach Ron Low indicated after practice that he would not tolerate any more of Fleury's misbehavior.
Fleury spoke publicly for the first time since skating off the ice and heading into the locker room instead of going to the penalty box during the third period of the Rangers' 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. He said that he was under severe stress as a result of family problems. Fleury emphasized that his current problems were unrelated to the issues he had last season when he missed the last 20 games to undergo rehabilitation for alcohol and substance abuse.
''I'm under a lot of stress right now and I cannot get into specifics for what is going on,'' Fleury said. ''It's something that affects me deeply. It's something that I have to go through. Nothing in life is easy. I've been able to handle a lot of things and this is just another thing.''
As far as Low is concerned, the first thing that Fleury has to handle is actions that are detrimental to the Rangers, like the three minor penalties he took in Pittsburgh.
''He's gotten to the point where he's hurting the team,'' Low said. ''We stand behind Theo 100 percent. Now, the key is that he has to stand behind us. He's an unbelievable soldier. We had a talk this morning and his stuff cannot go on. However hard it is, the personal stuff has to be separated.''
After a six-game trip, in which the Rangers lost the last four, Low gave the team Sunday off, and Fleury used the free time to talk with friends, one of whom was Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the Rangers.
''I was on the phone yesterday talking to people I trust for advice,'' Fleury said. ''I talked to Glen, I talked to the coaches and my teammates and everyone knows my situation. This is something I've never done before. If you deal with something internally, it builds up and explodes. When you look for advice, there is a lot of relief.
''This is strictly a family matter and has nothing to do with the problems I had last year. I didn't expect everything to be hunky-dory after what happened last year. The frustration that I have right now is at a peak. I did something stupid that hurt the team.
''There is a certain amount of stress that I've been under lately. There are personal problems, personal issues that I'm dealing with. It hasn't been easy for me to play games without that in mind.''
Fleury's frustration got progressively worse during the trip and reached a peak on Saturday. He went to the dressing room instead of the penalty box with 7 minutes 37 seconds to play after his third minor penalty. He said he had grown increasingly frustrated with the officials and that he might have done something worse had he not gone to the dressing room.
''There was so much frustration that had been built up that it was the right thing to do,'' Fleury said of going to the locker room. ''In all my years in hockey, I've never seen a ref change a call. I'm just going to take more punches to the head and not retaliate.
''I have to be under control. I can't control things. The only thing I can control, is getting myself under control.''
Low said: ''Theo Fleury is part of the equation and he can help the team in the second half of the season. There are a lot of people in the room that can help and make the team better in the second half.''
The Rangers' next game is Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Kings at Madison Square Garden. Mark Messier, the Rangers' captain, did not practice today and said he was not sure when he would play next. Messier missed the last two games of the road trip because of a sore left shoulder.
Photo: Theo Fleury said he would have to show more control on the ice. (Norman Y. Lono for The New York Times)
