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With the Rangers and Knicks virtually guaranteed playoff spots, let's dive into a weekly recap at the World's Most Famous Arena.
New York Rangers
The Games
Saturday, February 3rd | Team Matthews 7 - Team McDavid 4
The Rangers sent Vincent Trocheck (much deserved) and Igor Shesterkin (not so much) to the All-Star Game in Toronto, where they were both selected to play on Team Matthews. They won their first game over Team Hughes in a shootout, in which Shesterkin did not allow a single goal... which is pretty impressive against the likes of Kyle Connor, Nikita Kucherov, and Elias Pettersson. Then they went on to defeat Team McDavid in the finals after Auston Matthews took over the game in front of his home crowd. Trocheck finished the tournament with a quiet 2 assists.
Monday, February 5th | Win 2-1 (OT) vs. Avalanche
The unsteady Rangers took the ice for the first time in 8 days and looked pretty rusty in the first period. Nathan McKinnon absolutely burned them to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead, which they held until midway through the third. Credit to Peter Laviolette for making defensive adjustments that allowed the Rangers to contain Colorado's speed. Then he double-shifted Panarin in the third and he was able to get the equalizer to send the game into overtime. During the 3-on-3, Jonathan Quick made a sequence of ridiculous saves and then assisted on Alexis Lafrenière's game-winner. This game was super intense and had a playoff vibe to it for sure.
Wednesday, February 7th | Win 3-1 vs. Lightning
Kind of the same story for the Rangers in this one. They looked like the slower, less-prepared hockey team in the first period. Only this time, they got to the locker room scoreless. For the rest of the game, the Rangers looked dominant. Jimmy Vesey opened the scoring just a minute into the second period, beating Vasilevskiy on the backhand to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. They never looked back. Brodzinski made it 2-0 late in the second, Hagel brought the Lightning closer in the third, and Vesey struck again with the empty net to seal it. Good win against a good team. I didn't like to see Mikhail Sergachev go down with an awful leg injury that required a stretcher. Even though he absolutely crushed us in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
The News
Trade rumors continue to swirl with just shy of four weeks to go until the deadline. With third-line center Filip Chytil ruled out for the remainder of the year with post-concussion symptoms, the obvious move is to go shopping for a center to replace him. However, the market isn't looking so great with Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan already getting moved for hefty prices. Has Jonny Brodzinski done enough to convince the Rangers' brass that he can fill Chytil's shoes heading into the playoffs? He's certainly looked capable enough. Standing pat at center would open up some possibilities to add a legit first-line right winger, which might ignite the currently ice cold Kreider-Zibanejad pairing.
The Good Signs
After a horrible January in which the team went 5-7-2, they came out of the All-Star break with two solid wins against good teams (Colorado and Tampa). It seems like their defensive structure is falling back into place, allowing just 1 goal against in each of those games. At times against Tampa, they looked completely dominant defensively. They are riding a 3-game win streak into a stretch of very winnable games against bad teams (Chicago, Calgary, and Montreal).
Also Jonathan Quick continues to play lights out in goal. Which leads us to...
The Red Flags
Is there a goalie controversy brewing in New York? Star goalie and undisputed number one option Igor Shesterkin looked downright bad in January. Somehow he was still selected to go to the All-Star game, where he looked pretty good. Especially in the shootout. You'd think that would boost his confidence. But then he didn't get the start in the first game back from the All-Star Break. Or the second game. In both contests, backup Quick looked awesome. Which is making the whole thing kind of awkward. I'd think Igor will get the start against Chicago tonight, so let's hope he has a nice outing and silences the murmurs.
Has anybody seen Mika Zibanejad lately? God, when is the last time he scored a big goal? That first line is invisible for large stretches of the game offensively. They are shutting opponents down, but can't seem to generate anything around the net.
Filip Chytil being out for the year and potentially having a career-ending head injury at age 24 just plain sucks. Forget what it means for the team, I just feel bad for the kid and hope he makes a full recovery.
The Play of the Week
Alexis Lafrenière pots the overtime winner against Colorado.
New York Knicks
The Games
Saturday, February 3rd | Loss 113-105 vs. Lakers
All good things come to an end, including the Knicks' 9-game win streak. In a game with a lot of hype, the Lakers came to the Garden and beat the Knicks 113-105 in a tight one. Always a fan of playing at MSG, LeBron put up 24 points. The Knicks, led by Jalen Brunson's 36 points and Donte DiVincenzo's 26, kept the game close until the Lakers dominated the fourth quarter, highlighted by a decisive 11-0 run. Despite a late attempt by the Knicks to close the gap, the Lakers clinched the win from the free-throw line. The game showed the Lakers' depth and resilience, while exposing the Knicks holes without injured Julius Randle and OG Anunoby.
Tuesday, February 6th | Win 123-113 vs. Grizzlies
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points and provided eight assists before scaring the shit out of everyone and leaving the game with an ankle injury. Donte DiVincenzo led the scoring with 32 points, helping the Knicks secure their 10th win in 11 games, despite the absence of starters Julius Randle and OG Anunoby. The Knicks built a substantial lead by halftime, thanks to a strong shooting performance, but sphincters definitely started to tighten at the Garden when the 26-point deficit shrunk to just four points in the 4th. However, DiVincenzo's late-game heroics and key plays from Isaiah Hartenstein and Precious Achiuwa ensured the Knicks held on for the win.
Thursday, February 8th | Loss 122-108 vs. Mavericks
Well, it's never great to go up against Luka Doncic when you're significantly short-handed due to injuries and trades. Luka dominated the depleted Knicks with a remarkable performance of 39 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. The Knicks, missing key players including Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle due to injuries, relied heavily on Donte DiVincenzo, who scored 36 points, and Josh Hart, who recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. Despite their constant grinding away, the depleted roster struggled to keep pace with the Mavericks, particularly after further reducing to just seven available players in the second half due to Isaiah Hartenstein's injury. Stop fucking getting hurt!
The News
The Knicks grabbed Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from Detroit. I don't watch enough basketball to grade this objectively, but it seems like the so-called "experts" like how these pieces will fit in. Which is great, because man, this team needs some reinforcements. It was a great trade deadline day for like 10 seconds, before it was announced that OG Anunoby will miss 3 weeks after undergoing shoulder surgery. Then Hartenstein left the Mavericks game with an injury. So yeah, bring on the roster depth and hopefully everyone can get back on the court for the stretch run.
The Good Signs
They've won 10 of their last 12 games and have a legit shot at climbing up to the #2 seed in the East. I'd say that's a pretty good sign!
The Red Flags
Everybody is hurt on this team.
The Play of the Week
Donte DiVincenzo knocking down a huge 3-pointer after the Grizzlies had cut their 26-point lead to just 4.
Garden Memory
I will put a fun moment that I saw in person at MSG here every week. Let's kick things off with this awesome Game 7 overtime winner from Derek Stepan. Kirk and I both attended this one, and Kirk flung his glasses six rows in front of us out of excitement. It was a fun night until I had to go to work hungover the next day.
Sphere Watch
U2 is still the only artist to have actually performed at this venue since it opened in late September. James Dolan already has plans to expand the arena's circumference to try to contain both Bono and Edge's egos under one rounded roof.
Speaking of Dolan, it was reported that he is vehemently against trading away the Rangers' 2024 first round pick, since the draft is taking place at the Sphere. He's crazy and wants his team to be in the action. This could severely limit GM Chris Drury's options if his hands are tied and he can't trade the pick. Swell!