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The Rangers are kind of lollygagging to the finish line while the resurgent Knicks are taking down the beasts of the East.
There are just two games left for both the Rangers and the Knicks before the playoffs start. Let’s not waste any time getting into it!
New York Rangers
The Games
Friday, April 5th | Win 4-3 at Red Wings
Chris Kreider got the go-ahead power play goal to win this ho-hum affair. It seemed like the Rangers were in control most of the game, but the Red Wings ended up wrestling the lead away late in the second period. However, that only lasted 25 seconds as Barclay Goodrow potted his second goal of the game, literally doubling his season-long total, for a quick bounce back. The fourth line really looked great in this one, a strong indicator that their depth will give teams problems in the postseason. However, the defense still isn’t giving anyone too much confidence.
Sunday, April 7th | Win 5-2 vs. Canadiens
Just a real chill night for Artemi Panarin who had a goal and three assists to extend the absolute heater he’s been on. Mika chipped in with two goals and Laffy added another. Things stayed pretty even in this one, which headed into the third period tied at 1-1. But then the wheels kind of came off for the overmatched Canadiens and the Rangers decided it was time to go win the game. Technically this will count as a comeback win, since they trailed 1-0 in the first period, but it never felt like they were in danger of losing this one.
Tuesday, April 9th | Loss 4-2 at Islanders
Up against a desperate Islanders team who basically need to win out to make the playoffs, it was very obvious who wanted this one more. The Rangers fell behind 3-0 and got badly outworked early in the game. They started to come alive towards the end of the second period and into the third, netting two power play goals to shrink the gap to 3-2. With the goalie pulled, the Rangers' intense pressure was foiled by a ridiculous hit from behind by Noah Dobson, which did not result in a penalty. Trocheck went flying, lost the puck, and it immediately led to an empty net goal to seal the 4-2 win for the Islanders.
Thursday, April 11th | Loss 4-1 vs. Flyers
A frustrating game for the Rangers, who dropped their second-straight regulation loss for the first time since January 20th. Basically the opposite of Tuesday’s game against the Islanders. They came out flying in this one, coming super close to scoring a bunch of times. But the Flyers got bailed out by some good goaltending and the Flyers went ahead 1-0 on a flukey goal that went against the run of play. They never really got back into it mentally and started giving up chance after chance against the rush (a bad habit reminiscent of their poor play in January). Not what you want to see!
The News
The Rangers have now tied their franchise record for wins in a season with 53. Artermi Panarin has continued to score in bunches, getting himself to 47 goals and 117 points on the year. With two games to play, he needs 6 points to tie Jaromir Jagr’s franchise record for points in a season. While unlikely, he has scored 3 or more points in 14 contests this season. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Tensions flared in the Islanders game as Mika took a blow to the head from Adam Pelech and Trocheck got boarded in the waning seconds. It should set up an interesting rematch on Saturday.
The Good Signs
Just kind of taking care of business down the stretch. The line combo of Trocheck, Panarin, and Lafreniere continues to look absolutely dominant. Plus, the third and fourth line are contributing with long stretches in the offensive zone. Hey, even Barclay Goodrow was scoring some goals this week. With two games to play, we still have a 1-point cushion for the President’s Trophy and a 3-point cushion for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. I think every Rangers fan would have signed up for that at the beginning of the year.
The Red Flags
Losing two in a row to division rivals isn’t great, especially when falling out of first place could mean having to face the red hot Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. Our defense against the rush is once again looking very shaky, as is the play of the “top” line of Zibanejad, Kreider, and Roslovic. They just don’t seem to drive any kind of offense 5-on-5, which means opposing teams can focus all of their efforts on stopping Panarin’s line. It’s nice to see Mika and Kreider cooking on the power play again, but man, really need to step it up at even strength.
The Play of the Week
Panarin finishes a nifty give and go with Laffy.
New York Knicks
The Games
Friday, April 5th | Loss 108-100 at Bulls
Tough one on the second half of a back-to-back in Chicago. Despite Brunson's stellar 35-point effort, the Knicks just couldn't outpace the Bulls, falling 108-100. Javonte Green was on fire for them, setting career highs and throwing down a dunk so ridiculous, the Bulls’ bench got a technical for celebrating it. Despite a couple of good runs at them, the Knicks never caught up and suffered their fourth loss in the last five games.
Sunday, April 7th | Win 122-109 at Bucks
Stop me when you’ve heard this one before: Brunson was absolutely electric, dropping 43 points in a huge victory over the second place Bucks. It was an awesome second half rally, showing the grit and fight that stood out during the Knicks’ insane run back in January. DiVincenzo and Hartenstein were right there alongside Brunson, putting up crucial numbers. This one was definitely a momentum builder, and propelled New York to third place in the East.
Tuesday, April 9th | Win 128-117 at Bulls
Heading right back to Chicago after losing there four days ago was a recipe for a revenge game. Brunson didn’t disappoint, dropping 45 points against them for his second 40-point game in a row. He's making history alongside Knicks legends like King and Ewing. Anunoby and DiVincenzo were there too, chipping in with 24 and 21 points. Hart's double-double was the cherry on top. It was a great way to build on the momentum gained in the Bucks upset.
Thursday, April 11th | Win 118-109 at Celtics
Brunson was a complete failure in this one, only scoring 39 points and not capturing a third-straight 40-point performance. What a clown. But in all seriousness, this was a great road win against the first place Celtics. We now have a legitimate shot at catching the Bucks and getting the two-seed. It was also nice to see Brunson get some help in this one, with DiVincenzo and Hart adding to the firepower and Bogdanovic adding 14 off the bench. Wow, things were looking a bit bleak but the vibes are pretty high right now!
The News
For the first time in what feels like forever, there’s no bad injury news to report. Julius Randle’s season-ending surgery was a huge bummer, but the flipside is that everyone else is finally healthy. Having a full rotation really made a difference on this road trip. The Knicks will close things out with two winnable home games against the Nets and Bulls, giving them a shot at the two seed if the Bucks keep flailing. Interesting times ahead!
The Good Signs
OG Anunoby is returning to form at the perfect time. The Knicks are looking healthy and confident heading into their final pair of games. Taking down the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference in consecutive games right before the playoffs start is definitely considered a good sign. And literally everything Brunson touches is muy bueno as well.
The Red Flags
Despite a great week, there’s a lot of doubt over whether the Knicks have enough to be considered a legitimate contender. And if we’re being honest, they probably don’t. Brunson is other-worldly, probably playing the best basketball of anyone in the East right now. But in a long playoff run, he’s bound to have off nights. And those off nights are when things usually get ugly for the Knicks. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
The Play of the Week
Second half rally against the Bucks.
Garden Memory
Here’s Kirk (left, chugging water) having a rough time at last year’s 5-0 Rangers win over the Penguins. It was St. Patrick’s Day weekend and we kind of overdid it. Great times though! Until we got home.
Sphere Watch
This week at The Sphere, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio consumed an excessive amount of vegan chili in the green room, resulting in a complex mixture of gasses (such as methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide) being released into the venue. As you know from high school chemistry, in a sphere, gas molecules distribute uniformly due to the symmetrical nature of the space, facilitating an even dispersal of odors. Furthermore, the spherical shape significantly enhanced the acoustic transmission of the sound associated with the flatulence, amplifying its presence.
The combination of these factors, alongside the high concentration of odiferous compounds like hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol in the flatulence, resulted in a rapid and widespread olfactory assault, compelling the evacuation of the venue. This incident underscores the unique challenges posed by the aerodynamics and acoustics of spherical architecture in containing and dispersing gaseous substances.
CEO of of The Madison Square Garden Company, James Dolan, could not be reached for comment. His assistant told us we were, "Pretty gross."