It was after all, an emotional weekend here in NY, as Rangers fans returned to MSG, before the Knicks went over .500 for the first time since 2013. Let’s dive into these historic last few days.
RANGERS : 7-9-3
We saw both sides of this Rangers team. The good guys came out on “Fan appreciation night”, by bullying the Bruins 6-2, in a game that saw six different Blueshirts score, and Alexander Georgiev make 31 saves. A goal by Julien Gauthier got the fans going in the first, but a three goal second, with talliess from Ryan Strome, Collin Blackwell ,and Chris Kreider, giving them a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes of play, despite getting outshot 16-15. The third period saw Pavel Buchnevich, and Jhonny Brodenzki, who scored his first NHLgoal, to ice the exhilarating 6-2 victory.
But on Sunday, Boson fired back, as they responded from getting outscored 13-4 in 48 hours by the Rangers, and Islanders, with a resounding 4-1 victory. It was typical end-end Boston hockey, with them controlling the pace of play from the jump, with Jaraslov Halaak, only allowing a late goal from Collin Blackwell, which was answered by an empty netter, by Charlie Coyle. The win gives the B’s, a 3-1 lead in this season-series.
KNICKS:18-17
For the first time since the Carmelo Anthony days, the Knicks are over .500, with wins over the feisty Pacers, and the lowly Pistons over the weekend. On Saturday, they hosted the Indiana Pacers, in the rubber match of their season- series, at a “sold-out” MSG.
New York was down 8-0, early, 32-23 after 12 minutes, and 46-30 midway through the second quarter, before the Knicks erupted. Production from Julius Randle, RJ Barret, and Elfreid Payton, got the team to within 52-51, before a heroic half-court buzzer beater by the newly-acquired Derrick Rose, astonishingly put NY in front by two at the break. The game remained tightly contested in the second half, with Indiana getting their share of scoring from Doug Mcdermmot, and all-star Damonte Sabonis, while NY saw Randle & Barret, continue to propel them. Up 81-78 entering the fourth quarter, the Knicks needed points, and got some, as an Immanuel Quickly, registered his third four point play of the season, that extended the teams lead to 86-78.
However, Indiana would not go quietly, as they would use some aggressive two way ball, and go on a 20-7 run, to take a 98-93 lead, with just 4:10 remaining in the contest. Butt then, a trey, and a three point play by RJ, followed by a three-pointer by Julius allowed, the Knicks to wrestle momentum once gain, as they now held the advantage at 102-98, with the clock winding down to under three minutes left in the game. But Indy would stay in the fight, and at one point had a chance to steal this one, down 108-106, with 14 seconds remains, and the ball. But a clutch takeaway, and free throws by Frank Nitikila, sealed it, in a 110-106 NYK win, allowing them to reach 17-17, and send fans partying into the Manhattan streets.
On Sunday, the team flew to Detroit, and kept the good times rolling, with their seventh win in 10 games, and third straight overall, by mauling the Pistons 109-90, in Derrick Rose’s return against his former team. The standout performer, has been Julius Randle, who continues to further establish himself, as an all-star, and as a candidate for the “Most Improved Player of the year” award, with a 28-10-6 performance, against Indiana, and a 25-8-6 outing in Detroit.
These wins puts the young Knicks fourth in the Eastern Conference, only trailing the “Super-Houses” , in the 76ers, Nets, and Bucks.
NETS: 22-13
The eight game win-streak streak finally came to halt, in a 115-97 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, but that didn’t stop James Harden from putting up 29 points on Saturday evening. Brooklyn, have the Spurs(17-12), and the Houston Rockets, who are on 12 game losing streak. The Nets should be able to defeat both of them, minus Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
ISLANDERS 11-6-4
It was a hard-fought two game set on Long Island, between the Pittsburg Penquins, and the New York Islanders, which saw the Isles take three of a possible four point away, falling 4-3 in OT, on Saturday, before responding with a 2-0 win on Sunday, with another shutout from the young rookie Ilyu Sorokin.
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