Rangers 5, Flyers 4 (SO): Maybe in the future coach Tom Renney will start backup goaltender Steve Valiquette against the Flyers. He came in relief of Henrik Lundqvist and stopped 17 of 18 shots, then put forth a perfect performance in the shootout. The reserve, who now has three wins against the Flyers this season, stabilized a game that saw both Lundqvist and Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki yanked by the time two minutes were gone......

Magic 118, Knicks 92: If the Knicks can't get motivated for games when they haven't played the night before, what makes anyone think they would appear energized for the second half of a back-to-back? One night after losing at Atlanta, New York put forth a token effort and even led by five in the second quarter, but it then fell back to Earth and got crushed. Orlando's Dwight Howard dominated the Knicks -- who were......

Islanders 4 Philadelphia 3: It has been a long three weeks since the Islanders last won. A seven-game losing streak came to a very satisfying end Tuesday night as New York came out firing against the Flyers. Trent Hunter got things going with a goal at 17:42 of the first. The Flyers tied it up in the second, but the Islanders took the lead and built it on two beautiful goals. Jeff Tambellini took advantage......

Rangers 2 Philadelphia 0: Stephen Valiquette certainly likes playing in Philadelphia. Last time he was there he shutout the Flyers and this time he provided the same result. While Valiquette’s play was solid, the game was highlighted by hard hits and a lot of fighting, including a major scrum in the second period. Nigel Dawes got the Rangers on the board near the end of the third period as he converted a power play chance.......

Rangers 5, Canadiens 3: Fans who tired of FOX's marathon Super Bowl pregame show may have migrated to NBC to catch this inspired effort by the Rangers. Playing in Montreal -- did any of them get to watch the Super Bowl, or even want to watch? -- the Blueshirts scored five unanswered goals after trailing, 3-0, early in the second period. Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal, and Scott Gomez, Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka and......

Rangers 4, Flyers 0: Stephen Valiquette didn't really have to work for it, but he got his first career shutout. Even when the Flyers are hot and the Rangers are cold as ice, New York finds a way. Nigel Dawes, Petr Prucha, Chris Drury and Brendan Shanahan all scored. The Rangers hadn't won the road this year. Philadelphia had enjoyed a 12-2-1 streak. The Flyers are in first, but they are only five points ahead......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 0: Tom Renney shook up the lines and the lineup and the Rangers responded. Playing the opening game in their consecutive home game tilt with the Thrashers, New York set the tone early and played great defense allowing only 14 shots. Sean Avery, placed on the top line with Gomez and Jagr got things started with a goal at 12:12 of the first period. Brandon Dubinsky scored a few minutes later and......

Bruins 4, Rangers 3 (SO): Sometimes teams are happy with a single point, but the Rangers won't be in this one. They blew a lead in the third period -- after rallying from a 2-1 deficit -- and then saw things go against them in the shootout. A sluggish January for continues for New York. Scott Gomez had two assists and a goal, but it didn't help the Rangers avoid dropping to 2-4-1 in the......

Devils 4, Hurricanes 1: Martin Brodeur only needed to make 20 saves in this one. The Devils have now won seven of nine. Travis Zajac, Brian Gionta and Sergei Brylin all had goals, but it was Patrik Elias scoring the game-winner for the second straight time. They could have had six goals had they not hit the post twice. That fatigue-induced slow start is a distant memory for New Jersey, which leads the Atlantic......

Spurs 97, Knicks 93: The Spurs entered this game nearly perfect at home. What chance did the Knicks have? At least their draft lottery position keeps getting better. Eddy Curry appeared to be motivated. He had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Too bad the Knicks let the Spurs shoot 50 percent from 3-point range. This game could have turned out differently. Nets 102, Bobcats 96: Until Friday, the Nets hadn't won four straight games.......

Coyotes 5, Rangers 1: Wayne Gretzky returned to Madison Square Garden, the site of his final game as a player, to coach his Phoenix club to an easy win over the Rangers. His voice was hoarse because of a flu and laryngitis. Similar symptoms sidelined New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and Steve Valiquette wasn't up to the challenge of facing the worst offense in the Western Conference. Thanks to the wonders of the unbalanced......

Devils 6, Flyers 2: After three failed bids to get Martin Brodeur his 500th career win, the Devils finally provided him some margin of error. They played stingy defense and lit the lamp six times en route to an easy milestone win. Brodeur joins Patrick Roy as the only netminders with 500 wins. Dainius Zubrus got the party started and added an assist. As happy as the Devils are for Brodeur, they're probably happiest that......

Sacramento 123 Knicks 118 (2OT’s); You weren’t dreaming, that really was Stephon Marbury playing defense. Marbury didn’t start, but he had a nice game off the bench as Isiah went to a three-guard lineup in the fourth quarter. With Crawford and Robinson sharing the point, Marbury took over at the two and did well. Eddy Curry had a huge game with 27 points including a game-tying rebound and layup with 10 seconds left in regulation,......

Rangers 4 Philadelphia 3 (Shootout): The Rangers have overcome their slow start and moved into a tie for first place. Brendan Shanahan had a goal in regulation and the game-winner in the shootout to power New York. Henrik Lundqvist kept the Flyers off the board in the shootout, stopping all three shots he faced. Marc Staal played another solid game paired with Rozsival and Marek Malik has to be worried about regaining his starting spot.......

Hornets 84, Nets 82: As much as the Nets appreciate the start to the season Antoine Wright has had, they probably don't want him taking their final shot at the buzzer. But Wright did just that after starting for Vince Carter -- out with a sprained ankle -- and the result wasn't pretty. Carter's injury will have him out the always mysterious "indefinitely," and the Nets will have to find offense elsewhere. Richard Jefferson (32......

Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 2: That’s not a misprint, the Rangers really scored four goals tonight. Scott Gomez got things started for New York with a goal 7:35 into the game. But, Pittsburgh came right back and tied things on a Sergei Gonchar slap shot. But, Sean Avery did what he does best, get under opponents’ skin and he goaded Gary Roberts into a double minor. Roberts should know better and his mistake setup Michal Rozsival’s......

Islanders 5, Capitals 2: Bill Guerin, master of the assists, finally scored as the Islanders romped host Washington. The new captain had a hat trick as he got his name in the scorebook for the first time as an Islanders. He had six assists entering the game. Despite Guerin's heroics, Bryan Berard scored the go-ahead goal and added two assists. Thrashers 5, Rangers 3: Should the Rangers get credit for playing with spirit in the......

Devils 6, Thrashers 5: Down 4-2, the Devils decided to take action. They scored four of the next five goals, including Patrick Elias' game-winner with 28 seconds remaining, to avoid their fourth loss of the season. When a team's goalie's saves is twice the number of goals scored by his team, something's wrong. Martin Brodeur made 12 saves on 17 shots but stayed in the game. This comeback loses some of its luster when the......

Yankees 10, Orioles 7: Yeah, you read the headline right. Alex Rodriguez came through in yesterday afternoon's game in the biggest way - with a two-out game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning. It was his 2nd home run of the game. The bottom of the ninth inning went something like this: out, out, Robinson Cano single, Derek Jeter walk, Bobby Abreu hit-by-pitch, grand slam by Rodriguez into the black seats. Kei......

Rangers 3, Canadiens 1: Last season saw the Rangers start quickly before backing into the playoffs. Their quick dismissal by the Devils took plenty of the luster off a turnaround season. This season, the Rangers couldn't find a groove until recently, when they have played well and looked like a team that can make a dent in the playoffs. They can be carried by Jaromir Jagr -- who scored a goal and added an assist......

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. Torontoist Special Report: Rosie to Trump: "Fire 300 Bicyclists for Fraud!" On DCist: Students Go Wild for Slogans, Secrets and Sexual Harassment The action was thick......

Rangers 6 Flyers 4: The bottom line is they got the two points. Yes, they almost threw away a big lead and yes, they made a lot of mental mistakes, but they got the two points. Henrik Lundqvist rebounded nicely from Tuesday’s shellacking, stopping 33-of-37 shots while Jagr netted two and Prucha got his 20th. The win leaves the Rangers in the seventh spot with four games left. Their margin for error remains razor-thin with......

Mavericks 105 Knicks 103: This would have been sweet. The Knicks almost came away with the win of the year, actually the win of the past two years, before losing in the final second to the 61-win Mavericks on the road. Stephon Marbury had an amazing night, scoring 43 points while almost single-handedly leading the team to victory. The Knicks out-shot and out-rebounded the Mavericks, but were done in by 25 turnovers. Pistons 110 Nets......

Rangers 2, Bruins 1: Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves, the Rangers scored to tie it up with 100 seconds remaining, and everyone ended up happy. Thomas Pock scored the goal -- his first since Oct. 10. Lundqvist, who let the Rangers down somewhat last year after returning from the Turin Olympics, looks more and more like a big-time goalie who can carry a team through the playoffs. With each passing win, the Rangers are more......

Rangers 5, Flyers 0: This game needed 21 seconds to have a fight that ended up with Flyers forward Todd Fedoruk leaving the ice on a stretcher and headed to St. Vincent. While that may do it for some hockey fans, would the game be better if players limited the violence to the legal and clean collisions allowed in the contact sport? No one wants to see someone leave the ice like that. Looking......

Sonics 100 Knicks 99: Don’t blame this one on Stephon Marbury. Yes, he missed the tying free throw with under a second left, but after scoring 40 points, the blame for this loss lies elsewhere. Start with the defensive effort by the entire team, which was nonexistent until Malk Rose showed up in the third quarter. Seattle shot 52% for the game, which is inexcusable. You can also point the finger at Eddy Curry who......

Nets 113, Wizards 101: That post title refers to the "Big Three" of Jason Kidd (26 points, nine assists, eight rebounds), Vince Carter (27, 3 and 6) and Bostjan Nachbar (23, 6 and 2). It could also talk about the 16 3-pointers pointers -- a franchise record -- the Nets hit in a win at home over the Wizards. Before everyone goes crazy about New Jersey beating the team with the second-best record in the......

Flyers 5, Rangers 3: Something you never want to see at a sporting event is a player carted off on a stretcher. That's just what fans and players at The Garden witnessed last night. After a violent collision in the 3rd period with Mike Knuble of the Flyers, Brendan Shanahan was taken off the ice on a stretcher. Shanahan, the Rangers' leading goal-scorer, was kept overnight for observation at St. Vincent's. The Rangers said......

Nets 87 Hawks 85: Finally New Jersey didn’t blow the game. Yes, it was against the Hawks, but this was a big win. It took a Vince Carter layup and rebound to seal the deal, part of his 22-point effort. Jason Kidd had 9 assists, 9 points and 7 rebounds and the Nets “improved” to 23-27, still 3 ½ behind the Raptors. Islanders 2 Flyers 0: Philadelphia showed again why they are going nowhere this......

Nets 112, Nuggets 102: No NBA regular-season game should be billed as a must-win, but Saturday's victory in Denver could prove to be the most important game this season for the Nets. As much as they hate to admit it, when they need to win, they rely on Vince Carter, who scored 40 points. Bostjan Nachbar's 22 went in the pleasant-surprise department, which also included this win on the heels of three heartbreaking losses. Rangers......