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......

Atlanta 99 Knicks 93: They simply couldn’t bring this one home. Ahead 91-90 with less than three minutes in the game, the Knicks went cold on both ends of the floor and lost. Jamal Crawford made two turnovers, missed two shots and totally blew a defensive assignment as the Hawks went up 94-91 with 34 second left. The Knicks got the ball back and went inside to Randolph who already had 29 points, but he......

Photograph of the Rangers celebrating as Buffalo Sabres player Ales Kotalik skates away by Frank Franklin II/AP Rangers 5, Sabres 1: Five days off, but only 10 seconds to score. Sean Avery got the Blueshirts off to a great start and they finally got the taste of Sunday's overtime loss to Washington out of their mouths. "I don't think we expected that great of a start," said Brendan Shanahan. He has to be telling......

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.......

Photograph of Sam Madison, left, Kevin Dockery, center, and R.W. McQuarters at the Knicks-Clippers game by Ed Betz/AP Clippers 103 Knicks 94: New York Giants Sam Madison, Kevin Dockery and R.W. McQuarters showed up for the game, which provided a great diversion from what happened on the floor. Leading 60-51 at halftime, the Knicks were blown away in the third quarter, getting outscored 28-14 as the Clippers cruised to the win. The Knicks actually......

Seattle 86 Knicks 85: Make it a clean sweep, for their opponents that is. The Knicks lost all five games on their west coast swing blowing four second half leads along the way. Nate Robinson had a chance for a game-winning shot with time running out, but he missed and the Knicks will take a long flight home and have only a little time to prepare for Monday’s game with the Clippers. Atlanta 104 Nets......

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......

Rangers 4 Montreal 1: The Rangers finally had a game they could feel good about, thrashing the Canadiens easily at the Garden Saturday night. New York jumped out to an early lead after Chris Drury made the defensive play, cleared the puck and then slipped a backhand into the net off of the pretty feed from Hossa. Martin Straka scored later in the first to make it 2-0. New York doubled that lead 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......

Devils 2 Sabres 1 (Shootout): The Devils won their third-straight game by continuing their stifling defense and throwing a lot of shots on goal. It took awhile, but Mike Mottau scored with seven minutes left in the third to tie the game and Zach Parise scored the only goal of the shootout for the win. New Jersey’s win extends their Atlantic Division lead over the idle Penguins and Rangers. Nets 109 Washington 106: The Nets......

Colorado 4 Rangers 3: Marc Staal made the best play he could, but his deflection into the neutral zone cost the Rangers the game. The weird part is that Staal should have been the hero of this game. Tied 2-2, Staal lit the lamp for the Rangers and gave them a lead in a crazy third period. But, Colorado tied things in the third and won the game in OT on the deflection. Charlotte 105......

Islanders 3 Phoenix 2: Bill Guerin had a big night scoring two goals in Phoenix’s first visit to Long Island in over five years. Guerin got the Islanders on the board jumping on a lose puck in the crease in the second period. Marc-Andre Bergeron made it to 2-0 New York and Guerin pounced on another rebound to give the Islanders their third goal. Things got testy at the end of the game as Shane......

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......

Rangers 2, Devils 0: Everyone who had Nigel Dawes in the pool can collect his money. Nothing helps end a 126-minute goalless streak like a giveaway less than a minute into the game. Dawes took advantage and provided a bookend goal late in the game. The Rangers needed this game, having entered it in last place. Henrik Lundqvist handled himself well in goal, and the Devils looked like the team who came in on a......

Our neighbors to the west broke ground today on a new stadium for the Giants and Jets at the Meadowlands. Rather, officials officially broke ground today, since it's obvious to anyone that's been to the Meadowlands that construction on the new two-team stadium has already started. The $1.3 billion stadium will be jointly owned by the two teams and make both feel at home, unlike Giants Stadium, which irritates the Jets and their fans.......

In a flash the Rangers remade their team on the first day of free agency, adding Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Drury, grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut as a Rangers’ fan and has been one of the top centers in the game since breaking into the league with Colorado in 1998 (not to mention a Little League World Series champion). Gomez has been with the Devils since joining the league in 1999 winning two Stanley......

Senators 2, Devils 0: So much for the momentum of an overtime win from Saturday. New Jersey looked sluggish and couldn't cash in on its scoring threats. The Devils now trail this series two games to one. They had only 25 shots overall, went 0-for-5 on the power play and wasted another solid effort from Martin Broduer. Game 4, set for Wednesday, becomes almost a must-win. Marlins 9, Mets 6: Things aren't going right if......

After spending a week healing their wounds, the Rangers head into the second round of the playoffs tonight rested and ready. They will need to be at the top of their game to beat the Buffalo Sabres, a deep and talented team with plenty of guys who can fly all over the ice. Sean Avery has vowed to make every check hurt and the Rangers are going to need to put hits on the Sabres......

Lightning 3, Devils 2: After an enjoyable regular season, the Devils find themselves on the hot seat. A Game 1 win has been followed by back-to-back 3-2 losses. The Devils lost the season series, 3-1, so this shouldn't come as a complete surprise. But New Jersey must have hoped that they would play better when the games count mostn. Martin Brodeur has been only average, and he's usually great in the playoffs. The Devils can......

Rangers 4 Atlanta 3: To say this was a physical contest is an understatement. The Rangers and Thrashers engaged in a heavyweight fight Thursday with New York surviving in the end. Jagr and Rozsival put the Rangers up 2-0 in the first before Eric Belanger cut the lead in half. The Rangers opened another two-goal lead in the second when Marcel Hossa made it 3-1, but Shane Hnidy cut the lead to 1 again midway......

For some inexplicable reason, the NHL has scheduled all three local clubs to start their playoff chase tonight and to overlap with each other most nights. Because of that, fans of the various teams should get to know this website to figure out where they can watch the games. As for the actual series, the Islanders have clearly drawn the toughest test. Buffalo started out the season on fire and hasn’t let up, earning the......

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......

Devils 3 Carolina 2: Local fans of all affiliations cheered on the Devils tonight as they came up with two goals in the third period to beat the Hurricanes. Martin Brodeur had another stellar game with 38 saves. Carolina’s loss leaves them with 78 points, tied with the Islanders and two ahead of the Rangers in the very tight Eastern Conference. The Devils moved to within two of Buffalo for the conference lead. Ottawa 5......

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......

Sixers 99, Nets 86: Philadelphia may be playing better than the absolute garbage it trucked out for most of the season, but at some point New Jersey will have to perform better than this. Richard Jefferson wants to come back at the end of this six-game road trip, and that may help. The Nets rely too heavily on Vince Carter, who finished with nine points after missing his last 14 attempts from the field.......

Knicks 99 Lakers 94: Once again the Knicks showed the inability to take care of the basketball, but with Kobe Bryant suspended, the Lakers couldn’t take advantage. New York committed 21 turnovers, but enjoyed a 48-33 rebounding advantage and put also held LA to .44% from the field. Jared Jeffries was back in the starting lineup and responded with 14 points while Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury added 27 and 22 points apiece. Atlanta 5......

Charlotte 126 New York 110: How many ways can the Knicks let us down? Facing one of the worst teams in the league, New York allowed them to shoot almost 60% from the field as they proved once again that they are not ready for primetime. Eddy Curry had 27 points, but he could not overcome Emeka Okafor who had ten blocks. New Jersey 2 Atlanta 1: The Devils trailed most of the game, but......

Knicks 106, 76ers 99: If there's one team that has the Knicks beat in the turmoil department, it's the 76ers. They've traded star guard Allen Iverson and are about to buy out Chris Webber's contract. A team with such distractions proved no match for the Knicks. Eddy Curry had 20, and Stephon Marbury scored 24. The Knicks welcomed back Nate Robinson from his 10-game suspension and Quentin Richardson from back spasms. They've won three straight.......

Rangers 3 Devils 2 (Shootout): New York and New Jersey put on a great show Tuesday night, playing an intense game that finished with an eight-round shootout. The Devils jumped out to an early lead off of a John Madden goal, but New York took a 2-1 lead in the third after Petr Prucha scored his ninth goal of the year. Thomas Pock was called for tripping with just under five minutes left and the......

-Rangers 5, Stars 2: Matt Cullen scored two goals, including the go-ahead score 57 seconds into the second period as the Rangers rolled to their fifth straight win. They haven't lost since Dec. 3, when the Islanders took them down. With the Devils' loss, the Rangers lead the Atlantic Division by four points, and they're finally playing hockey like they did during their best stretches last year. Thursday's game was wide open, but the Rangers......