Photograph of the Rangers' Chris Drury being pulled down by the Flyers' Braydon Coburn, right, as goalie Antero Niittymaki and Rangers center Aaron Voros by Tom Mihalek/AP Rangers 4, Flyers 3: The Rangers, 4-0, are off to their best start in 25 years after defeating the Flyers on Saturday. New York got all their scoring done by the end of the first period and backup goalie Stephen Valiquette held off Philly in his first......

Photograph of the Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky, right, firing a shot to score past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Brent Sopel (not shown) as defenseman Brent Sopel defends by Ed Betz/AP Rangers 4, Blackhawks 2: Jet lag didn't appear to be a problem for the Rangers, who won easily in their Stateside debut. Remember, they canceled the Lightning in two games in Prague last weekend. Wade Redden, Aaron Voros, Brandon Dubinsky and Nikolai Zherdev all scored for......

Photo of Aaron Voros of the Rangers and Ryan Malone of the Lightning during today's game in Prague, Czech Republic by AP/Petr David Josek With baseball over and football only an once-a-week watch, New York sports fans may be staring at an empty October. But, there is a solution that sadly only a small number of fans in the area have found -- hockey. Take the speed of basketball, add the contact of football......

Photo of Martin Brodeur of the Devils stopping a shot by the slanders' Mike Comrie in a pre-season game by AP Photo/Frank Franklin II; Photo below of Henrik Lundqvist throwing a t-shirt by AP Photo/Petr David Josek The NHL season starts a little earlier than usual for our local teams. The Rangers are opening their season in Prague this weekend with two sold-out games against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders and Devils open......

Photograph of the Devils' Paul Martin, left, and Rangers' Sean Avery, right, go flying over Devils goalie Martin Brodeur by Bill Kostroun/AP Rangers 5 Devils 3: This was an epic clash to end the series. After the Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead, the Rangers scored the next four goals, taking control of the game and leading 4-1 with about fifteen minutes left in the second period. But the Devils stormed back with......

Rangers 5 Devils 3: There is justice in the hockey world. One game after inadvertently deflecting the winning goal for the Devils off of his skate, Marc Staal scored the winning goal for the Rangers. Staal’s slap shot beat Martin Brodeur through the five-hole with three minutes left in regulation of a 3-3 game and gave the MSG crowd another chance to serenade Brodeur. Staal’s goal was one of the many highlights for the Rangers,......

Devils 4 Rangers 3 (OT) : Sometimes the puck just bounces the right way for you and that is exactly what happened for the Devils Sunday. New Jersey got the win they had to have thanks to a very lucky bounce. John Madden made a smart play, throwing the puck at the crease and it deflected off of Marc Staal’s skate and into the net. It was the second good bounce for New Jersey, who......

Rangers 2 Devils 1: If you were under the impression that these teams like each other, this game should clear that misconception up. New York and New Jersey spent sixty minutes Friday hitting and scrapping and when it was all over the Rangers had a huge victory and a big advantage in the series. Jaromir Jagr got things started with an amazing shot that beat Martin Brodeur off the short-side. Sean Avery scored only 23......

Photograph of the Rangers' Ryan Callahan putting a puck pasting Devils goalie Martin Brodeur by Bill Kostroun/AP Rangers 4 Devils 1: Don’t let the score fool you, this was a close game for about 57 minutes. New York got on the board first thanks to Brendan Shanahan, but New Jersey answered with a power play goal from Paul Martin. The game remained tied until the 7:23 mark of the third period when the Devils......

Photograph of Jaromir Jagr scoring against Martin Brodeur in a losing effort on Sunday by AP/Bill Kostroun For the fifth time in their history the Rangers and Devils will meet in the playoffs. The Rangers won the first three meetings, with New Jersey winning the fourth, a clean-sweep in 2006. Neither team is likely to sweep the other this year as both teams are fairly evenly matched, especially defensively. The Rangers and Devils allowed......

Photograph of the Devils' Zach Parise putting the puck past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist by Bill Kostroun/AP Devils 3, Rangers 2 (SO): Needing a win in regulation to secure home ice in the playoffs, the Rangers pulled out all the stops. Not even adding an extra skater by pulling Henrik Lundqvist could do the trick, however, and the Devils finally beat the Rangers. New Jersey had lost the first seven games between the clubs......

Islanders 4 Rangers 3 (shootout): The Islanders clinched at least a share of the Metro Ice Challenge Championship! Unfortunately, the Islanders had to play the majority of their games against teams from outside the tri-state area and they didn’t do as well which is why their season is over. For the Rangers, they got a critical point and that combined with the Devils’ loss (see below) gives them a chance to take over fourth......

Mets 13 Marlins 0: The game is the good news as the Mets pounded out 17 hits against Florida in an easy win. Ryan Church got it started with a home run in the second and David Wright also added his first shot of the year. Oliver Perez looked very good, striking out eight over six innings. The bad news came from Pedro Martinez who is out 4-to-6 weeks with what is being described as......

Marlins 5 Mets 4 (10 innings): Forget the final score, the biggest news was Pedro Martinez grabbing his left leg after a pitch in the fourth. Pedro later told reporters he felt a “pop” and will head for a MRI shortly. Needless to say, “pop” is not a good thing for a pitcher to feel and it seems very likely that Martinez will be heading to the DL. For how long remains to be seen,......

Rangers 2, Penguins 1 (OT): Barring a Mets-like collapse, the Rangers will make the playoffs. Monday's victory probably boosted their spirits, too. Chris Drury scored in overtime after assisting on Jaromir Jagr's goal in regulation. At 93 points with three games remaining, the Rangers are one point away from clinching and tied with the Devils for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. But catching the Devils and the home ice in the first round......

Toronto 103 Knicks 95: The march to the end continued with another loss and another lack of defense. Zach Randolph didn’t play again (wink wink) but surprisingly Randoph Morris spent the night sitting on the bench. It’s clear from things like the 18-minute shoot-around the other day that Isiah simply doesn’t care anymore. And while that isn’t necessarily a surprise and may not even cost him a job in the organization, it is disappointing to......

Flyers 2 Rangers 1 (OT): Sean Avery would like to have that one back. After circling the net and skating near the point, Avery threw a blind pass to center that Philadelphia intercepted and turned into the game-winning goal. It gave the Flyers their second-consecutive win over the Rangers after regulation and puts Philadelphia only a point behind New York in the tight Eastern Conference. New York will now look ahead to a huge game......

Timberwolves 114, Knicks 93: More losses = more balls in NBA Draft Lottery. That may be the best gift Isiah Thomas can give the Knicks before this season is over (a resignation would probably be better). In a match-up featuring two of the NBA's worst teams, the Knicks managed to come away as the loser, dropping their 11th of 12 games. Shockingly, at 19-50, the Knicks haven't been eliminated from playoff contention in the Eastern......

Flyers 4 Rangers 3 (Shootout): Do you judge success by the final score or the effort it took to get there? Clearly, the final score is a disappointment, but when you consider the Rangers were trailing 2-0 with less than 10 minutes left, getting a point is somewhat of a victory. New York got back into the game with goals from Marek Malik and Nigel Dawes, but fell behind 3-2 when Daniel Briere scored at......

Rangers 2 Devils 1 (Shootout): These were two HUGE points. Thanks to a Dainius Zubrus goal in the first period, the Devils jumped out to an early lead. Both teams settled in and played smart, defensive hockey and it looked like that one goal might hold up. But, Ryan Callahan made a great move from behind the net and he threaded a pass across the crease that Chris Drury deposited into the net with under......

Tampa Bay 3 Rangers 0: The Rangers decided to truly represent New York and went to Florida this weekend for some rest and recreation. They certainly didn’t play a lot of hockey, losing Friday and then mailing it in on Saturday. They only managed 20 shots and while Henrik Lundqvist made some big saves, he couldn’t bail New York out when they needed him most. The loss leaves the Rangers only four points ahead of......

Too bad Knicks games aren't this exciting or well-played. The busiest -- and best -- day of the Big East schedule got started with Georgetown's record-setting win over Villanova, which is now squarely back on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Hoyas won without any points from Roy Hibbert. Those tournament-record 17 3-pointers -- on 28 attempts -- helped more than cancel it out in a 83-62 win.The Hoyas will get the Moutaineers of West Virginia,......

Canadiens 4, Devils 0: With a chance to solidify their hold on the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Devils instead surrendered it in a disappointing loss in the province of Quebec. New Jersey outshot Montreal 33-18 in the first two periods, but when it came time to trudge back to the dressing room for the second intermission, the Devils trailed 3-0. Give credit to Montreal goalie Carey Price. Martin Brodeur has now started......

Portland 120 Knicks 114 (OT): The Knicks went into this game shorthanded, no Zach Randolph, no Eddy Curry, no Jamal Crawford. But, even without three starters they almost pulled out the win thanks to Nate Robinson’s 45-point game. Robinson played an amazing 52 minutes in the game and the Knicks used only eight players, even with the extra period. Mavericks 111 Nets 91: Jason Kidd got his first crack at his old team and he......

Devils 2, Lightning 1 (OT): With rivals Montreal and Pittsburgh idle, New Jersey saw its win vault it back into first place in the Eastern Conference. Credit goes out to Patrik Elias, who scored the game-winner in overtime and assisted on the earlier strike. The Devils' sitting atop the playoff race isn't a schedule fluke, either. They have a game in hand on the Penguins and the same number as the Canadiens. Pistons 101, Knicks......

Photograph of Islanders celebrating a second period goal from Ruslan Fedotenko by Frank Franklin II/AP Islanders 4 Rangers 3 (Shootout): This was not a game for fans of goaltenders. Henrik Lundqvist was terrible, Wade Dubielewicz was too but better when it counted and the Islanders prevailed in a sloppy game. Blake Comeau got things started when he scored by throwing the puck off of Michal Rozsival to put the Islanders in front. The Rangers......

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......

Penguins 4, Islanders 2: A busy day for the Islanders didn't end with a win. They signed Mike Comrie to a contract extension, shipped off resident thug winger Chris Simon to the Minnesota Wild and also got rid of Marc-Andre Bergeron for a draft pick. Then they faced the depleted Penguins -- who made the biggest deal of the day in adding Marian Hossa -- and lost a bizarre game. They outshot the Pens 52-21,......

Rangers 5 Panthers 0: For the second-consecutive weekend the Rangers played two games and emerged with four point. Sunday they completely dominated Florida on both ends of the ice as they cruised to an easy win. Five different Rangers scored goals and ten different Rangers had points in the win. Brandon Dubinsky showed his versatility when he pulled Sean Avery away from a fight, only to step into the action on his own. Dubinsky fought......