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 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 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......

Rangers 3 Devils 2: For a team that went years without being able to beat the Devils, this year’s performance from the Rangers has been startling. Seven games, seven wins, 14 huge points and now both teams are tied with 91 points and five games to play. It was a game of crazy bounces with the puck, benefiting both teams. Tied at one, Christian Backman committed a terrible turnover in his own end that led......

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......

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......

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......

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......

Thrashers 4, Devils 3 (SO): John Madden put the Devils up a goal with 8:45 remaining, but with 18 seconds to go, Atlanta's Marian Hossa got the equalizer. The teams went 10 rounds in a shootout before the Thrashers emerged on top. Eighteen seconds away from two points, and instead the Devils settle for one. This was the second straight overtime game for the Devils, who also play Saturday. Martin Brodeur, who has made 17......

Raptors 109, Nets 91: If this is a sneak preview at life after Jason Kidd, it wasn't pretty. Well, even if this isn't a sneak preivew, it wasn't pretty. The Nets never led and trailed by as many as 30 north of the border. Then they got word that the Kidd deal may not be done yet. Thanks to the veto of Devean George, who was in the deal to balance out contracts and not......

You may not have realized it, but some of the other local teams had games Sunday and some of them were pretty important. Take for instance the Rangers who lost 3-1 to Boston, giving the Bruins the home-and-home sweep over the weekend. New York played well offensively, but made some stupid mistakes in the defensive zone and paid the price. They are in the thick of the playoff race in a wide-open Eastern Conference,......

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 (SO): Aggressive play cost the Devils the win in regulation, but Martin Brodeur, Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias too center stage in the shootout to allow the Devils to continue their home dominance. They have picked up 21 of 22 points at their new Prudential Center in the last 11 games. Things didn't look so rosy when Jason Pominville tied the game with 1:47 to go, but the Devils bounced......

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.......

Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 0: When things aren’t going well, hockey coaches look to shake up their lines. That what Tom Renney did Tuesday, installing Gomez on the Jagr-Straka line and the results were very good. The top line looked like one, scoring twice at even strength and propelling New York to the victory. But, it wasn’t just the top guys. Chris Drury had added two points and the defense held Pittsburgh to 18 shots. Henrik......

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......

Mavericks 99, Knicks 89: Are James Dolan and Isiah Thomas watching the same team the fans are? More boos were heard in Madison Square Garden during the latest Knicks debacle. But James Dolan and Isiah Thomas don't seem to hear them -- or feel the "Fire Isiah" chants are justified. What more evidence do they need? A loss to the Mavericks, the team that finished with the best record in the NBA last season, wouldn't......

Rangers 1 Devils 0 Overtime: This was one the Rangers needed to win and it showed. From the start of the game they played a smart, defensive style that gave New Jersey very few chances. It worked to perfection as the Devils only got 17 shots during the entire game, but the problem was the Rangers couldn’t score. Time and again Martin Brodeur stopped them and when the game went to overtime, it appeared likely......

Knicks 100, Nets 93: No Stephon Marbury, and the Knicks take down the Nets. Of course, the Nets didn't have Jason Kidd (headache), so who knows which team was worse off. Richard Jefferson's heroics couldn't get the job done for the Nets, who continue to play inexplicably poorly at home following road games. Jamal Crawford filled the backcourt "void" for the Knicks with 29 points, and Zach Randolph had 25. Richard Jefferson had 31 points......

Suns 115, Knicks 104: The Knicks need wins, yes, but they also need solid efforts against the league's elite teams. They got the latter but not the former Sunday in a loss to Phoenix at home. Eddy Curry's 21 points and an awakening from a recent slump couldn't power the Knicks, who stuck around for three quarters before disappearing in the fourth. Even Stephon Marbury enjoyed an efficient night from the floor -- he shot......

Knicks 91, Bucks 88: Maybe the Knicks play better if no one is watching. They trailed by 15 entering the fourth quarter, but Jamal Crawford hit the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds remaining and the Knicsk won by three. Crawford's shot helped his team rinse the sour taste from Thursday's drubbing on national television in Boston right out of its mouth. Make no mistake, this team still needs to do a lot of work. Isiah......

Islanders 3 Ottawa 2 (Shootout): The Islanders got a huge victory Wednesday night thanks to some great goaltending from Rick DiPietro. DiPietro made 35 saves during the game and an additional 5 in the shootout to propel New York to victory. Ottawa came back from a 2-1 deficit in the third with a goal with under two minutes remaining in the game. Both teams had power plays in overtime, but were unable to convert and......

Devils 3, Thrashers 0: Martin Brodeur earned his first shutout of the season -- and the 93rd of his career -- and the Devils are at .500 again. Rod Pelley and Paul Martin had the two non-empty-net goals for the Devils. Jamie Langenbrunner tied an NHL record by assisting on all of his team's goals. After that early-season road trip, the Devils appear to have their skates back under them. Panthers 3, Rangers 2 (SO):......

Rangers 2 Tampa 1: New York got back on track quickly, coming out in the first period with intensity and jumping to a 1-0 lead thanks to Fedor Tyutin. Henrik Lundqvist wss his usually brilliant self, making 32 saves including several huge ones while the Rangers clung to a one-goal lead. It wasn’t until Colton Orr hit a knuckleball off the stick of a Lightning defenseman at 2:05 of the third period, that the......

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, Devils 2: Given New Jersey's recent dominance over its cross-river rivals, Martin Brodeur's picking up his 500th win against Rangers would have seemed appropriate. Jaromir Jagr and Henrik Lunqvist had other ideas. Lundqvist stopped 22 shots and Jagr added a goal and an assist as the Rangers on the Prudential Center ice. Even defenseman Marc Staal got into the act. Jamie Langenbrunner had two goals for the home team, whose fans eagerly booed......

Rangers 2 Philadelphia 0: These teams really do not like each other and it was evident early on Monday night. The gloves came off just 54 seconds into the game and another fight broke out seven minutes in. That ended the boxing portion of the evening, but both teams continued to hit hard and often in a physical contest at MSG. The Rangers dominated the first period, but would have had nothing to show......

Cleveland 110 Knicks 106: The good news is the Knicks played a pretty good game on the road against a tough opponent. The bad news is they still lost. Zach Randolph had a nice debut with 21 points and 14 rebounds and Jamal Crawford also had 21, but LeBron James exploded for 41 points. The Knicks stayed in the game to the end and if they had done a little better from the line (11-19)......