Knicks Fall to Hawks, Defeat Cavaliers Despite Injuries
On Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks handed their former head coach Mike Woodson his second loss since taking the reins for the New York Knicks.
Carmelo Anthony had a huge night for New York, leading all scorers with 36 points. His three-point play in the fourth quarter cut the Hawks' lead to two, but that was as close as the Knicks would get.
Iman Shumpert also came up big with 25 points for the Knicks. Unfortunately, no other New York player scored more than seven.
Hosting Cleveland the next night, the Knicks bounced back with a 91-75 victory. Reserve guard J.R. Smith starred with 20 points for New York, leading all scorers. Anthony, Shumpert and Tyson Chandler also reached double figures.
Earlier that day, the Knicks announced that point guard Jeremy Lin would need arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn left meniscus. That surgery requires six weeks of recovery time, which will keep Lin on the bench at least through the end of the regular season.
With power forward Amar'e Stoudemire also expected to miss two to four weeks due to a bulging disc in his lower back, the Knicks will need more big performances off the bench to continue their success.
They will face the Pacers in Indiana Tuesday night, then travel to Orlando Thursday.
Islanders Endure Frustrating Weekend
The New York Islanders' final three-game home stand ended on a sour note as they lost back-to-back games to the Bruins and Senators.
Saturday night's game was a back-and-forth affair through the first two periods. Boston took the lead twice, but Kyle Okposo and PA Parenteau scored each time to tie the score at two heading into the third.
The third period was all Boston, though, as the Bruins' big guns opened up and scored four times to take a commanding lead. Despite Parenteau's second goal of the game, the Isles took the 6-3 loss and were mathematically eliminated from the NHL playoffs.
Sunday's game again saw the Islanders doomed by an opponent's scoring explosion. New York took the lead in the first period on Mark Streit's snap shot, but the Senators tied the score later in the first and broke the game open with three goals in the second.
The Islanders will face the Devils on the road Tuesday night, then return to Nassau Coliseum for their final home game of the season on Thursday.
Rangers Defeat Canadiens, Fall to Bruins
Hosting the Montreal Canadiens Friday night, the New York Rangers secured their 50th win of the season with a 4-1 performance.
Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards scored early for the Rangers, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored twice in the third to put the game away.
Although Rene Bourque's goal ended goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's shutout bid, he still held off the Canadiens to help the Rangers win their third straight game.
That streak ended at three with Sunday's game against the Boston Bruins. Gaborik again opened the scoring for New York, but the Bruins responded with two goals in the second period to secure the victory.
The Rangers need just one more victory to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They are tied with West-leading Vancouver at the top of the NHL standings.
They will face the Flyers and the Penguins in their last two road games of the season this week.
Yankees, Mets Announce Opening Day Starters
With Spring Training coming to a close, two New York baseball teams are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2012 regular season.
The Yankees will start the season with a road series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Unsurprisingly, staff ace CC Sabathia will take the ball for New York Friday night at Tropicana Field; right-hander James Shields will start for the Rays.
Following Sabathia will be right-handers Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. Offseason acquisition Michael Pineda, who was expected to join the starting rotation, will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury.
Johan Santana, making his first Major League start in 19 months, will take the ball for the Mets at Citi Field on Thursday. He missed part of the 2010 season and all of 2011 while recovering from left shoulder surgery.
When healthy, Santana has been among baseball's best starting pitchers. He won the Cy Young Award twice with the Minnesota Twins and owns a 2.85 ERA in 600 innings with the Mets.
Following Santana in the rotation are right-hander R.A. Dickey, left-hander Jon Niese and right-handers Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee.
