Tag: NHL

Rangers’ power play woes continue despite big-name talent

SUNRISE, Fla. — Offense took priority for the Rangers at the trade deadline, but that’s just how it seemed to happen when the opportunity arose to acquire scoring juggernauts Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.

It prompted head coach Gerard Gallant to change course on how he handled the power-play units up until the deadline. He went from leaving it alone for months to switching it up on a weekly basis.

And yet the Rangers, with all their new talent, haven’t been able to put it all together on the one aspect of the game that is supposed to highlight a team’s offensive prowess.

The Rangers went 0-for-3 on the power play Saturday night in a 4-3 win over the Panthers at FLA Live Arena, extending their scoreless streak with the man-advantage to three straight games.

They have now gone 3-for-23 on the power play since a 3-2 overtime loss to Penguins on March 12.

Some games, the Rangers do everything but score with the man-advantage. In others, they struggle to even hold the zone.


Gerard Gallant talks with Barclay Goodrow (left) and Tyler Mott during the Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Panthers.
NHLI via Getty Images

Saturday was one of those instances, and the Rangers were only able to put up four shots on goal while on the power play.

Ryan Lindgren was sidelined for the 13th time in the last 14 games with a lingering shoulder injury.

The 25-year-old defenseman is still considered day-to-day.

Asked if he feels the Rangers should get some new players up with Lindgren out, Gallant said “we’re fine.”

“If we need them, we know where to get them,” he added.

The Rangers would have to place Lindgren on long-term injured reserve to receive the necessary cap relief to make a recall from AHL Hartford.

It appears the Rangers may be holding onto the hope that Lindgren will be ready to play sooner rather than later, which would give them reps as a full lineup before the playoffs. That time, however, also could be spent acclimating a depth defenseman ahead of the postseason.

Patrick Kane’s third-period goal was the 450th goal and the 1,233rd point of his career, which surpassed Phil Housley for second place on the NHL’s all-time list among U.S.-born players.

The Rangers will be off on Sunday before returning to the ice for practice on Monday at MSG Training Center.

They will host the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, then will venture to New Jersey, Buffalo and Washington to wrap up March and begin April.

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Islanders’ Zach Parise following dad’s footsteps in twilight of career

Zach Parise hasn’t sat down and watched a full game of his father’s.

Not start to finish.

But every so often, bits and pieces filter through.

The old highlights come across his computer screen and he’ll feel something.

“It’s great,” Parise said Friday night. “To see him play, not only with the Islanders, but seeing those Team Canada highlights [in the 1972 Summit Series], it makes you proud. He had an awesome career in the NHL. Just like any kid, I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

The close relationship between Zach and J.P. Parise is well-documented, forming the backdrop of Zach’s 18-year NHL career — particularly during his time with Minnesota, where he grew up and where his dad played nine of his 14 seasons in the league.

In that sense, Friday night was another link in a chain that keeps getting longer.

Like his dad, who died in 2015, Zach went from Minnesota to Long Island in the twilight of his career.


Parise has had a resurgence with the Islanders by scoring 20 goals this season.
Michelle Farsi for the NY Post

Zach’s first Islanders goal came on Dec. 11, 2021 — which would have been J.P.’s 80th birthday.

And on Friday,  Zach’s first period goal trickled through Michael Hutchinson for his 20th tally of the season.

It marked just the fourth time in NHL history that a father-son combination have each scored 20 goals for the same franchise.

“With how influential he was on my life and my career, it means a lot,” Parise said following the Islanders’ 5-4 overtime loss Friday at Columbus. “It’s special to share something like that with him. And I know that he had a lot of success playing on the Island and loved it. I’ve been loving it, too. To share something like that with him is special.”

This season, Parise is the third-leading goal-scorer on the Islanders, and has played a pivotal role in their playoff chase.

And he has done that as a 38-year-old, openly contemplating what his future will be after the season: whether to come back for another season or return home to Minneapolis with his wife and kids.

“Twenty’s a good number to hit,” said Parise, the only player in franchise history to reach 20 goals at age 38 or older. “I’ve been fortunate to find some good chemistry with guys up front here. And right now our line’s playing well. We’re playing well defensively, we’re chipping in on the offense. Our chemistry’s getting better and better.”

During his last season with the Wild, in 2020-21, it looked as though Parise was hitting the end of the line. Instead, he has found a renewal of his hockey life with the Islanders: 15 goals last season, 20 and counting this season.

If this ends up being his last ride, he’s making the most of it.

“He’s just kinda the consummate teammate,” Hudson Fasching said. “You watch him, whenever anyone scores a goal or something, he’s excited just as hard for anybody and for somebody else to be doing something well. He’s just such a great guy and such a good teammate.”


The elder Parise also played with the Islanders during his career.
B Bennett/Getty Images

J.P. Parise was an Islander for only two full seasons and parts of two more, but he left a lasting impact on the franchise.

Prior to Bob Nystrom’s overtime goal against the Flyers in Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Final, Parise scored what was the biggest goal in Islanders history, an overtime winner to clinch the first round of the 1975 playoffs against the Rangers.

Zach Parise, when his career ends, will be remembered more for his time with the Devils and Wild, than his stint with the Islanders. 

But he’s making an impact in his second season on the Island that will be felt for a long time.

“You see it in his game on the ice and the way he works on the ice, he never quits,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “That’s the attitude he has all of his career and that’s why he’s been so successful. … He’s just amazing. Amazing person, amazing player, we’re lucky to have him.”

Just like his dad.

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Mercyhurst’s Carson Briere charged in wheelchair pushing incident

Mercyhurst hockey player Carson Briere is facing three misdemeanor charges stemming from a video of him and another athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a set of stairs inside a bar.

Erie, Penn. police filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against Briere, the son of Flyers interim GM Daniel Briere.

Patrick Carrozzi, a senior on the Lakers lacrosse team, faces the same charges.

The student-athletes were caught on surveillance video at Sullivan’s Pub and Eatery in Erie, pushing a wheelchair owned by double amputee Sydney Benes down a set of stairs on March 11.

According to police, Briere, 23, and Carrozzi posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.

They also damaged the chair’s left brake handle, broke the right arm rest’s plastic molding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward, according to Benes.


Carson Briere pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down the stairs at a bar on March 11, 2023.

AP

A GoFundMe to help Benes fix her chair — she says it was purchased a year ago for $2,000 — has raised $8,811 as of Monday evening, though she does not plan on keeping it.

“I swear I really don’t wanna keep a cent of the donated money, I’d much rather give it to those who need it,” she said, before later adding she’ll keep enough to repair her wheelchair.

Benes also said bouncers at the bar forced Briere to apologize, though she found his attempt “insincere.”


Sydney Benes and Nathaniel Sanders, the security manager at Sullivan’s Pub.
GoFundMe

Mercyhurst has since suspended Briere and two other student-athletes, while Sullivan’s banned the hockey player from the premises.

“I am deeply sorry for my behavior on Saturday,” Briere, a junior, said in a statement after video of the incident went viral on social media.

“There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”

Danny Briere, who was promoted to run the Flyers after Chuck Fletcher was fired two weeks ago, said he was shocked to see his son’s actions and called them “inexcusable,” while saying his son “accepts full responsibility for his behavior.”


Briere, a junior on the Mercyhurst hockey team, apologized for the incident.
AP

Carson Briere’s head shot for Mercyhurst University.
Mercyhurst University

Mercyhurst previously released a statement saying the actions displayed in the video fall short of the school’s “belief in the inherent dignity of each person,” adding the school’s “tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make poor choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviors and atone for harmful actions.”

Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.

— With AP

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NHL odds, pick Monday, March 20

Somehow, someway the Calgary Flames are still in the playoff race in the Western Conference.

The Flames enter play on Monday night trailing the Winnipeg Jets by four points for the final Wild Card spot, though the Flames have a game in hand. 

Eight of Calgary’s final 12 games are against teams outside the playoff picture, so getting a win against one of their most formidable opponents left on the docket would be a massive boost for the Flames.

Flames vs. Kings prediction

(10:30 p.m. ET., ESPN+)

Betting on the NHL?

When you look at their Win-Loss record, you’d think that the Flames are one of the most inconsistent teams in the NHL.

While that is definitely true to some extent, you could also suggest the Flames are consistent in the way they achieve inconsistent results. 

For the most part, Calgary has followed a familiar script this season.


Calgary Flames Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar (52) in action during the third period of an NHL game
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Flames tilt the ice at 5-on-5, but they aren’t clinical enough or don’t get strong enough goaltending to take advantage of the fact that they generally out-chance their opposition.

Through 70 games, the Flames rank third in the NHL in expected goal differential, second in shot attempt rate and 13th in high-danger scoring chance percentage.

A team with those kinds of numbers usually will find itself pretty comfortably in a playoff spot at the top of the stretch run, but unfortunately, the Flames are just about the most inefficient team in the NHL this season.

Calgary ranks 32nd in shooting percentage and 27th in save percentage on the year, rendering everything else the Flames do well moot.

Monday night profiles to be a pretty tough game for the Flames.

While Calgary have the ability to drive play against any opponent, the Kings are also a strong 5-on-5 team, ranking inside the top-10 in expected goals rate, high-danger chance percentage and shot attempt rate. 

And wouldn’t you know, the Kings are one of the few teams in the NHL with a lower save percentage than the Flames.


Kyle Burroughs #44 of the Vancouver Canucks dives for the puck next to Viktor Arvidsson #33 of the Los Angeles Kings
Getty Images

Given the profiles of these two teams, it makes sense that bookmakers have this contest priced close to a pick ’em, even if Los Angeles is comfortably ahead of Calgary in the standings.

But instead of backing one of these clubs to win, bettors can find some value by taking the +360 on the game to go to overtime.

The inconsistent goaltending is a bit scary for a bet like that, but it’s hard to see either one of these teams running away in this contest and it feels like there’s a decent chance this is a tightly played game where the 60-minute draw is always within reach.

Flames vs. Kings pick

Game to go to overtime (+360, FanDuel)

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Rangers dominant win validates Kids ‘belong on the ice’

This is what it often looks like when a Peewee AA team from Westchester somehow winds up in the same tournament bracket as a AAA team from Massachusetts.

Carnage on Ice.

So it was at the Garden on Sunday when Rangers-Predators immediately devolved into the kind of mismatch that might have given Barry Trotz pause about accepting the invitation to replace David Poile as Nashville’s general manager as he watched from a press box suite.

The Rangers took six shots between 2:37 and 13:36 of the first period. They all went in, starting netminder Kevin Lankinen allowing four goals before long-man Juuse Saros failed to stop the first two shots he faced.

In the newspaper business, “30” symbolizes the end of a story. In the hockey business on Broadway, “6” sufficed.

“It was not in our heads to get to double digits or anything like that,” Mika Zibanejad said after the 7-0 victory that extended the club’s shutout streak to 150:51 and its winning streak to four. “It’s a tough situation, I’m not sure anyone has a really good answer on how it feels to play a game like this, but I think the focus is to maintain good habits and not get lazy.


Filip Chytil of the Rangers moves the puck down ice during the third period against the Predators on Sunday.
Robert Sabo for NY Post

“You might try something a little bit different if you want to work on something, but you want to continue to play the right way so you can bring that into the next game.”

The Predators, on their way to a playoff miss, were decimated by injury. Ryan McDonagh and Roman Josi were sidelined on the back end. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen were among the missing up front. At least Trotz was able to get an up-close-and-personal look at a number of kids in the system.

In addition to the victory, which gave the Rangers an 8-2-1 record in their last 11 games, there was actually tangible reward in this one. It was not just an exercise in running it out. Indeed, to hear Filip Chytil tell it, this one was a significant one for him and linemates Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko to reaffirm their value to this loaded lineup.

“Our top-six has top-top players, so our ice time as a line has gone down the last number of games,” No. 72 told The Post. “This game, with the score, we just rolled our lines so that gave us more time.

“That’s very huge for our confidence and our calmness with the puck.”

Chytil opened the goal-scoring parade by splitting the defense before flicking a forehand past Lankinen at 2:37, 15 seconds after the netminder would make his only save of the night against Braden Schneider. The goal not only ignited a deluge, but it was the first in 19 games for Chytil, who hadn’t scored since Feb. 8.

“I have been staying on and working after almost all the practices,” Chytil said. “This is a confidence boost.”

The Kids’ ice time has taken a hit with the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane to the top-six and the subsequent construction of the Jimmy Vesey-Barclay Goodrow-Tyler Motte fourth line that has a spot in head coach Gerard Gallant’s rotation.

But in this one, Chytil was on for 15:16, Lafreniere — who has not scored in his last six games — for 14:40 and Kakko — 0 for his last 11 — for 14:10. That included a power-play spin as a unit. The lads did not score again, but they made the most of their opportunity by impressing Gallant.


Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) skates with the puck against Nashville Predators on Sunday.
AP

“They deserved it tonight,” the head coach said. “I like to see them take it. It’s not about me giving it to them, it’s about them taking it.

“They really played [well]. It was their best game in a while.”Gallant’s words should be music to Chytil’s ears. For the 23-year-old center had said just about the same thing from a player’s perspective just a few minutes earlier. The Kids aren’t looking for a handout.

“You have to understand, of course, the kind of players we brought in. They are here to help us win the Cup,” said Chytil, who had scored 11 goals in the 13 games immediately preceding the extended drought. “But we want to show that we belong on the ice. We want to prove that we can contribute to the team.

“We want to keep working as hard as we did before when we had a little more time. We want to help the team win. We want to show we deserve to be on the ice.

“That gives us motivation to earn ice time.”

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Patrick Kane scores 1st goal as Ranger in win over Canadiens

MONTREAL — The hope was that a full lineup would provide a clearer visual of what the Rangers really look like with their newest addition, Patrick Kane, but it only revealed just how much work they still have to do as a team.

Facing a Canadiens team that is in last place in the Atlantic Division and well out of the playoff picture, the Rangers barely escaped with two points after Mika Zibanejad was the lone goal scorer in the shootout, which secured a 4-3 win Thursday night at Bell Centre.

The list of excuses has quickly dwindled for the Rangers.

Sure, they’re still without Ryan Lindgren, whose absence proves time and time again that the Rangers are not the same team without him.

And Tyler Motte is still unavailable with an apparent head injury, leaving the fourth line without one of its speediest and peskiest members.

They were also away from game action for four days, so that could’ve played into some of their lapses, too.


Mika Zibanejad scores the game-winning shootout goal to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Canadiens.
AP

Patrick Kane accepts congratulations after scoring his first goal as a Ranger in their 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens.
USA TODAY Sports

Between their poor transition game, their looseness in the defensive zone and Igor Shesterkin’s lingering inability to come up with that clutch save, however, the Rangers have a number of areas to focus on for which Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko cannot act as a Band-Aid.

Shesterkin, who finished with 23 saves, did make the last big stop in the shootout, however, to help secure the victory.

Still, this matchup with the Canadiens was a competitive one.

Overlooking the fact that Montreal is without a few of its top players, the Rangers were able to answer each Habs goal with one of their own through the first two periods.

The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead into the second period, but Jacob Trouba scored 48 seconds into the middle frame after the Rangers captain was allowed to skate into the right faceoff circle uncontested and wrist the puck past Montreal’s netminder Sam Montembeault.


Alexis Lafrenierre scores a first-period goal on Sam Montembeault as Mike Matheson defends during the Rangers’ victory.
AP

Momentum should’ve swung further in the Rangers favor when Rem Pitlick was called for delay of game later in the period.

Instead, Kane mishandled the puck on the power play and sent the Habs the other way before Josh Anderson buried a shorthanded breakaway goal.

The newest Ranger, however, made up for it just over a minute later.

Sniping the puck from the top of the left faceoff circle, Kane knotted the game at three-all and subsequently let out an emphatic fist pump.


Josh Anderson scores a goal on Igor Shesterkin during the Rangers’ win.
AP

Kane had an eventful third game with the Blueshirts, recording an assist on Trouba’s 2-2 score in addition to his own goal.

He also took a slashing penalty late in the final frame that could’ve been detrimental.

The Rangers may have had a full complement of 18 skaters for the first time since Feb. 25, but it didn’t make the immediate impact on their overall play the way it was supposed to.

Even with K’Andre Miller back on defense, after the 23-year-old blueliner was suspended for three games, the Rangers defensive structure was full of holes and backdoor opportunities — as it has been the last couple weeks.

That much was evident right off the bat.

The Canadiens scored 35 seconds into the game when player after player cycled through the Rangers zone before Kaiden Guhle batted the puck past Shesterkin.

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Call-up Hudson Fasching making big impact for Islanders

PITTSBURGH — When Hudson Fasching was called up to the Islanders in early December, he wasn’t even the first call-up to get a chance in the lineup.

It was only after Cole Bardreau made an underwhelming impression that Fasching drew into the mix, the hope being that he could fill in for Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line as the Islanders sorted out their injuries. Four months later, Fasching hasn’t left.

The little-known 27-year-old, who had played 38 NHL games across seven seasons going into 2022-23, has become a staple of the Islanders’ bottom-six. And he scored the game-winning goal off his knee in the biggest victory of the season so far, against Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Out of nowhere, keeping Fasching — an unrestricted free agent — in the mix for next season looks like it should be a priority for general manager Lou Lamoriello. A player who wasn’t on anyone’s radar back at training camp, Fasching has made it.

“When I got called up, I kinda told myself like, ‘Screw it. We’re just gonna pretend I’m confident right from the get-go.’ And that was kinda the game plan,” Fasching said after the 3-2 win over the Sabres. “We’re just gonna run with it, see how it goes.”


Hudson Fasching celebrates after scoring a game-winning goal in the Islanders’ 3-2 win over the Sabres.
Corey Sipkin for NY Post

Fasching is an endearingly Midwestern character. Polite and unflinching. When he first started making an impact in the Islanders’ lineup, he knew it couldn’t be temporary. Still on Tuesday, he talked about “trying to keep proving” he belongs each day.

“You play six years in the minors, there’s only so many kicks at the can you got,” Fasching said. “In my mind, it’s one of the last shots at it. That’s kinda why I was trying to do that, I guess.”

Coach Lane Lambert briefly let himself grin on Tuesday night when asked about Fasching’s rise.

“It makes me feel great,” he said. “You like the guys and all our guys work. They come to work every day, they practice hard and whoever it might be, we’re happy for them and the guys are all happy for each other. Hudson’s having a good run here.”

Fasching joked that he didn’t think there was much difference between fake and real confidence, so it’s hard to know which he’s carrying now. It should, though, be real. Fasching is not coming out of the lineup anytime soon, and he has more than likely earned himself an NHL contract somewhere this summer.

While playing with the Sabres, the team for which he made his NHL debut in March 2016, Fasching started paying more attention to his mental approach.

“Meditation, journaling, stuff like that. I think that’s a big part of the game,” he said. “To have your mind be clear out there is incredibly important. I’ve been working on the mental side probably since then, since I realized how important it was.”


Hudson Fascing celebrates his game-winning goal against the Sabres with his Islanders teammates.
Corey Sipkin for NY Post

That’s all paying off now, as Fasching has found a home on the third line skating alongside Casey Cizikas. On Tuesday, that duo was on the ice together for 10:45 at even strength, alongside both Matt Martin and Josh Bailey. Fasching assisted Cizikas from behind the net on the Islanders’ first goal, then scored the game-winner just over seven minutes into the third period, deflecting Bailey’s pass off his knee and in.

All game, the two of them brought needed energy to the Islanders, dominating with the puck and wearing down the Sabres. The high-danger chance counter read 8-0 with the two of them on the ice, with the shot margin at 10-2. That game erased any doubt about what Fasching’s role should be.

“It’s one of those things, you always try to believe in yourself,” Fasching said. “I always believed if I had a true opportunity to do it, I could do it.”

That belief has now been vindicated.

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Rangers can give new lineup true test with short break

The Rangers have two much-needed days off, Sunday and Monday, followed by two desperately needed days of practice on Tuesday and Wednesday.

After that, they will finally be in a position to be evaluated fairly when they take the ice Thursday night against the Canadiens with a full lineup for the first time since essentially the Feb. 25 loss in Washington. The outside noise from the trade deadline has come and gone. Patrick Kane technically has been on the books for six days. The Rangers can officially get back to their regularly scheduled program.

Four games of skating shorthanded — or benching players for roster-management reasons — have not been kind to the Rangers, who went 1-2-1 against the Kings, Flyers, Senators and Bruins. The fact is, however, the Rangers are simply underperforming lately.

They have lost six of their last eight games, and slipped to just a seven-point cushion on the wild-card Islanders in the Metropolitan Division standings. It hasn’t all been negative. The club is nowhere near any doom or gloom. There is still a confidence exuding from the locker room that is indicating team perseverance.


Despite underperforming, the Rangers will be in a position to be at full strength after a short hiatus.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

The Rangers just need to tighten up defensively, integrate the new faces into their five-on-five game and power play and start working toward unlocking the lineup’s full potential to ensure they achieve optimal seeding in the playoffs. Their recent play hasn’t necessarily been bad, especially considering the circumstances, but it’s not great, either.

“I guess that’s the fine balance that you have to find,” Mika Zibanejad said of taking positives away from the 4-2 loss to the NHL-leading Bruins Saturday afternoon in Boston. “When you look back at games and what you do with them and how you go forward and whatnot. I think we do a lot of good things. The other games that we played against [Boston], the other two games, I don’t think we came up this good against them and kind of pushed them back.


The addition of Patrick Kane only bolsters the Rangers’ potential.
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

“We didn’t just sit back and watch them play and [that’s not] easy to do, especially here [in Boston]. They’re good at home. Obviously, I feel like they’ve been good everywhere this year, but especially at home. They have a ton of speed, they play very fast and they’re dangerous. But I thought we at times did a really good job pushing back and not just sitting back and waiting for things to happen.

“We did a lot of good things and hopefully that’s something that we can build on and add to. No matter who we play, to play that game, I feel like that’s how we want to play and what we’ve talked about all year. Not happy with the result, try to take some of the good things that we did, obviously get better at the things that we have to.”


The Rangers haven’t been playing at their best, with a 1-2-1 record in the past four games.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

No team is immune to distractions, and there have been plenty around the Rangers for almost a month now. It’s also created even loftier expectations than the organization was already facing at the start of the season. That could result in a longer adjustment period than the Rangers likely desire, but it also could lead to a drop-off in the standings.

The schedule is nearing crunch time and the Rangers need to adapt accordingly with 19 games left in the regular season.

K’Andre Miller will be back Thursday from his three-game suspension and Ryan Lindgren could be nearing a return from his upper-body injury. The Rangers have no doubt missed two of their top defensemen. It is unclear what Tyler Motte’s timeline is with an apparent head injury, but the Rangers will be able to recall a forward to play at full strength going forward.

All pieces will be in place soon enough. The Rangers will have to take it from there.

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Rangers ‘don’t count’ as ESPN’s ‘First Take’ dismisses NHL

Stephen A. Smith does not care one iota about hockey.

Michael Kay, the voice of the Yankees and drive-time radio host for ESPN New York, joined Smith on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday.

Kay was posed the question as to which New York professional sports team would be the next one to win a championship, and he answered the Rangers, who are 35-17-9 this season and just acquired Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks.

“Oh Lord,” sighed Smith.

Host Molly Qerim informed Kay that “They don’t count!”

Smith said, as he has before, that “the only thing I know about hockey is that the puck is black and I love [NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman — that’s my buddy, who I always go to the hockey games with.”

ESPN is one of the NHL’s television partners along with TNT.

Qerim said that it was no disrespect to the Rangers or Kane but politely asked Kay to pick another team.

Kay responded by splitting the baby: “Yankees or the Mets — one of those two.”


Patrick Kane speaking to reporters Thursday for the first time since the Rangers traded for him.
Mollie Walker

The Rangers acquired Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks this week.
Getty Images

Smith acted as though it was blasphemous for Kay, who has called Yankees games on TV or radio for over 30 years, to suggest that the Mets might hoist the World Series trophy before the Bombers.

The Mets, owned by Steve Cohen, the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball, have had a torrid offseason.


ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith (l.) and Molly Qerim (c.) dismissed hockey on Thursday’s “First Take.”
ESPN

They signed Justin Verlander to a two-year deal worth $86.7 million and Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga to a five-year, $75 million deal.

They also acquired pitcher Jose Quintana, reliever David Robertson and outfielder Tommy Pham.

The Mets furthermore retained outfielder Brandon Nimmo on an eight-year, $162 million deal plus closer Edwin Diaz for five years and a total of $102 million.


Mets owner Steve Cohen has opened up his wallet for a massive spending spree this offseason.
Newsday via Getty Images

This season, the Mets and Yankees are both listed at +750 to win the World Series on BetMGM.

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Fade Rangers in Patrick Kane’s debut

Thursday is a massive night in the NHL.

There are 10 games, and only one of them features two teams that are not in, or fighting for, a playoff spot. 

The real drama will take place in the Eastern Conference as five of the seven teams fighting for a Wild Card spot are in action.

Here are the best bets for Thursday night, including a play for Patrick Kane’s debut with the New York Rangers.

NHL picks Thursday

New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators scored two gigantic wins over the Detroit Red Wings early in the week and are now just five points back of Pittsburgh, and six behind the Islanders, in the Wild Card race. Ottawa also has four games in hand on the Isles. 

And this isn’t just some short run of form. The Sens have been trending up for quite some time now with a 10-3-1 record and +20 goal differential in their last 14 contests. 

Ottawa should be brimming with confidence as it heads into Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers in Patrick Kane’s Broadway debut. 

The media frenzy and fan hype around Kane’s debut is absolutely worth monitoring for bettors. This number already looks a little high on the red-hot Sens, but it could get even higher as excitement builds closer to puck drop. 

Wait it out and lock in a bet on the Sens when the price peaks.

Rangers vs. Senators pick

Ottawa Senators +150 (Caesars)

Betting on the NHL?

Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo’s playoff chances were dealt a significant blow on Tuesday with a regulation loss to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets, but that is par for the course with Buffalo this season.

The Sabres are now just 4-5 when they close at -180 or higher. But the other side of that coin is that Buffalo is 8-7 when its an underdog of +150 or longer. 

There’s logic behind these numbers, too. The Sabres are one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL, but they also rank 25th in goals against average. In other words, Buffalo can score enough to keep pace with more talented teams, but it also gives up enough the other way to allow worse teams hang around. 


Dylan Cozens #24 of the Buffalo Sabres
NHLI via Getty Images

The Sabres will be without Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch, but they are catching Boston in a tough schedule spot after traveling back from a road trip through Western Canada. There’s enough in this number to have a bet on Buffalo.

Bruins vs. Sabres pick

Buffalo Sabres +240 (BetMGM)

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