Daily Report – 1/15/25
In today's report, I will discuss how the Rangers fell in overtime last night in Colorado. Also, the Knicks travel shorthanded to Philly tonight, and the Giants have fired two coaches.
Yankees
Today, the Yankees acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Michael Arias from the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.
Rangers
This loss was tough. The Rangers fell to the Avalanche in overtime last night in Colorado 2-3.
The Rangers played very well in this game, so it was especially disappointing to see them fall short of their third straight win. Despite going on the power play in overtime, Igor Shesterkin was not playing his best hockey, and the Rangers lost this one.
It was Artturi Lehkonen’s goal with Mackenzie Blackwood on the bench that changed the momentum of this game. The Rangers gave up a goal in the first period before pulling off some outstanding penalty kills, including one where Sam Carrick robbed Cale Makar and maneuvered the puck past Blackwood’s blocker and into the net. Once again, Carrick defended and then scored against one of the NHL’s best offensive players.
The Rangers were then able to take the lead in the second period, thanks to Adam Edstrom scoring in his second straight game. Edstrom created two breakaways for himself in this game, and he scored on the second of the two. This one came courtesy of a Sam Carrick takeaway in the Rangers zone. While the two top Rangers lines have been generally quiet in these last several games, especially at even strength, they have gotten plenty of shots and looks, suggesting the bottom lines are benefitting from opposing teams are focusing more on Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad (and now, evidently, Will Cuylle).
Overall, the Rangers had another great defensive performance, but with just over one minute remaining in regulation, Igor Shesterkin couldn’t cradle Mikko Rantanen’s shot from the high slot, and Artturi Lehkonen potted the rebound. The first goal was a bad one because the Rangers had a miscue with two skaters getting caught too high in Colorado’s zone. The second goal against came because Shesterkin wasn’t quite on point.
The overtime goal came because Artemi Panarin went down low when he should have stayed up, and Shesterkin uncharacteristically misread the height of a shot to his glove side. He couldn’t recover from the first bad goal against. Shesterkin doesn’t usually allow more than one (if any) mid-danger goals against, and he allowed two in this game.
As the Rangers continue their push back into the playoff picture, it is imperative that the team stays confident and committed to their goals. “It’s really difficult walking away and not getting that extra point,” said Peter Laviolette. The Rangers need to harness that emotion, because they haven’t played enough tight, competitive games to lose one in a long time.
The road to the final Wild Card spot is going to be a tough one for the Rangers. At least they got one point out of this game, but two would have been nice. However, with all the adversity they have gone through this season, I believe they are mentally tough to fully overcome it and make a convincing playoff push.
This game marked the 400th of Adam Fox’s career, and it was the perfect chance to headline a matchup between him and Cale Makar. Fox’s 286 assists through 400 career games rank as the seventh most among NHL defensemen all-time, just behind Cale Makar.
The Rangers will host Colorado at the Garden on January 26.
Knicks
Tonight at 7 PM (6 PM CST), the Knicks will travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers (MSG, ESPN). Karl-Anthony Towns will be out tonight with a thumb injury, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid will sit out as well.
Tonight at 7 PM (6 PM CST), the Knicks will travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers (MSG, ESPN). Karl-Anthony Towns will be out tonight with a thumb injury, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid will sit out as well.
This creates some confusion for the Knicks at the center position. Tom Thibodeau said earlier that Jericho Sims is available, but he has been battling an injury for the last week. With the Knicks struggling as much as they have been, losing Towns for the second time since last Monday is a major blow.
The Knicks last played Philly on November 12, and they won 111-99. Josh Hart recorded a triple-double in the game for the Knicks.
The Knicks are desperate for a win tonight as their journey to improve defensively continues on national TV without their star center.
Giants
The Giants have fired defensive backs coach and defensive game coordinator Jerome Henderson, as well as safeties coach Michael Treier.
Schedule:
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CST): NYK at PHI; MSG, ESPN
That will do it for this report. Have a good night.
