Daily Report – 1/3/25
Greetings,
Here is today’s report and weekend roundup:
Rangers
Captain Quick?
With Igor Shesterkin injured, Jonathan Quick has stepped in as the Rangers primary netminder. When Shesterkin got hurt last season after a mediocre first half, Quick stepped in and stole the show, helping the Rangers through a .500 stretch to stay afloat in the President’s Trophy race. I always said that Quick was the difference maker that helped the Rangers establish the best record in hockey and one of their best records ever, and the 38-year-old earned a contract extension as a result. Perhaps a turnaround is coming for the 2024-25 Rangers, who are now undefeated in the year 2025.
The Rangers beat the Bruins 1-2 last night at the Garden, and they have now won four straight games against Boston and 30 one-goal games, the most in the NHL since last season.
Jonathan Quick was named the first star of the game for earning his 399th career win. Number 32 recorded 32 saves and improved his Rangers record to 24-10-2. Rangers players raved about Quick after the game, expressing how he has been their leader through times of strife. “Every day I come to the rink, [he’s the] first to say hi,” said the young Brett Berard, who scored his first career goal at the Garden in game-winning fashion last night. “We have team gatherings and he’s always with us, the young guys, making sure that we’re fitting in with everybody. He’s a special guy and someone I’m super grateful to be around early in my career and learn from. He’s a legend in this game.”
“It’s everything,” said Reilly Smith, who earned his 10th helper of the season in last night’s game, about Quick. “He’s so calm and collected. He makes three huge saves in a row, and he just goes about like nothing just happened.” Quick was definitely the hero last night. The Rangers let up defensively a bit late in the game, but Quick was not messing around. He knows how to win, especially in urgent, high-pressure situations. The difference in this game compared to the rest of the season, though, was that the Rangers actually played well in front of him. One of the three saves Smith was referring to was a ridiculous post-to-post stick save on Charlie McAvoy. Quick will turn 39 on January 21, and the way he minds the net is absolutely incredible for someone his age. He is a multi-generational American goaltender.
Quick’s next win will make him the first American-born goalie to record 400 NHL wins. “We played a great team game,” he said. “Especially in the third period, we did a good job of keeping them to the outside, keeping them to the perimeter, zone time, killing clock. Huge two points for us.”
Mika Zibanejad also made some history in last night’s win. The Swedish center has been struggling immensely throughout his 2024-25 campaign, but when he registered his 700th career point and scored his team’s first goal of 2025, he looked ecstatic. It was a great goal because it came net-front, it was the first goal of the game, and it demonstrated effort that has rarely come from Zibanejad’s line this season. Reilly Smith, from above the left hash marks, slid a rebound from Kreider’s interception and shot into the crease behind Jeremy Swayman, and Zibanejad stuffed it in past the goal line. Mika now has 301 goals and 399 assists in his NHL career.
“It’s always good to see Mika score,” said Reilly Smith. “He does everything for us. He’s definitely very deserving of putting the puck into the net.” Hopefully that’s true and Zibanejad’s game improves in the new year. Let it be a new year with new beginnings for Zibanejad, who became the 15th Swedish player ever and the third active in the NHL to record 700 career points in his career (Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman).
Chris Kreider’s assist gave him points in consecutive games and three points (2 G, 1 A) in three of his last five games. Also, Alexis Lafrenière registered a season-high six shots on goal, his most since March 19, 2024 against Winnipeg (7). Hopefully his scoring drought ends soon like Zibanejad’s did last night.
Knicks
The Knicks will play back-to-back road games tonight and tomorrow night. They will face the red hot Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 8 PM (MSG), and the Chicago Bulls tomorrow night at 8 PM (MSG).
Tonight, at 8 PM on MSG, the Knicks (24-10) will play their most important game of the season up to this point as they travel to Oklahoma City to face their old friend Isaiah Hartenstein and the Thunder (28-5). The Knicks have won nine straight games and Oklahoma City has won 13 straight. The Knicks are the hottest team in the East and the Thunder are the hottest in the West. ESPN projects Oklahoma City to win this game by 72.2%, which seems a bit generous. However, Jalen Brunson is a game-time decision for the Knicks right now, and if he is ruled out tonight, then that prediction might stand.
At the same time, the Knicks played very well without Brunson two nights ago when they beat Utah, but Oklahoma City is a much tougher opponent. The Knicks are 13-6 on the road this season and rank ninth in the NBA in assists with 28.0 per game. Brunson leads the team with 7.7 assists per game. Oklahoma City averages 115.4 points per game, and the Knicks give up an average of 109.6 points per game. However, the Knicks shoot 49.9% from the field while Oklahoma City opponents shoot 42.6% on average.
The top performer from Oklahoma City is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averages 31.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and two steals per game. For the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns averages 24.9 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game for the Knicks.
In their last 10 games, Oklahoma City holds a 10-0 record, averaging 114.6 points, 44.5 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 11.4 steals, and 4.8 blocks per game, shooting 47.0% from the field while holding their opponents to 101.8 points per game. The Knicks are 9-1 in their last 10 games, averaging 118.2 points, 46.3 rebounds, 27.9 assists, 8.9 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game while holding their opponents to 106.4 points. I don’t know about the oddsmakers, but if Brunson is healthy tonight, I see a very even, attractive matchup tonight in Oklahoma City.
All win streaks must end eventually, so one of these teams will have to surrender a win. It will be very compelling to watch this matchup unfold tonight. It’s a matchup made for Friday Night Knicks.
It is also worth noting that Chet Holmgren will be out tonight for Oklahoma City with a hip injury, and he last played on November 10. This makes the big man matchup more even, and Isaiah Hartenstein will continue to get more minutes at center as a result. Hopefully he doesn’t feel any resent toward the Knicks, since they sent him to a contender, after all. The Knicks are better for it, and I think Hartenstein is as well.
For the Knicks, Miles McBride will be a game-time decision along with Jalen Brunson. He hurt his hamstring in warmups on Wednesday.
Catch tonight’s game at 8 PM on MSG, and tomorrow night’s game in Chicago at 8 PM on MSG as well.
Giants
On Sunday afternoon at 1 PM, the Giants’ miserable 100th season will finally end (CBS). The Giants (3-13) will face the Eagles (13-3) in Philadelphia, and Philly will be resting Saquon Barkley, so he will not have a chance to break the all-time rushing record, although he released an advertisement trolling John Mara and the Giants for potentially “losing sleep” over sending him to Philly. I will have more details on last week’s game in Big Blue Review 100 later today.
Here are some notes and commentary modified from the Giants website:
This will be the 180th regular season game between the Giants and Philadelphia, and Philadelphia leads the series 91-86-2. The Giants fell to Philly earlier this season in Week 7, 28-3. The Giants haven’t beaten Philly since January 7, 2023.
Let me be clear: The Giants need to LOSE this game! They already surrendered the first overall draft pick when they beat Indianapolis last Sunday, and if they want any hope of drafting a quarterback this year, then finishing 4-13 is not an option. There are so many four-win teams in the NFL, and because the Giants hold a high strength of schedule (.550), their pick will be toward the back end of the teams with an equal record.
While Saquon Barkley will not get a chance to make more history on Sunday, Malik Nabers will. This Sunday, Nabers needs three more receptions to tie the all-time Giants receptions record. He already set the Giants rookie record. He is also four receptions shy of the NFL rookie record of 108, owned by active rookie tight end Brock Bowers of Las Vegas. Nabers is tied with Miami’s Jaylen Waddle for the third-most rookie receptions in NFL history, and he is one reception short of Los Angeles’ Puka Nacua for the second most. Bowers is four catches ahead of Nabers, but Nabers has played in two games fewer than him.
Nabers also ranks fourth in the NFL in receptions this season (104), tied with Arizona’s tight end Trey McBride, and his 1,140 receiving yards rank eighth in the league. Nabers is a sensational wideout in need of a good quarterback.
Brian Burns has started every single game thus far this season for the Giants, and he has registered at least one tackle for loss in each of his last four games, totaling seven in that span, along with two sacks, four quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Since Week 12, Burns has 21 pressures and Kayvon Thibodeaux has 20, making them one of four sets of NFL teammates with 20+ pressures in that span, and the only duo with at least one forced turnover each on their pressures.
Dane Belton has played 90% or more of the team’s defensive snaps since rookie safety Tyler Nubin was placed on injured reserve, and he has totaled 29 tackles in his last three games, along with one sack and four passes defended, including an interception in Week 17. Dru Phillips also recorded an interception in Week 17, the first of the rookie cornerback’s career. According to Pro Football Focus, he ranks seventh best in the league among cornerbacks who have been on the field for at least 50% of snaps this season, and heading into Week 18, he is the 12th best rookie overall in the NFL (Pro Football Focus).
Darius Muasau has played more snaps since Bobby Okereke’s injury (since Week 13), and he has totaled 33 tackles since then. Last week, with Micah McFadden out, Muasau recorded eight tackles and played every defensive snap, and in his last three games, he has been on the field for all but one defensive snap.
Drew Lock has started 27 games since his NFL debut in 2019, and his best performance ever came in Week 17. His 155.3 quarterback rating last week, which included five total touchdowns, was the highest by a Giants quarterback since 2018, and his perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 in the first half was the first perfect Giants quarterback rating in the first half since Eli Manning in 2009. It is not yet clear who will start for the Giants at quarterback on Sunday, but it will probably be Lock.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. has 1,057 total yards this season, and he and Nabers are the first Giants rookie duo – and the third in NFL history, along with the second since 1970 – to each record 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a single season. Nabers ranks third and Tracy ranks fourth in Giants history in yards from scrimmage among Giants rookies all-time trailing Saquon Barkley (2,028 in 2018) and Odell Beckham Jr. (1,340 in 2014). Tracy currently ranks third among NFL rookies in rushing yards (780) and fifth in yards from scrimmage.
Philadelphia has one of the NFL’s best passing defenses this season, and their passing yards allowed per game are the fewest in the league this season. In their last 12 games, they have only allowed over 250 passing yards once, and over 200 three times. Philly also ranks among the top 10 NFL teams in rushing yards, rushing yards per attempt, and rushing touchdowns allowed this season, but four of their last opponents have exceeded over 110 yards against them per game. Philly will be resting some starters in addition to Barkley, but the details are yet to come.
Despite not having played since Thanksgiving Day, Dexter Lawrence has been selected to the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games, and this is his third straight Pro Bowl selection. He has been selected as a starting interior lineman, and he is the first Giant to be selected to three straight Pro Bowls since safety Landon Collins from 2016 through 2018, and the first defensive lineman since Michael Strahan from 2001 to 2003. Lawrence is the Giants’ first interior defensive lineman to earn three Pro Bowl selections since Rosie Grier in 1953, 1956, and 1960, and Lawrence leads the Giants in sacks.
Brian Burns has been selected as a first alternate as outside linebacker, and Malik Nabers has been selected as a second alternate at wide receiver.
Catch Sunday’s game at 1 PM on Sunday on CBS.
That will do it for this report. Have a great weekend!
