Daily Report – 10/30/25
Rangers
So, the Rangers can play defense. On Tuesday night, they blanked the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 on the road, and Jonathan Quick earned his 64th career shutout win. With the victory, the Rangers ended a three-game losing streak.
It was an emotional night for JT Miller as the Rangers captain returned to Vancouver for the first time since being traded in January. He had so much success with the Canucks. He became an NHL superstar there, and everybody loved him. The 32-year-old Miller always wears his heart on his sleeve, and it showed on Tuesday.
“A lot of good memories here. Some of my best friends still play on the other side,” Miller said. “The way that the city treated myself and my family, it’s something we’ll never forget.”
Before Tuesday’s game, Miller acknowledged how much his team had been struggling, and he emphasized to them the importance of staying focused. Instead of letting his emotions invade his mind, Miller used them as motivation toward a win. While he wasn’t a primary offensive contributor, his defensive efforts helped set the tone for his teammates.
“I think for the majority of the time I was [in Vancouver], it’s been all positive,” said Miller. “It’s been a lot of good things, and I’m not going to sit here and dwell on the way it ended. I didn’t expect it to be pretty, and it wasn’t, but, you know, definitely still a lot of friendship and a lot of good memories.”
“Obviously, he’s our leader here,” said Sam Carrick, who scored the Rangers’ second goal on an empty net. “The type of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and means a lot to our group.”
Against a shorthanded Canucks team featuring three Petterssons – two of whom are named Elias – Jonathan Quick made 23 saves. The 39-year-old is the second-oldest active goaltender in the NHL, but he didn’t look the part last night.
Just over 40 seconds into the first period, the Rangers got loose defensively in their own zone, but Quick stepped up to save a top-quality shot by Lukas Reichel. After that, the Rangers tightened up, and they didn’t back down for the next 59 minutes. According to Clear Sight Analytics, Vancouver was held to just three high-danger scoring chances in the game while generating 10.
“That’s the game that we’ve put on the ice for most of this year,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “When we play that way, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win every night.”
With two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first period, the Rangers lit the lamp. Adam Fox intercepted a pass in the Rangers’ zone and sent it up the ice for Mika Zibanejad, who passed three neutral zone defenders. Upon crossing the blue line, Zibanejad passed the puck to Will Cuylle on his left, who whiffed on it before completing a pass back to a net-front Zibanejad for the goal. Cuylle’s pass was perfect, and Zibanejad tipped it into the net.
The Rangers defended their way through the next two frames, holding Vancouver to a combined 11 shots on goal in the first two periods. In the third, Vancouver generated more offensive pressure, but Quick made every save. Then, at 1:33, with Vancouver’s net empty, Sam Carrick fired a puck from the defensive blue line and into the empty net.
With 42 seconds remaining, Will Cuylle was penalized for slashing Elias Pettersson (the one who wears number 40). The penalty gave Vancouver one last chance to score, but they couldn’t cash in.
As the final whistle blew, Keifer Sherwood slammed Vladislav Gavrikov into the boards behind Quick, who proceeded to join the fight and punch Sherwood in the face. It was a well-timed sign of the type of aggression and physicality this Rangers team needs to bring every night. Now, with two games remaining on their road trip, they will try to bring that energy to Edmonton tonight.
Knicks
Mike Brown’s philosophy of “pace” won’t work until the Knicks start shooting accurately and stop running into so much foul trouble. On Tuesday night in Milwaukee, the Knicks were without Miles McBride or Mitchell Robinson, and they lost to the Bucks 121-111.
It looks like Robinson may be out for as long as several months, but McBride’s injury timeline is unclear. This duo was simultaneously injured multiple times last season, and it cost the Knicks plenty of games. Without McBride, the Knicks’ bench looks quite thin. Suddenly, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson are receiving additional playing time, and while they can both shoot, they tend to struggle defensively. In the Knicks’ previous two games – both losses – they lost the fastbreak points battle 31-10 and 21-9, respectively.
A beat-up OG Anunoby couldn’t handle Giannis Antetokounmpo on his own, and the Greek star outdueled Jalen Brunson 37-36. Because Karl-Anthony Towns went 2-for-12 from the field and picked up five fouls, the Knicks could not set their desired level of pace. Towns is a liability in the center position, but Brown has to play him there while the Knicks wait for Robinson’s ankle to heal.
But Robinson’s health has been an issue for years, including last season, when Towns also struggled defensively at center. The best way for Brown to help Towns overcome his foul trouble is to play him at forward, which would allow the Knicks to operate a more fluid perimeter, but that is not an option without Robinson. Also, Ariel Hukporti was the only other capable center on the roster on Tuesday, with Guerschon Yabusele absent as well.
“I’ve got a new role,” Towns said. “I’ve got to embrace that and I didn’t do that for 48 minutes tonight, and it hurts.”
“There are gonna be times when things aren’t going our way, and it’s on us as teammates to have his back,” said Brunson, who scored just two points (1-for-9) in the third quarter. “But at some point, all of us go through a lull in the season. I don’t even want to call it a lull. It’s just we’re still learning and everything’s brand new for us. We’re not gonna use that as an excuse for a long time, but these first couple of weeks, it’s still fresh for us.”
Before the season, Brown said that he would pull players from games if they started to tire out. Granted, Towns and Brunson are the stars of this team, so exceptions can be made for them, but a shorthanded bench didn’t help the Knicks’ energy on Tuesday. As much as the entire team needs to continue developing their new defensive approach, their bench must learn how to play a two-way game instead of merely contributing instant offense.
“I’ve got to do whatever is needed to win,” Towns said. “First half, I played how [Brown] needed me to play. The game switched up, and I tried to get going just in case they needed me. And I just didn’t make a shot.”
Four games into this season, Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson haven’t provided the spark off the bench the Knicks expected. So far this season, the Knicks have averaged 22.5 points off the bench, the second-lowest mark in the NBA. Additionally, their 63 bench minutes rank 24th in the league. That doesn’t feel like a very deep bench.
As Brunson desperately tried to carry his team through a rough second half on Tuesday, which came after the Knicks outscored Milwaukee 45-32 in the second quarter, he hurt his groin. It was midway through the fourth quarter when the gritty captain went down, wincing in pain. He still scored 36 points, and he even returned to the game after getting hurt. But it wasn’t enough.
The Knicks are preparing for consecutive games against the Chicago Bulls. They’ll visit Chicago tomorrow in an NBA Cup match before hosting them at the Garden on Sunday. Then, on Monday, the Knicks will complete their first back-to-back set of the season as they host the Washington Wizards.
Schedule
8:15 PM (7:15 PM CDT): Thursday Night Football (TNF), Week 9 – Baltimore Ravens (2-5) at Miami Dolphins (2-6); Prime Video
9:00 PM (8:00 PM CDT): NYR at EDM; MSG, Gotham Sports
