Daily Report – 12/3/25
Rangers
Has any Rangers team ever been this confusing?
After putting up a season-low 13 shots on goal against Tampa Bay on Saturday, losing their best player, Adam Fox, for at least a month, and then losing Adam Edstrom in practice two days later, the Rangers somehow managed not just to beat, but to dominate the second-best team in the NHL with a season-high 41 shots on goal. They finally secured their third win at home, beating the Dallas Stars in overtime, 3-2.
According to Clear Sight Analytics, the Rangers created 11 high-danger scoring chances while limiting Dallas to three. New York couldn’t score a power play goal in 10 minutes, but an 18-4 shots on goal advantage in the third period was the perfect solution. Also, the Rangers showed impressive resilience on the penalty kill, silencing the NHL’s best power play by blocking zone entries and letting very few pucks reach the net.
After alternating between the left and right point for 22:29 of ice time yesterday, Vladislav Gavrikov, who typically pairs with Adam Fox on defense, delivered the game-winning goal for the Rangers in overtime. But it couldn’t have come without an extraordinary 60-minute effort from his entire team.
Steve Valiquette posted this morning that the Rangers’ five-on-five defense has witnessed dramatic improvements this season. Their net-front mark has improved from seventh in the league to third, their East-West from 32nd to fourth, and their odd-man rush from 13th to fourth. In every season since 2019, the Stanley Cup-winning team featured a top-five odd-man rush defense. That’s not to say these Rangers will win the Stanley Cup, but their defensive statistics are rather remarkable.
For 57 minutes, the Rangers couldn’t crack Casey DeSmith, Dallas’ backup goaltender. Their shot volume was high, but up to that point, their only goal had come seven minutes into the first period.
Halfway through the final frame, JT Miller turned the puck over at the right point in the offensive zone, and Wyatt Johnston aced a cross-ice pass to Mikko Rantanen on an odd-man rush. As Dallas took a 2-1 lead, given the Rangers’ struggles at home, it looked like the game might be over for them.
However, the Rangers battled for the next seven minutes until they pulled Igor Shesterkin with three minutes remaining. At 2:13, Will Cuylle fired Vincent Trocheck’s rebound around DeSmith for the equalizer.
“I really liked the response after we got scored against. We didn’t sink,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “You get the feeling behind the bench. You can tell when those types of moments affect a team either in a negative way or the opposite.”
Dallas won the opening possession in overtime, but after Mikko Rantanen lost a pass from Wyatt Johnston, Vincent Trocheck gained possession of the puck. JT Miller gained the offensive zone, and the Rangers attempted a sequence before pulling back. As Will Borgen held the puck in the defensive zone, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad came off the bench. Then, Vladislav Gavrikov replaced Borgen as Zibanejad gained the offensive blue line.
Zibanejad dropped a pass back for Panarin, who moved into the slot and shot the puck. DeSmith saved it with his left pad, but Gavrikov backhanded the rebound around his leg.
“Obviously, I thought [Panarin] was going to score,” Gavrikov said. “But the rebound, I got it done with that.”
Gavrikov played an excellent defensive game all night, netting two of the Rangers’ four takeaways. He’s a major reason why the Rangers’ five-on-five defense has seen such drastic improvements this season.
“After a poor performance on Saturday, I think it shows some resilience in here,” Will Cuylle said. “Just bouncing back and being able to reset. Being proud of the way we play in front of our fans is really important to all of us. I’m glad we could put out a good effort today and get the win. We’re proud of the way we played today and just stuck with it. I felt like it was a full 60 minutes, or I guess 61 or whatever.”
The Rangers have a tough stretch of the schedule approaching, so they’ll need to maintain plenty of resilience, especially with a limited roster after losing Adam Fox and Adam Edstrom. They’ll visit Ottawa tomorrow before hosting Colorado and Vegas in a back-to-back this weekend.
Knicks
Wing defense.
It’s a major component of the formula that makes the Knicks elite.
If OG Anunoby was healthy last night, the Knicks would have won. Had Jalen Brunson scored more points, the Knicks would have won.
Why are these arguments valid?
Without Anunoby or Landry Shamet, there’s only so much the Knicks can do to defend a team like the Celtics, filled with top-tier shooters. Last night, the Knicks suffered a tough 123-117 loss in their 500th regular-season matchup against Boston, and Jaylen Brown outscored Jalen Brunson 42-15.
People used to call the combination of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges “Wingstop” because of their strong ability to encroach upon the league’s best shooters. Despite missing a reliable defender on the opposite wing, Bridges played brilliantly last night, nailing eight three-point shots and scoring 35 points.
Sometimes, Jalen Brunson is going to have an off night. This time, he went 6-for-21 from the field, and his teammates couldn’t generate enough defense to support him. Compared to, say, the Toronto Raptors, whom the Knicks blew out on Sunday, Boston plays a great ground game, and even without Jayson Tatum on the perimeter or Jrue Holiday inside, Jaylen Brown can carry Boston’s offense. After all, the Celtics are 12-9 this season while the Knicks are 13-7.
When this season started, I made it clear that while I would celebrate each regular-season win, I would also invoke extra criticism toward each loss. That’s because these Knicks carry championship expectations on their shoulders, so every bit of adversity deserves a thorough examination.
One of the biggest weaknesses of this Knicks team is Karl-Anthony Towns. Hang on, there’s a point to this controversial-sounding statement. Towns is a terrific offensive player. He’s arguably the best three-point shooting big man to ever play in the NBA. But as the Knicks hit the 20-game mark of their season, Towns’s role is still uncertain. Is he a center or a forward?
Towns is going to have to play minutes at center regardless, because Mitchell Robinson can’t play more than 25 minutes per game, and he is not much of a shooter either, especially from the free-throw line. Towns is a great shooter and passer, but he struggles along the perimeter and inside the paint. Aside from his foul trouble and slow pace of play, which is an automatic red flag on a team that preaches pace, he can’t defend from the perimeter. At all, really. So he doesn’t deserve to start games anywhere other than at center.
However, head coach Mike Brown is forced to work with what’s available, and because his tertiary center is Guerschon Yabusele, the slowest Knick of them all, Towns has to repeatedly alternate between forward and center. When Anunoby is healthy, the impacts of this issue are covered up because someone else is defending the wing. But without Anunoby, or his backup, Shamet, Towns has been forced to defend an area of the court where he clearly isn’t comfortable playing.
Miles McBride’s role is also uncertain right now. He was once the backup point guard to Jalen Brunson, but he now plays more minutes as a forward because of his sharp three-point shooting and defensive attentiveness. Yes, McBride is a good defender, but much of his potential point guard minutes have been given to Tyler Kolek, the strong ball-mover who can’t play a lick of defense.
But, guess who else struggles defensively? Jalen Brunson. So, McBride has no choice but to play forward because the Knicks need his defense on the wing to back up Josh Hart and support Kolek whenever Brunson is resting.
To put it simply, amid the injuries this Knicks team is experiencing, many players have been forced into multiple roles to create defense, but so far, Mike Brown’s plans have backfired. And, when Brunson struggles to score, Brown still doesn’t know if prioritizing offense or defense is best when managing his bench.
Pace is the name of the game for this Knicks team, and as a concept, it’s supposed to create a rhythm that helps every player defend better. But with so many players forced into unfamiliar roles or being tasked with playing multiple positions, pace becomes irrelevant.
The Knicks outscored Boston 32-21 in the first quarter, but once they made substitutions, Boston broke free. They scored 37 points in the second quarter, including an impressive 12-0 run that turned the game around.
“We just couldn’t get it done defensively,” Brown said. “We didn’t play at the level we’re capable of. We know we can play better. That’s going to happen from time to time.”
Yet, the Knicks managed to reduce two different 18-point deficits to three points, including with 2:40 remaining in the final frame. That being said, they should never have allowed themselves to be in such a vulnerable, desperate position. Even without Anunoby or Shamet, the Knicks are a deeper, more competitive team than Boston.
But they cannot take that next step until each player understands his role, even if it means playing more than one position. Only then will the Knicks truly become championship contenders.
Tonight, at 7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST), the Knicks will host the Charlotte Hornets (MSG, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): NYK vs. CHA; MSG, Gotham Sports
