Daily Report – 3/17/26
Rangers
Artemi Panarin never wanted to leave New York. At least he got to be on the winning end of last night’s game, though, as the Rangers’ four-game win streak came to a screeching halt. They fell to the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Garden ice.
Panarin’s return to Broadway was emotional from the start. Widely considered the best free-agent signing in franchise history, Panarin will always cherish his time with the Rangers. He wasn’t emotionally prepared to return to face his former teammates so soon after being traded. He got choked up before the game.
“[I was] emotional, especially [during] warmups,” Panarin said. “Since I stepped on the ice and saw all those [Panarin] jerseys, I felt good about that. It means, for me, a lot. I spent almost seven years here.”
During the game, Panarin received a wonderful video tribute and a standing ovation. After the game, Panarin greeted a crowd of Rangers fans on the ice. He left the building with many of his former teammates, including Vincent Trocheck, who scored the Rangers’ only goal. On the power play, he set a screen and deflected Adam Fox’s wrist shot past Darcy Kuemper.
“We played well in the first [period], played well in the third,” Trocheck said. “You just have to play a full 60 minutes to win games in the NHL.”
The Rangers gave up a goal to Drew Doughty, assisted by Panarin, in the first period. Overall, New York played a strong frame, but they couldn’t carry it into the next one. The Kings outshot the Rangers 16-3 in the second period, and it helped them score twice.
Yesterday, I wrote about the success the Rangers, especially the team’s youngest players, have had by playing a basic, net-crashing style of offense. That strategy remained evident in yesterday’s game, particularly when Trocheck scored on a 1-3-1 power play setup.
But the Rangers were plagued by a couple of defensive miscues, notably in the second period, and their worst one came four-and-a-half minutes into the frame. As Taylor Raddysh left the ice on a delayed penalty call against New York, Adam Edstrom got tangled up on a hit by Noah Laba at the Rangers’ blue line. The hit broke Laba’s stick and dislodged Edstrom’s skate blade.
Raddysh, halfway to the bench after the delayed penalty call, didn’t realize two of his teammates were down. This forced Edstrom to stay on the ice. As he tried to make a defensive play at the left point, his blade popped off his skate, and he collapsed. This led to a five-on-two advantage for Los Angeles, allowing Mikey Anderson to position himself down low to fire the uncontested rebound home.
“We have two guys go to the bench and change in the middle of the neutral zone, and we don’t have the puck,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “We’re still learning a hard lesson.”
The Kings instantly harnessed the momentum of Anderson’s goal and took full advantage on the power play, 28 seconds later. While Alexis Lafrenière entered the game as the NHL’s reigning First Star of the Week, fellow 2020 draftmate and closely named Alex Laferriere got the best of him. Part of a three-point effort, Laferriere’s net-front midair wrist shot put Los Angeles ahead by three at the five-minute mark of the second period.
Laferriere’s shot came after Tye Kartye, who has been one of the Rangers’ best players since they claimed him off waivers on February 27, failed to clear the puck from the blue paint. He lost his balance while trying to defend two skaters, so Braden Schneider moved up to help him, leaving Laferriere open at the goalpost to Igor Shesterkin’s right side.
After the game, captain JT Miller made a good point: “The body of work has been good lately. I don’t think tonight was a step back by any means.”
I agree with Miller because the Rangers didn’t deviate from their north-south strategy. They continued to push pucks to the net and work from down low. In the third period, they outshot the Kings 13-2. They just got a bit unlucky defensively.
Panarin wasn’t the only Kings player who received love from the Garden Faithful last night. Despite his league-leading 2014 postseason performance and Stanley Cup Final success against the Rangers, the New York fans applauded Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar as he shook hands with Rangers players after the game. It was the right move by Madison Square Garden and the Rangers organization to honor a Hall-of-Fame player during his farewell season.
Kopitar shared an extra special moment with former teammate and two-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Jonathan Quick. They exchanged pleasantries and a hug.
Tomorrow night, the Rangers will host the Devils for the first time this season. It will be the first game of a back-to-back set, and the Rangers will visit Columbus on Thursday night. The Devils currently lead the Battle of the Hudson 1-0, and they swept the Rangers last season.
Knicks
Can we stop this silliness already? It’s too close to the playoffs for the Knicks to be faltering. Sure, they have won three straight games, but each has been far too close for comfort. The Knicks collected one of their ugliest wins of the season on Sunday, overcoming a 21-point deficit against Golden State for their largest comeback of the season.
I’m not happy. Fellow Knicks fans, you shouldn’t be happy either. In an Eastern Conference led by Detroit, with Boston rising after Jayson Tatum’s return, there is no excuse for the Knicks to take their foot off the gas. Not even, as we learned on Sunday, against a Warriors team lacking Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler.
As the standings show, the Knicks are not the perennial title contender in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who have had a historic season, lead the charge. 3.5 games behind them is a Celtics team that has arguably improved since last year, due to Jaylen Brown’s superb season, coupled with Tatum’s early return.
Given how they are playing right now, if these Knicks were to face Detroit or Boston in a playoff series, it would be lights out for a season that came with championship expectations. “The most anticipated Knicks season in over three decades.” That’s what I called it. But things aren’t clicking for the Knicks as they should be.
For the first time following a win this season, head coach Mike Brown refused to name a defensive player of the game. He was frustrated and disappointed in his entire team, and he recognized how unsustainable it is to “rely on some amazing comeback” after starting slowly.
“I’m sitting here bitching about this, and somebody told me from the first of January on, we had the number one defense in the league,” Brown said after the Knicks came back on Sunday night to beat the depleted Warriors 110-107. “We can play better. I know for myself and every man in that locker room, every person in that locker room expects more.
“Somehow, some way, we’ve got to figure it out.”
The Knicks have a very talented roster. It is a good thing the playoffs are still a month away, because it gives the Knicks time to knead their dough. They can’t go into the postseason with lumpy dough, or else their inconsistencies will show. First on the list: Starting games stronger.
In the playoffs, it is unsustainable to rely on coming from behind to win games. It is an exhausting strategy, and it doesn’t always work. “If we play better from the start,” said Jalen Brunson, “We don’t have to play catch-up.”
Simple words from the captain. Simple, but true. Brunson scored a team-high 30 points against Golden State on Sunday, including nine in a crucial third quarter in which the Knicks outscored the Warriors by 12. Brunson had to be the Knicks’ leading scorer, or else they would have lost the game.
The greatest strength of this Knicks team is its depth. However, since the pieces were out of sync on Sunday, Brunson had to step up. Sometimes, in the NBA, a team’s superstar has to answer the call.
Brown started Brunson, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart in Sunday’s game. That is Brown’s usual lineup, with Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, and Jose Alvarado as the primary players off the bench. Mohamed Diawara has joined the crew as a reliable bench piece, and recently, Jordan Clarkson has reentered the fold.
The Knicks acquired Clarkson in the offseason because he ranks among the NBA’s top-10 all-time leading bench scorers. With the emergence of Shamet and Diawara earlier this season, though, Clarkson fell out of the rotation. He had a big 27-point game in Utah last Wednesday, but he has seldom been as productive.
This is one reason why Brown is reluctant to alter his starting five. Another reason is Shamet’s recent shooting struggles, especially from downtown. He shot 2-for-8 from three-point range on Sunday, but it was hardly the first time he’s struggled from beyond the arc these last few weeks.
“It’s not too late to do anything [to the starting lineup], and if I feel the need, I will,” Brown said. “I’m not thinking about that right now.”
The Knicks will likely carry their current lineup into tonight’s game against the Pacers. The Knicks squeaked out a nine-point win in Indianapolis on Friday, but the last time they hosted the Pacers at the Garden, the Knicks lost in overtime.
Tonight, the Knicks will try to secure their first home win against Indiana since losing to them in last year’s Eastern Conference Final (7:30 PM, 6:30 PM CT – MSG, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CST): NYK vs. IND; MSG, Gotham Sports
8:00 PM (7:00 PM CST): 2026 World Baseball Classic Final – Venezuela (Pool D Runner-Up) vs. United States (Pool B Runner-Up); FOX, FOX One; SP: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1, 10.13 ERA) vs. RHP Nolan McLean (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
Here is Team USA’s starting lineup:
SS Bobby Witt Jr. (R)
1B Bryce Harper (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
DH Kyle Schwarber (L)
3B Alex Bregman (R)
LF Roman Anthony (L)
C Will Smith (R)
2B Brice Turang (L)
CF Byron Buxton (R)
SP: RHP Nolan McLean (0-1, 9.00 ERA)
