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Nets Crush the Knicks, Islanders Split Philly Series

Written by Christian Abbatecola  |  21. January 2014

Islanders Split with Philadelphia
The Islanders started a home-and-home series against the Flyers on Saturday coming off a win over Tampa Bay. John Tavares gave them a 1-0 lead 7:43 through the first period, and Cal Clutterback scored a shorthanded goal to double the lead four minutes later. Unfortunately Andrej Meszaros was able to tie the score with two goals within four minutes of each other.

Philadelphia got its first lead of the night with an Adam Hall tip-in early in the second, but Brock Nelson tied the score once more on a deflected shot midway through the frame. With six minutes left in the second, Brian Strait tipped in another NY goal to make it 4-3.

The third period would prove New York’s undoing, however, as Jakub Voracek tied the score and then Michael Raffl snapped in the go-ahead with just over four minutes to play. Matt Read scored on an empty netter in the final minute, handing the Islanders a 6-4 defeat as Kevin Poulin stopped only 26 of 31 shots on goal.

Read was looking to pick up where he left off when the Flyers travelled to Uniondale yesterday, knocking in the first goal of the day while shorthanded 1:26 through the second period. Tavares tied the score 8 minutes later, but Wayne Simmonds put Philly back ahead two minutes after that and Read snapped in another goal to make it 3-1 with 1:44 left in the period.

Nelson was able to cut the spread down to one with a wrist shot 8 minutes into the third, and Kyle Okposo tied it at 3 apiece with 3 minutes to go in regulation. Neither team was able to score in that time span, nor in overtime, which sent the game into a shootout.

Frans Nielsen, Tavares, and Okposo, did their part to give the Islanders a 3-2 win in a four round shootout.  Anders Nilsson stopped 26 of 29 shots as New York took an OT victory to split the series.

The Islanders will head to MSG to play the Rangers next, at 7:00 PM tonight.

Rangers
The Rangers’ offense was struggling last week, having scored just two goals in as many games (though that was good enough for a shutout win over Detroit), and they again found themselves down early in Ottawa on Saturday. A Marc Methot slapshot put the Senators on the board first, but Brad Richards was able to tie the game on a power play midway through the opening period.

New York pulled ahead in the second when Rick Nash scored on a Derek Stepan assist, and Stepan made it 3-1 on an unassisted wrist shot with 12 seconds to go. Mats Zuccarello put it away 16:50 through the fourth on an unassisted wrist shot, giving his team a 4-1 victory over the Senators as Cam Talbot blocked 29 of 30 shots on the day.

The Rangers returned home the next day to host the Capitals, and this time shot out to an early lead when Rick Nash backhanded in an unassisted shot just 70 seconds into the game. He made it 2-0 15 minutes later during a power play, and Derek Stepan snapped in the third Ranger goal before the end of the period.

Alex Ovechkin cut the lead back down to two with a slapshot during a power play 59 seconds into the second, but Ryan Callahan scored a shorthanded goal 2:25 through the frame to make it 4-1. That score held as Henrik Lundqvist blocked 24 of 25 shots on goal, giving New York its third straight win.

Having won 7 of their last 9, the Rangers have moved into second place in the Atlantic Division. They will host their hometown rivals next, at 7:00 PM tonight.

Knicks vs. Nets
New York’s two basketball teams came into yesterday’s round in the Battle of the Boroughs on two very different trends. The Knicks dropped three straight last week—each by a margin of 10 points or more—whereas the Nets had won six of their last seven games (including a victory across the pond over the Hawks).

Those patterns continued to play out Monday afternoon, as the Knicks’ 2-0 advantage to start the game would prove their only lead of the day. Alan Anderson responded to Carmelo Anthony’s jumper with a three-ball in the first minute of play, and it was all downhill from there for the Knicks.

The Knicks stayed close for most of the first quarter, but an 11-2 run gave the Nets a commanding lead which they would never relinquish. Brooklyn entered the second quarter up 27-16, and maintained a consistent lead throughout to go into the half ahead 52-38, having lead by as much as 18 at one point.

New York did itself no favors in the third quarter as Carmelo and crew were again outshot by two points, and Brooklyn outscored them 32-25 in the fourth to take a 103-80 win. The Knicks were outshot in each of the four quarters.

Carmelo Anthony had a game high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds for a double-double. JR Smith shot for 15, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 11, and Tyson Chandler grabbed 10 boards in the loss.

Joe Johnson led the Nets with 25 points, and Andray Blatche posted a double-double as well on 19 shooting and 12 rebounds. Anderson scored 15, and a returning Deron Williams put up 13.

The Nets shot 49.3% from the field while the Knicks put up a paltry 33.8%, and only shot 64.9% from the free-throw line.

Brooklyn will play the Orlando Magic next at 7:30 PM tonight, and New York will play the 76ers at 7:30 PM tomorrow.

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