Islanders provide good reason for optimism with well-rounded win over Maple Leafs
NY Post
TORONTO — OK, maybe there’s something here.
If this is what the Islanders can do with a healthy forward group, if this is the sort of physicality and effort they can bring on a nightly basis, if they can roll four lines the way they did Saturday in Toronto, then the five-point gap to the playoffs the Islanders started the day staring at is going to be nothing.
Easier said than done, as anyone with even a passing familiarity of these Islanders is well aware.
Still, this 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on the night of Anthony Duclair’s return to the lineup marked one of the best 60-minute efforts the Islanders have put forth in recent memory.
“Might’ve been our best game of the season — at least that I’ve played in,” Mat Barzal said after his empty-netter sealed the win.
This, surely, was what Lou Lamoriello and Patrick Roy envisioned during training camp — a lineup that suddenly looked deep, physical and offensively skilled throughout, that finished checks and controlled the game on the road against a high-end opponent.
A Kirk Cousins-Falcons divorce is nigh.
DALLAS — A win the Rangers could feel good about was at the top of their wish list for the holidays.
After going head-to-head for Juan Soto, the Yankees and Mets battled for Roki Sasaki on the very same day.
Andrew Thomas’ right foot is in a boot, but neither foot is out the door.
NEW ORLEANS — There were already a few low moments for Mikal Bridges in his Knicks career.
This may be hard to believe, given that he’s become the crown prince of New York basketball in almost every way, but it wasn’t even like this for Jalen Brunson. Two-plus years into his tenure as the face of the Knicks, we tend to simply believe that modern Knicks history can be divided into two parts:
TORONTO — The Nets won the game.
DALLAS, Texas — There were smiles and honest conversations among the Rangers on Thursday afternoon at the Stars’ practice rink in Farmers Branch.
Cody Bellinger’s return to The Bronx will turn back the clock. In 2000 and 2001, he was one of those kids running around the field after World Series games, when his father’s Yankees were beating the Mets and losing to the Diamondbacks.
MINNEAPOLIS — It was a winter wonderland lovefest for Karl-Anthony Towns.
There was a movie back in 1963 called “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”