Rangers already look playoff ready
NY Post
This was their sixth game in nine days since the trade deadline. It’s been a playoff-type schedule, even more grueling with two sets of back-of-backs within seven days.
And the Rangers responded as they have just about all season with Sunday’s dominant 5-2 victory over the allegedly desperate Islanders for their fifth victory in those six contests that lifted them to within one point of the first-overall Bruins.
The Blueshirts worked the walls. They won their one-on-ones. They were relentless below the hash marks — cycling, going low-high and high-low within possessions to create open ice while establishing a substantial territorial advantage. Indeed, the Rangers imposed their will on the Islanders while demonstrating a playoff-style approach.
“We are thinking and we are playing the way we want to in the playoffs,” Artemi Panarin told The Post after notching his 94th point on an assist setting up Alexis Lafreniere. “That’s right now, because you can’t just change at the last second.
“But we have to focus on the regular season too. We have to finish the job and not get ahead of ourselves. We still have work to do.”
The Rangers opened the season on an 18-4-1 tear and are now in the midst of a 16-3-1 surge. They have received superior netminding from both Igor Shesterkin, who faced 27 shots in this one, and Jonathan Quick. And they are getting contributions straight down the lineup after a pair of holes up front were filled with deadline acquisitions Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic.
Patrick Mahomes’ contract continues to provide valuable salary cap relief.
We’ll soon learn how much Falcons owner Arthur Blank values $10 million in cold, hard cash.
TAMPA — Add one more quirk to a Yankees rotation that has become quirky: Without their No. 1 starter, their No. 2 starter likely will not shift ahead in the order.
The Jets were quiet on Day 2 of free agency after adding a new quarterback Monday.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Brett Berard has displayed both a fiery passion and an admirable patience in the last six months of his hockey career, which reached the NHL level for the first time at the end of November.
PORT ST. LUCIE — The baseball calendar says the Mets have about two weeks until Opening Day, but Francisco Lindor’s mind is on another timetable as these dog days of spring training pass.
The man with the best nickname on the team is one of the few Knicks who has made it this far relatively unscathed in the court of public opinion.
For a guy who seemingly is always headed out the door, Darius Slayton has a way of never leaving.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Rangers stood by their defensive structure in the immediate aftermath of their Weekend of Missed Opportunities, in which they had two chances to capture the top wild-card spot in the East and failed to do so in such disappointing fashion.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luis Torrens helped inject life into the Mets’ season last year but now faces even larger responsibilities with the team.
The Jets are having a Fields Day.
SACRAMENTO — P.J. Tucker understands his reputation as a hard-nosed player who is willing to vocalize displeasure.
The Yankees have insurance on Gerrit Cole, which is a positive thing in a very worrisome situation.