And now it’s the Islanders turn to head out to Western Canada and based on Monday’s 4-0 thrashing, they may have the same problems the Rangers did. Early in the second, Ales Hemsky skated in on two defenders and through a harmless shot towards the net, that Rick DiPietro somehow let in and the rout was on. The Oliers added two more goals in the second and another one in the third to complete the scoring. New York outshot Edmonton 35-33, but Mathieu Garon kept the puck out of the net. more ›

Unfortunately for New York, Ryan Hollweg took a stupid boarding penalty and his five-minute major penalty combined with Martin Staraka’s holding penalty resulted in a 5-on-3 advantage for the Oilers. Edmonton converted and their second power-play goal of the game looked like it would hold up. But, Sean Avery drew a big penalty late in the third and with the goaltender pulled, the Rangers converted with six second left in the game, thanks to Chris Drury and after overtime, things headed to a shootout. more ›

New York has had a tough start to 2008 and will look to rebound Saturday night in Edmonton. more ›

Mark Messier will forever be remembered for delivering the Stanley Cup to the Rangers in 1994, his famous guarantee before Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals that year and a tendency to cry in public. The captain had his number retired by both Edmonton and New York and is the only player ever to captain two teams to a Stanley Cup victory and he was second all-time in points scored in NHL history. Scott... more ›

A new German theatrical road show called Start Up takes over P.S. 122 this week. The zany production fuses live performance with simulcast video to tell the story of some oh-so-sincere Germans as they struggle to acquaint America with their wondrous world of theater. Upon finishing their New York run this week, the team will pile into a tricked-out green school bus and embark on a 7 week tour of the states. But rather than bring their quirky show to the typical cosmopolitan cultural centers, the group will be performing in unconventional venues in tiny towns like Death Valley Junction and Edmonton, KY, where it’s likely the aging populous hasn’t seen German theater since D-Day. more ›

- If you like winter sports, do we have some good news for you! Not only is it bone chillingly cold out, but this weekend is the 2nd annual Winter Jam in Central Park. They are making snow for Saturday's event (from noon until 4). Activities include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice sculpting, an amateur rail jam, and free hot chocolate. Snowmaking began on Monday and continues through today. When done, there will be 2 feet of snow for Saturday. more ›

Just what you've been waiting for: Our fair city has its newest sports franchise. The National Lacrosse League is brining a franchise to the Big Apple, and four of the games will be at Madison Square Garden. Mayor Bloomberg played intramural lacrosse at Johns Hopkins, and the NY Times writes that he "showed off his command of the sports esoterica":

I know you all agree with me that there’s nothing quite like a middie clamping down on a rock on a face-off, scooping it up and cradling it with his wand and then dishing it off to a crease attackman who stuffs it into the back of the cage.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee finals are tonight, with a broadcast on ABC primetime. You can see the latest round results online, as well as the words those brights kids were given and how they spelled them (we totally would have spelled "opeidoscope" as "opydoscope"). Alas, NYC's two entrants did not make it to later rounds. The Daily News selected Ryan Mowbray of Staten Island and Yu Jin Jung of Queens to head to the DC for the event. Mowbray was stumped by "apolaustic," spelling it "a-p-o-l-o-s-t-i-c." And since apolaustic means "devoted to enjoyment," he told the Daily News, "You could call it irony, something not too happy coming from a word about happiness. I went further than even I expected, so I'm happy." Hey, Ryan, you can spell about a million times better than we do, so take that for what it's worth. more ›

It was a night to pay tribute to one of the greatest hockey players to ever lace up skates, so it was fitting that another one of the all-time greats provided the winning goal. Long after the cheers for Mark Messier had died down, Jaromir Jagr scored just 14 seconds into overtime to give the Rangers a 5-4 victory over Edmonton. more ›

There have been few athletes in the history of New York who captured the imagination and adoration of the city the way Mark Messier did. When he uttered his famous “We’ll Win Tonight” guarantee before Game Six of the Devils series and then backed it up with a hat-trick, he became one of the true legends of Gotham, up there with Namath, Reed and Jackson. Messier announced his retirement on Monday ending a twenty-five year career in professional hockey. more ›