• Devils 5, Hurricanes 1: To be fair, Carolina was without three of its best players, but even a full-strength Hurricanes team would have had trouble with the Devils. New Jersey allowed only 22 shots the entire game and blew by Carolina for its seventh win in nine games. That makes them tied for the Eastern Conference lead with Ottawa and Montreal and two points clear of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. The Senators and the Penguins, however, have a game in hand. Travis Zajac, Mike Mottau, Jay Pandolfo, Johnny Oduya and Zach Parise all took part in the scoring. This was classic shutdown mode for a team peaking at the right time.
• Islanders 3, Sharks 2: If you can't beat the opposing goaltender, why not bloody his face and then get the puck into the net? That more teams haven't tried this method is one of the world's biggest unsolved mysteries. Radek Martinek couldn't get the puck home, but he did do enough damage to Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov's mask that the netminder had to get stitches. He probably should have stayed in the dressing room. Andy Hilbert and Mike Comrie helped tie the game in less than a minute, and then Freddy Meyer did the glamorous work to give the Islanders a home win. They're one point out of a playoff spot, but they've played more games than Buffalo, Boston and Philadelphia, the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings.

It doesn’t make up for the NLCS, but the Mets got 2007 off to a great start, pummeling Chris Carpenter and getting a great start from Tom Glavine. Paul LoDuca had 3 RBI’s and Carlos Delgado had 2, while Shawn Green got off to a good start with a 2-for-4 night at the plate. more ›

Besides the inspired play of Crawford, the Knicks finally made a lineup change. Jared Jeffries was sent to the bench and Channing Frye got the start. Jeffries only played 15 minutes while Frye played 37 and David Lee 29 coming off the bench. Hopefully, Isiah has finally realized that Frye and Lee deserve the time more than Jeffries. more ›

-Pacers 109, Knicks 95: Isiah Thomas will have enough problems this season without his team allowing opponents to shoot 64 percent from the field in the second half. Indiana did just that and ran away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter. Steve Francis fouled out again, but at least he contributed, scoring 25 points in 34 minutes before being disqualified. The Knicks are 1-2, and in their win, they blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead before winning in triple overtime. more ›

-Nashville 3 Rangers 0: With most of the building either staying home to watch the Mets or not paying as much attention as usual to the action on the ice, the Rangers played a clunker at the Garden. The tone was set in the first period when Henrik Lundqvist let in a soft goal and the Rangers then failed to score with a 5-on-3 advantage. more ›

If you watched the last two weeks of the NHL season you wouldn’t expect much out of this matchup. The Devils are playing their best hockey of the season, winning 11 straight and charging to the top of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Rangers were stumbling all over the place, dropping five straight and choking away a division championship. Today the slate is wiped clean as the two teams meet in the playoffs for the fourth time with the Rangers holding a 3-0 series lead. more ›