Fri AM BRB (5-21-21)
This Day in Music (5-21-1972)
Hip-Hop icon Christopher Wallace, known forever as Biggie Smalls, is born in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo Credit: Dayton Daily News
The insatiable energy of the 2021 NHL Playoffs touched down on Long Island last night, as the Islanders and Penguins upped the ante yet again in what was another high-scoring slugfest between the now bitter rivals. The crowd on hand at Nassau Coliseum was nothing short of electric, loud enough to cut through even the most muted of TVs (put my general proximity to the old Barn aside, of course). The Islanders faithful got what they paid for in every aspect except the final result, as the home team dropped it’s second straight to the Penguins in a thrilling 5-4 affair. Threatened with being silenced early by a quick Kris Letang goal (originally credited to Sidney Crosby, despite the obvious handicap of not being on the ice at the time), the Islanders, both team and crowd, never budged. Semyon Varlamov settled in for the remainder of the first period, answering every Tristan Jarry denial with one of his own, though the overall success of these goaltenders would soon go sideways as the second period reached its midway point. After ten minutes of mostly posturing, the Islanders broke through after Matt Barzal sent a Jordan Eberle pass to Scott Mayfield drawing the Islanders even with the Penguins. The first of three points of the night (and postseason) for Mayfield, the Islanders defenseman buried a cross-zone from Barzal top-shelf, an area that continues to be a weakness for Jarry in this series. Despite the breakthrough goal, the Islanders were unable to capitalize on any momentum gained, and by the time the horn sounded to end the second period, the Isles were on the wrong end of a 3-1 Penguins lead thanks to goals by Jeff Carter and Jason Zucker. Despite the gut-punching goals and moments of dirty play from both sides, the Islanders refused to back down. Just under four minutes into the third period, the agitating fourth line combination of Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin began needling the Penguins into chaos, resulting in Clutterbuck finding a loose puck in front, which he fired home to cut the Penguins lead to one. The teams quickly devolved into a brawl leading to ten total players being sent to the penalty box, while somehow extending a man-advantage to the Islanders amidst all the turmoil. This time, the Islanders did not allow momentum to slip through their fingers. After a nifty game of keep-away between Matt Barzal and Noah Dobson, Barzal rifled a pass deep into the slot where Anthony Beauvillier was waiting to send the Coliseum into a frenzy. If you can believe it, this third period was really just getting started. Dirty play on both sides continued, as the Islanders quickly took a penalty allowing Jeff Carter to find his second go-ahead goal of the evening, only for Jared McCann to deliver an ugly and unnecessary cross-check to Noah Dobson putting the Islanders back on the power play themselves. While the Islanders were unable to capitalize on this hard-earned advantage, the team was able to draw even one final time as Cal Clutterbuck netted his second goal of the game with just over five minutes remaining. Though it looked as if the Islanders would be the team to prevent yet another overtime in the 2021 playoffs, Brandon Tanev shocked the Islanders crowd with a right place, right time goal to seal the game for Pittsburgh. After some very likely fines are doled out today, the series will reconvene at the Coliseum tomorrow night for what I’m sure will amount to a very sporting, gentlemanly game of hockey.
Despite being inactive on Thursday night, the Mets received an incredible boost to their psyche as Jacob deGrom took the mound for a rehab start in Single A. Reports from the game stated deGrom was finding his way over 100 MPH with ease, as the two-time Cy Young winner is expected to rejoin the Mets for his next start…The Yankees still struggle to find their true offensive potential, but with each passing start it becomes more and more evident that Domingo German is a force in the middle of the Yankees rotation. We shouldn’t be surprised after Wednesday night that the Texas lineup is ripe for the picking, but German weathered any potential Rangers vengeance with seven innings of shutout baseball, striking out five and lowering his season ERA to 3.05. Pretty impressive stuff when you consider German was sent down to the alternate site after just two starts. There’s still a long road ahead for German in terms of redemption amongst Yankees fans, and terrific starts like Thursday are not the checkpoints being counted. It does say quite a bit about his makeup that he can come out this season with the focus he’s shown, giving him no sympathy of course, but his situation both in the locker room and in the spotlight is not an easy one to assume. So far, German has handled himself well, showing a level of maturity he very clearly lacked just two years ago. Another player developing into a go-to sensation in big spots is Gio Urshela, who came off the bench in the top of the 7th inning to deliver yet another clutch hit, driving in Rougned Odor with an RBI single. We’ve come to a point where there’s almost no one Yankees fans would rather see up in a big spot than Urshela, and though it’s not the way we drew it up, I don’t think you’ll hear anyone complaining. The Yankees only other run also came on the back of a pinch hitter, as later in the 7th Aaron Judge jumped into the action with an RBI single. As is becoming refreshingly routine for this team, the seven sterling innings by German were followed tidily by Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman, the latter of whom continues to have his best season in pinstripes. The Yankees return home after having played .700 baseball on their road trip, and they’ll be greeted by the AL-best Chicago White Sox. Hopefully fans heading to the Stadium are respectful of the fact that Tony La Russa’s men like to honor the unwritten, sanctimonious rules of this great game.