Mon AM BRB (5-17-21): Bringing It All Back Home
This Day in Music (5-17-1966)
Bob Dylan and The Hawks (later known as The Band) perform at the Manchester Free Trade Hall during the peak of Dylan’s 1966 electric tour. The gig, erroneously circulated as the “Royal Albert Hall” concert, became one of the most bootlegged albums in the history of popular music before seeing official release in 1998.
Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
After an exciting and contentious regular season, it’s no surprise that the NHL playoffs have sprung from the gate with an absolute bang. Familiarity thanks to division-only play has brought teams closer together than they’ve been in decades, the proof is simply in the box scores. All four of the weekend’s opening matchups were decided by one goal, with three of the four games needing overtime to declare a winner. The Islanders were no exception, as they opened their chase to Lord Stanley’s Cup with a high-intensity affair against the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday afternoon. With 3:30 remaining in OT, the fruit of Lou Lamoriello’s labor came to bear, as 2020 trade deadline-acquisition Jean-Gabriel Pageau fed 2021 acquisition Kyle Palmieri the game-winning goal. This euphoric release of puck hitting net was the pair’s second red-light connection of the afternoon, one to open the scoring, another to end it. It’s no surprise that teams who have played one another eight times would engage in such a back-and-forth affair, but that lends to the unique brilliance of this truncated season. Yes, the playoff format may have been unfair to some worthy teams left out of the tournament due to geographic circumstances, but objective viewers cannot deny the fun and intensity these games have offered. The Isles and Penguins battled each other tooth-and-nail yesterday, with Fredrick Gaudreau responding for the Pens just over three minutes after Palmieri’s opener to tie the game heading into the second period. Though Islanders young goaltender Ilya Sorokin was able to stop a dizzying 39 shots, he was bested early in the second by the cream of the crop. Soft hands and playoff magic are nothing new to Sidney Crosby, beating Sorokin with a heads-up deflection to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 advantage and set the Islanders on their heels entering the third. Pageau once again proved to be a magician in the playoffs, taking the pressure off the team early in the third with a goal to even the score in what was a first star-worthy three point effort from the Islanders center. Though Brock Nelson’s would-be game winning goal was almost immediately snuffed out by a return shot from Kasperi Kapanen, the Islanders never wavered in showing the intestinal fortitude that brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago. The game, and home-ice advantage, were there for the taking, and Barry Trotz’s boys did not miss. The Islanders will look to seize complete control of the series Tuesday night when the series re-opens in Pittsburgh.
Home court advantage for the New York Knicks will not have to be won in enemy territory, as the team was able to lock up the four seed Sunday afternoon with a 96-92 victory over the Boston Celtics. The win capped off a remarkable season of redemption for the Knicks and basketball in New York City, as the team held off a fourth-quarter comeback by Boston to insure that their opening round series with the Atlanta Hawks will run through the World’s Most Famous Arena. Perhaps the team showed a minor lack in focus down the stretch, allowing the Celtics to outscore them 27-19 in the fourth quarter, but the Knicks answered the call when tested. Reggie Bullock secured 16 points on the back of shooting 57% from three, with Julius Randle, R.J. Barrett and Alec Burks all joining Bullock in double figures for what was another well-rounded effort from the league-leaders in scoring by committee. Over the past week, we have started to see a concerning, but rather obvious kink in the overall makeup of the current Knicks roster. Yes, Randle has been an absolute sensation for the team this year, and thoroughly deserves the “Most Improved Player,” award he looks locked in to receive. There’s a chance that the stage of the NBA Playoffs provides Randle another level to bring his game to, but asking him to carry the Knicks a la LeBron James carrying the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers would be a bit unfair. That’s not to say he can’t, or that the Knicks can’t find a way to make a run in this playoffs. Though they are a good team to take quite seriously, being tasked with beating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round is not nearly as bad as it could be when you’re staring up in the standings at the Nets, 76ers and Bucks. Once you enter the realms beyond the first round, attrition plays just as big a role in the outcome as talent. Perhaps the Knicks will find themselves worn down from a long run of establishing their place as contenders, but it’s also possible that the pressure of proving themselves to the world has turned this Knicks team into a diamond in the rough.