NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy Monday, on this first Monday of May. I can’t believe we’re starting our fifth month. Time flies by. With that, let’s get into today’s topics: a recap of the week that was for the Mets, the New York Knicks and the Eastern Conference playoffs, and the Buffalo Sabres and the NHL playoffs.
NY Mets Week in Review
The Mets had a great week for them, considering they had weeks of going winless or winning only one game. This past week, they went 3-3. Could have been 4-2, but you know, you’ll take it. And now you’re not losing—if you can get it right now as a Mets fan.
They started the week throttling the Nationals 8-0, then got throttled back in the second game, and then couldn’t come up with clutch hits in the rubber game, losing by a run. Then they flew out to Anaheim to face the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles in Orange County, or whatever they call themselves. The Mets managed to be clutch in the first game, winning by a run. Then the next day, they couldn’t be clutch and lost by one run. In the final match of the series yesterday, they had a solid performance from starter Clay Holmes and the bullpen, and led by home runs from Mark Vientos, they won 5-1.
Is this the jump start they need? I don’t know, but I’ll take it. It’s positive, and hopefully they can keep building on this and win two out of three for the foreseeable future.
NY Knicks And Eastern Conference
I’m sure everybody’s seen the score of the Knicks’ Game 5 blowout win and then Game 6. I mean, I haven’t seen that kind of abuse since I saw What’s Love Got to Do with It. As bad as that is, I think Atlanta still had a decent season, but yeah, to lose that badly at home in a must-win playoff game was not good for them.
What’s been interesting in the Eastern Conference playoffs is just how evenly matched things seem. Detroit fell into a 3-1 hole against Orlando before winning three straight to come back, and I really felt for Atlanta—they were up 20 and could have closed it out. But then you know, they’re in the NBA for a reason, right?
The team seated just above them, the Philadelphia 76ers, took down the Boston Celtics in Game 7 without a doubt. Philadelphia is a whole different type of problem when Joel Embiid is healthy and playing. How healthy he stays is a question as they move on to face the Knicks. Embiid’s presence will force Karl-Anthony Towns to actually play some of his best ball. But also Tyrese Maxey is the most underrated point guard in the NBA. The way he kept Philly in it and then towards the end took over against Boston was impressive.
One thing I noticed: Maxey started going to the hole after they got a couple of stops and got the game tied and took the lead. Meanwhile, Boston would get a defensive stop and then keep trying to hit the big-time three-pointer until it was under a minute and they were already down by five late. Joe Mazzulla did a great job coaching Boston to the second seed without Jayson Tatum for most of the season. They didn’t have Tatum in Game 7, and I guess it would have definitely made a difference, but I just don’t think this is the Jayson Tatum that is at his best—I’m not sure.
The other series went to a Game 7, in which Cleveland, led by Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, finally did enough to pull away from the Toronto Raptors. So in the end, three of the four top seeds won, but two of them had to go to a Game 7, and the one favorite was upset. So the Knicks should be ready to go and fresher than everybody else. We’ll see how that plays out tonight as New York takes on Philly.
Sabres And NHL Playoffs
The Sabres took care of the Bruins. Surprisingly, the same result: two games at home but won all three games in Boston. That’s something they’ve got to fix in the next round if they hope to get by Canada’s team—actually, all-Canadians, otherwise known as the Montreal Canadiens, who got by the Tampa Bay Lightning. That was not an easy feat, as the Lightning played some really good hockey with a great goaltender.
The Carolina Hurricanes, a perennial contender, beat the Ottawa Senators and then took on the Philadelphia Flyers, who got by the Penguins. The Kings are already up one night in their series.
The bigger deal in the NHL is what’s happening out west. The Minnesota Wild lead the Dallas Stars, which is always good because I’ll never forget the Stars leaving Minnesota. The Utah Mammoth (formerly of nowhere) got a taste of the playoffs before going down to the Vegas Golden Knights. Utah might be like 10 years old, but you might think they’ve been around forever because they’re always in the playoffs.
Minnesota will face the Colorado Avalanche, one of the hottest teams in hockey. In somewhat of an upset, the Vegas Golden Knights will face the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks finished their rebuild and took down the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton didn’t have a great season, but they were back-to-back Western Conference champs, so everybody thought they were going to win it. But star player Connor McDavid even said the whole franchise took a step back here. That has everybody nervous because McDavid only has two years left on his contract, and everybody’s positive one of the big U.S. southern states is going to throw a mega wad of money to not only bring him south of the border but south of the Mason-Dixon.
Thanks for coming. Stay tuned tomorrow for The Big Aristotle
