Darroll Powe sat at his stall yesterday and regaled the media with memories of the Flyers’ 2010 run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Philadelphia trailed the Bruins 0-3 after the first three games of their second-round series and were down 3-0 after the first 14:10 of the first period of Game 7 before rallying to win the deciding game 4-3. Powe compared the task to climbing a mountain.

The symbolism could not be more appropriate for the Rangers, who enter tonight’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals best-of-seven-series in a similar 0-3 hole.

The Rangers have trailed 0-3 in a best-of-seven series nine times in their history. Six times they have been swept.

The 2010 Flyers, 1975 Islanders and 1942 Maple Leafs are the only three teams in NHL history to win a playoff series after falling behind 0-3.

“You win that one game and things start to change,” Powe said. “After that you worry about the next game, and you realize as you keep going that your confidence builds and grows, and you see the other side kind of go the other way. You can’t do any of that without a big next game.”

But the overriding question is whether the Rangers, facing an opponent that is bigger, stronger, faster and deeper than the Capitals, is able to generate the kind of complete game effort needed to win Game 4.

Boston has more shots on goal (114-96), won more faceoffs (99-81), more hits (115-114) and one more power-play goal (1-0) than the Rangers.

At even strength, the Bruins have outscored the Rangers 9-5. Eleven Bruins have recorded at least one point in the series. Boston’s top line of Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic has combined for four points (a goal and three assists) and a plus-4 rating in the three games. Their fourth line of Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille has six points (two goals and four assists) and a plus-9 rating.

In comparison, only three Rangers — Brian Boyle, Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan — have a plus rating in the series. All three are plus-1. Nine Rangers have recorded a point in the series, led by the trio of Ryan Callahan, McDonagh and Rick Nash, who have two points (a goal and an assist for all three) apiece in the series.

“I think having the puck more starts with getting the puck from the other team — that’s where we have struggled a little bit with our coverages, in our end zone as far as them sustaining battles there,” head coach John Tortorella said. “Again, not to enhance Boston but they’re a pretty good team, too. That’s a big part of their game. So at times we’re good at it but we’re just not consistent enough.

“We’re trying to forecheck. But you have to play good defense to get anywhere in [the] playoffs and to even think of winning a championship, you have to play good defense. It’s not being this defensive-oriented team; it’s playing good, strong defense and I don’t think we’ve done that consistently enough.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The Giants officially kicked off the 2013-14 season with organized team activities (OTAs) Wednesday as veterans joined the minicamp participants who were lucky enough to earn a spot on the camp roster.

Conspicuous by their absences, however, was the Giants’ starting pair of wideouts, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. Cruz’s contract saga is well-publicized, so it wasn’t a huge surprise he didn’t attend. But Nicks’s absence was met with a testy response from head coach Tom Coughlin, who expected his veteran receiver to be front and center when the first unit was on the field.

“He should be here,” Coughlin said when asked about Nicks’s no-show.

It’s unknown the reason for Nicks’s absence, but perhaps it had to do with safety precautions, since the former first-round pick endured an injury-riddled 2012-13 season. Nicks broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot during last year’s OTAs, and judging by the many slips on the slick outdoor practice field and an apparent knee injury to fullback Henry Hynoski, perhaps Nicks was clairvoyant in avoiding the session.

Coughlin wouldn’t allow for Nicks perhaps using last season’s foot injury as a reason to skip the workouts, saying that even if that was the case, the Giants would’ve taken the necessary precautions with their prized wideout.

“He would have some kind of limitations, I’m sure,” said Coughlin. “But that’s not the reason [he's not here].”

Eli Manning, ever one to shy away from controversy, wanted no part of the sagas that currently plague his wideouts, but did allow he was shocked to find out Nicks no-showed.

“I had no reason to think he wasn’t going to be here,” Manning said.

Ever the optimist, though, Manning used Cruz’s and Nicks’s absences as a teachable moment for the other wideouts in attendance and said he still used the session as a way to bond with them and get them important repetitions.

“Right now, I’m just worrying about myself, and executing. The guys that are here, we’re just trying to make sure that everybody gets better and up to speed, especially the young guys getting involved,” Manning said. “It was good getting everybody who was here a lot of reps and involved, and having time with them. So whoever is on the field, we expect them to play and perform at a high level. … The more guys you have who are experienced and ready to go and play different positions, the better off you’re going to be.”

About the only thing Manning said about Nicks’s absence that hinted at disappointed was when he was asked if he could understand guys missing time for health reasons – should that ultimately be the case for Nicks.

“You want to make sure guys are healthy at the start of the year, but there’s also a time to get work in also and improve,” Manning allowed. “You have to rep things and make sure you’re playing at our best. That involves being healthy, but also involves practicing and getting reps.”

One guy who certainly doesn’t mind the extra reps is third-year wideout Jerrel Jernigan. The former Troy star has been mostly used as a return specialist, but with the absences of the star wideouts, Jernigan ran with the first unit, alongside newcomer Louis Murphy.

Jernigan has taken incremental steps during his time in New York, so he’s looking forward to really taking advantage of the newfound playing time.

“It’s wide open and we’re all competing. I’m putting in a lot of work,” said Jernigan. “This year, going into my third season, it’s time to go out there and make plays and prove myself. Until [Cruz] comes back I’ll be the ‘Z’ [the wideout closest to the tight end] and try to make plays.”

Jernigan has only registered three catches for 22 yards in his career — all coming last season — so he’s a longshot to steal any playing time from the veterans when they finally report. But the speedy 5-foot-9 wideout doesn’t lack confidence when expressing his desire to do more on the offensive end, so he doesn’t get typecast as merely a return specialist.

“My confidence is always high. I never get down on myself. I know what I can do, and been playing this game since I was 7 years old. I go out there every day and put in work, no matter if I’m a starter or whatever,” Jernigan said. “The first year was the playbook, because [in college] we were running four-wides [four wide receiver offense], and then I came here into a pro-style offense. Last year I learned a little bit more, and now this year, my third year, I know the whole offense. … There’s no excuses now. I just need to go out and perform.”

Big Blue notes …

» Hynoski was carted off the field on the second play from scrimmage with an apparent knee injury and will undergo an MRI to see the extent of the damage.

» Former first-round pick Aaron Curry was very enthusiastic during Wednesday’s session. The former No. 4 pick rotated with the second unit and had a “just happy to be here” view on being a part of Big Blue. Curry noted that as a blue-chip middle linebacker, who was selected by the Seahawks in the 2009 draft, he took things for granted, but has rededicated himself with a new lease on his football life.

“In Seattle, football wasn’t a priority and I just lacked maturity,” Curry said. “[Being labeled a bust] was definitely about the mental aspect. The physical part about football is all NFL guys got [ability], but the guys that separate themselves do it because of the mental, and that all starts on the Monday after the previous Sunday game. I’m looking forward to applying my new way of studying and attention to detail, and challenging myself to emptying the tank every day.”

Curry also credited former Cowboys linebacker and current linebacker coach for the Seahawks, Ken Norton, Jr., for setting him straight.

“Ken Norton challenged me every day. He’s a great coach who said a lot of things that made me change the way I did a lot of stuff about the NFL, about life and about the business,” Curry said. “Every now and then I’ll text him and thank him for all the wisdom and knowledge he passed down to me. … When I got to Oakland, I wore No. 51 because he once wore No. 51. A lot of days I still think about how he taught me how to handle things on the field or off the field.”

» Don’t count defensive end Justin Tuck as someone who’s particularly concerned about the absence of his starting wideouts.

“No matter how much time they miss, if they come out on Sunday and ball, this will be forgotten,” he said, adding about Cruz, “We’ve got a lot of things to worry about, but I don’t think Victor Cruz is one of them.”

» Guard Chris Snee was not participating, as he’s still recovering from an offseason procedure to his hip. James Brewer filled in for him.

» Mathias Kiwanuka, who was the starting strongside linebacker last season, was seen working with the defensive linemen in drills.

» Mark Herzlich was seen calling the shots at middle linebacker for the first unit, in between outside linebackers Spencer Paysinger and Keith Rivers.

» Cornerback Terrell Thomas said he hopes to start individual drills soon, adding he’s “not scared” of competing despite tearing his ACL for the third time last season.

“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” Thomas said.

Thomas then quipped he’ll play wherever the coaching staff needs him, as it’s rumored that he may move from cornerback to safety.

“If they tell me I’m going to play kicker, I’ll play kicker,” Thomas said.

Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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If Mark Sanchez is a better quarterback this year, it might be because he doesn’t have Tony Sparano to kick around any longer.

Sparano, the Jets’ offensive coordinator for last year’s 6-10 season, oversaw Sanchez’s nosedive in performance. The quarterback had his worst statistical season since his rookie year, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.

Now with Marty Mornhinweg calling the plays, Sanchez is hopeful he can bounce back. The experienced offensive coordinator has a reputation for maximizing a quarterback’s potential and he will be charged with rebuilding a fledgling career now at an all-time low.

“I just feel like this coaching staff is going to get the best out of me — just rededicating yourself to the game, rededicating yourself to your preparation and just being excited about this system and what it can do for a quarterback,” Sanchez said. “I think just in these early stages we strung together a couple good days of OTAs. We just got to keep it rolling, stay positive and keep on improving. But I like our attitude and I like the coaching we’ve received so far. I think it’s only going to continue to grow and get better.”

A season ago, the Jets were going to return to the ground game under Sparano and the acquisition of quarterback Tim Tebow to run the Wildcat only underscored that Sanchez’s arm was on the outs in a run-heavy offense. But the ground game sputtered and was inconsistent and injuries beset the wide receivers, leaving Sanchez without a running game or bona fide targets.

It also didn’t help that Sanchez struggled with his progression and regressed to a one-read quarterback as a result of an unimaginative offense lacking playmakers.

Sanchez wouldn’t blame an offense that under Sparano was No. 30 in total offense last season or last year’s coaching staff.

“I don’t know about that. Each system has its own pros and cons. A lot of that stuff is timing and there’s a million things that come into play,” Sanchez said. “At the end of the day, I just have to worry about what I can control.”

What may not be a good sign is that he continues to lose the turnover battle. On Wednesday, Sanchez threw three interceptions, one of which was picked off by nose tackle Damon Harrison.

Sanchez laughed off being intercepted by a player who has been nicknamed by the coaching staff as “Big Snacks” due to his size, but Ryan sounded concerned even if it is only May.

“Yeah it is, absolutely [concerning]. It was a good thing the defense made some plays but I’d rather him not turn the ball over once,” Ryan said. “He did some great things but at the end of the day those are the things that get you beat.”

There is, of course, extra pressure on Sanchez this year as he not only has to improve but he’s engaged in the first true quarterback competition of his professional career.

Geno Smith took the second-most reps in practice after Sanchez and felt he showed “subtle improvement” this week. After a strong rookie minicamp two weeks ago, he struggled with his accuracy and timing.

Part of it is the adjustment to an offense where he is under center, unlike last year at West Virginia where he operated primarily out of the shotgun.

“It just takes reps. Overall, I feel that I’ve been able to pick up on my reads, figure out my depth and drops and how it should be done,” Smith said. “As I said, there’s a total difference in the systems and it’s just a process I have to go through.”

Jets notes …

» The Jets lined up first round pick Sheldon Richardson in the 3-technique today, which he told Metro during rookie minicamp was their ideal spot for him. In college, Richardson primarily played on the edge.

» Smith announced he will be represented by Roc Nation Sports, the agency started by rapper Jay-Z. Head coach Rex Ryan didn’t seem too concerned about his second-round pick going with such a high-profile agency.

“He knows he has to focus on the job at hand here. I’m confident that will happen,” Ryan said. “I don’t even think about who he hired.”

» Second-year wide receiver Stephen Hill was held out of OTAs on Wednesday due to swelling in his knee. He rode the stationary bicycle along with wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who did not practice as he continues to recover from last year’s foot surgery that ended his season.

A team source told Metro New York on Wednesday morning that Holmes “is not expected to be able to run till training camp. His injury is coming along fine but don’t expect him for OTAs or minicamp next month.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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Lanier Coleman is a 26-year-old rookie trying to make the Jets after more than three years out of football. It is a second chance for the massive defensive lineman after he thought his playing days were done.

Coleman was invited to Vikings minicamp in 2009 after a solid career at Louisiana-Lafayette. He did well in minicamp but not enough to earn an invite to their training camp a month later so Coleman packed his bags and returned to Louisiana to coach high school football. The following spring he played in the Arena Football League, but figured he had hung up the helmet and pads for good when he took an intern position at Louisiana-Lafayette in their weight room.

He stocked protein, racked the weights and cleaned the weight benches. In short, he did the grunt work around the weight room, but he ended up falling in love with the job. He always pictured himself as a coach “but I really got into the intensity and passion of the weight room.”

His thankless efforts did not go unnoticed and in the spring of 2010, Coleman went to Rice University in Houston where he served as assistant strength coach for baseball, football, golf, tennis and swimming. He began to learn more about handling athletes and training them in addition to the administrative side of things. When an opportunity came along a year later to take a similar position at Cal, Coleman hopped on board.

It was there that Chris DiSanto, the Golden Bears’ assistant strength and conditioning coach who is now with the Browns, noticed Coleman’s passion for the game.

“I was at practice, getting excited about practice, jumping around and one of my coworkers, Mr. DiSanto, said that ‘I can tell you still have a fire for this game.’ My thing was, I didn’t have any connections,” Coleman said.

It had been three years since Coleman had played in the Arena Football League and four years since he stepped foot on a football field at the NFL level in Minnesota’s minicamp. His defensive line coach at the Vikings was Karl Dunbar, who became the Jets’ defensive line coach last year. DiSanto pushed Coleman to reach out and see if any opportunities existed.

Coleman felt if he had made an impression on Dunbar four years ago he would have heard from the respected position coach already. He hadn’t, so he assumed Dunbar wouldn’t be interested.

“I felt like if coach Dunbar wanted me, he’d seek me out. But Mr. DiSanto said that I should reach out, show him that I want it,” Coleman said. “So I reached out to him and he reached out to me and we talked. I was shocked because I figured he’d be swamped with people wanting to get to him and he wouldn’t have the time for me. He told me he might have an opportunity for me but that I’d have to bring my A game.

“He was very honest with me. That’s the great thing about him. He’s not only a great coach, he’s a great man as well.”

So Coleman packed his bags and headed to New Jersey as a tryout player in the Jets’ rookie minicamp. Nothing was guaranteed but it was an opportunity he had to take.

It was a worthwhile gamble as he impressed the Jets, especially on the second and third day of minicamp. He played inside at the 3-technique but showed great pursuit and chased down the ball from sideline-to-sideline. Not surprisingly, conditioning wasn’t an issue for him. After the morning workout he looked like he wanted to go out for an afternoon session as well.

That Sunday, the Jets called Coleman up to their office and based off his performance he was offered a contract. It was the contract that had eluded him four years earlier and had led him down this path, from high school football coach to college intern to assistant strength coach.

And now, maybe he will have a spot as an NFL player.

“The huge thing was my effort, my effort and learning the defense as quick as I did; that’s what they liked. The first day was a struggle but the thing was my effort. It stuck out. That’s one thing I’ve always hung my hat on is my work ethic,” Coleman said. “Now I need to make them believe that I’m a great football player as well. It’s been a long way to get here. I just want to help them win games however I can.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for live updates and photos from Jets minicamp this week.

The post Lanier Coleman aiming for Jets roster after four-year journey appeared first on Metro.us.

The Rangers’ best effort in the Eastern Conference semifinals simply wasn’t good enough.

As a result, a season which began with expectations of playing meaningful games in June is one loss away from ending.

The Rangers trail the Bruins in the best-of-seven series 3-0 after dropping a 2-1 decision in Game 3 Tuesday night at the Garden. Game 4 is Thursday night.

At least one Ranger took it personally.

“I feel a lot of areas that I could have contributed more and that’s infuriating,” Brian Boyle said. “The biggest game of the year, [and] it just wasn’t enough.”

Daniel Paille’s goalmouth tap-in at 16:29 of the third was the game-winning goal. The sequence which led to Paille’s goal began with a Shawn Thornton shot that hit Henrik Lundqvist and popped behind the goaltender. The puck never crossed the goal line, but Lundqvist could not find it and Paille pounced on the loose rebound.

As the Bruins celebrated, Lundqvist stared up at the pinwheel ceiling, frustration etched on his face.

“We were in our own zone way too long, because I couldn’t win a freakin’ draw,” Boyle said. “We want to put them in their zone, get some offensive zone time that way. And it’s a lot of pressure for our [defense], and it’s a lot of zone time for them to try to create offense. Because I can’t win a freakin’ draw. Again, there’s another opportunity on Thursday to do a better job.”

Boyle was 4-for-21 in the faceoff circle during 19:41 of ice time last night.

The only reason the Rangers were in the game was due to the reigning Vezina winner. Lundqvist made 31 saves in the loss, including spectacular stops in the first period when he stoned Tyler Seguin on a breakaway after Anton Stralman was unable to keep the puck in at the Bruins’ blueline, and consecutive door-step saves on Jaromir Jagr.

“The season is on the line,” Lundqvist said. “You have to leave everything out there. Preparation and the effort have to be there, and we will see if it’s going to be enough. We definitely have to give everything right now, mentally and physically, and put it out there on Thursday.”

Both of Boston’s goals came in the third period and both were directly attributable to the Bruins’ fourth line.

Johnny Boychuk tied the game at 1-1 3:10 into the period with his fourth goal of the playoffs following a shift in which grinding forwards Thornton, Paille and Gregory Campbell were able to keep the puck below the goal line. Paille and Campbell were credited with assists on the goal, while Thornton was part of a two-man screen, along with Campbell, which obstructed Lundqvist’s vision.

“It’s just the little things that we’re making mistakes on,” Dan Girardi said. “They are a very opportunistic team and they have really good players. They are making us pay.”

Taylor Pyatt opened the scoring 3:53 into the second by tipping Ryan McDonagh’s point shot past Tuukka Rask. Pyatt tied up Dougie Hamilton and Zdeno Chara in front of Rask as McDonagh ripped a shot from inside the blue line.

Pyatt’s goal marked the first time since the 2:55 mark of the third period of Game 1 the Rangers had a lead in the series.

They would get no more. The Rangers did not score on either of their two power plays and are 2-for-38 in the playoffs. The Rangers generated just 24 shots on goal, and attempted 60 shots. By comparison, Boston had 75 shot attempts.

“That’s where you establish all of your offense, off the forecheck,” Rick Nash said. “We haven’t been getting it consistently enough for a full 60 [minutes]. I think [the lack of offense] is a combination of the forecheck, special teams and not bearing down on our opportunities. The last game we had a bunch. Tonight we had a couple and we just didn’t bear down enough.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The Knicks wrapped up their season-ending media obligations by ushering head coach Mike Woodson and team president Glen Grunwald in front of the masses at their facilities Tuesday.

Neither wanted to discuss personnel decisions going forward but were eager to effuse praise on a team not many pegged to even go this deep into the postseason. Grunwald, specifically, refused to get into the specifics of what he plans on doing with the roster this summer, but he did allow that changes will likely be made.

“[The team’s salary cap] probably is not likely to get under the [luxury]-tax thresholds, but sign-and-trades are available, although you just can’t acquire a player that way if you’re over the threshold,” said Grunwald. “I think there are some opportunities. We’ll see how it all plays out. Free agency is always a little unpredictable. … But I think we can be creative. I think we got some ideas in what we can do, but we have to be aggressive and creative in terms of our approach to this offseason.”

Grunwald went on to explain that while the Knicks appear to be hamstrung with the tax, he feels confident minor maneuvers can be made to tinker with the roster’s depth, while maintaining the core of Woodson’s group.

“You can trade players, but I don’t think that’s our focus. Our focus is to continue to build this core team. I think some continuity, some familiarization, further growth as individuals and a team, I think that’s what we have to do,” Grunwald said. “We have to continue to buy in as a group to what coach Woodson’s trying to do here. It’s what we all need to do to play a role to be successful.”

According to Woodson, his players all bought in this past season and he’s looking forward to stacking on another training camp to further emphasize his schemes.

“For the most part, I still say that based on where we started and how we assembled our team, this was, to me, a wonderful season and it was a major step in the right direction,” said Woodson. “To win our division, [and] to secure the second seed, people didn’t think we could do none of those things. Some of our goals were met, so all wasn’t bad. I think we made a major step. I think we were able to win some of our fan base back and to me, that’s what’s most important.”

Woodson did have a few complaints, though, about the state of the team — specifically on offense. The long-time coach has never really led a team with great inside presence, as both his former Hawks teams and this current batch of Knicks played inside-out.

“For the most part, we were a jump-shooting team this year, except when we did post Melo [Carmelo Anthony],” said Woodson. “Rasheed [Wallace] helped us early on the block, but we just didn’t have a major low-post game and that might be an area that we might look at as well.”

Overall, Grunwald said, the 2012-13 season was a success for a Knicks team that became relevant again — a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the early 2000s.

“I thought we could have played better, but we didn’t, so we have to look at that and find out why we didn’t play as well as we could,” said Grunwald. “I’m disappointed in the [ending of the] season, but I’m not at all discouraged in this team. I’m very excited about the future. Obviously we have some work to do. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re going to do all we can to get where we want to go.”

Knicks notes …

» Woodson was asked about Amar’e Stoudemire’s minutes restrictions going into next year, as well as his role in the foreseeable future, and was rather vague.

“We’ll have to play that by ear,” Woodson said. “We’ll obviously wait for the doctors and see where things wind up next year. … We’re hopeful [that Stoudemire comes back next season 100 percent], but there’s no guarantees.”

“That will be for us to determine where our roster winds up next year and where everyone else is,” Grunwald said on Stoudemire’s status going forward. “I thought he had a great role in terms of where Woody put him to be successful in terms of coming off the bench. And whether that continues next year or not will be determined, but there is no grand plan to say that he’ll start or not start.”

» Jason Kidd sounded like he was one guy that’s definitely coming back, according to both Grunwald and Woodson:

“We had a great meeting, Woody and I had with Jason yesterday,” said Grunwald. “He was a big part of our success and we look forward to having him back next year.”

“Not yesterday [any discussion of retirement]. It sounded like he was coming back,” said Woodson. “I thought he made it sound like, yeah, he’s coming back, but that can change, you never know.”

» Grunwald tried hard to not tip his hand on J.R. Smith’s status, but it sounded as if he’s leaning towards finding a way to keep the Sixth Man of the Year.

“Like I said before, I think it’s best for us to maintain some continuity,” said Grunwald. “The same group, the same core group together, but I’m not going to comment on any individual player because were not finished with our evaluation. … I think for now we’re just going to go through the evaluation. I’m very happy for J.R. He had a great year, obviously. He’s disappointed in how it finished for himself as it is for our team. But I think that’s going to make us stronger and more committed to next season.”

Woodson said he thinks Smith still has to improve in many ways if he wants to take the leap next year from sixth man to trusted team star.

“He’s got to grow as a player. He’s got to grow on and off the court if he plans on being a better player in this league moving forward,” said Woodson. “As a coach, if he’s back here, it’s going to be my job to be sure to continue to push him in the right directions and make sure that he does everything possible to make sure he wins basketball games.”

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

The post Knicks’ Woodson, Grunwald avoid specifics, praise season appeared first on Metro.us.

Sometimes, the best lessons are the ones that are self-taught.

Following an uncharacteristically subpar performance in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, in which Dan Girardi was on the ice for all five goals in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss, head coach John Tortorella opted not to have a meeting with the top pair defenseman.

“I didn’t even talk to him,” Tortorella said in his Tuesday morning press conference at the Garden in the hours prior to Game 3. “He’s going to play his best game.”

Long one of the Rangers’ leaders, Girardi has earned Tortorella’s confidence with his play and reliability.

“It depends on the person,” Tortorella said. “It depends where he is as a player, experience-wise. I don’t have to say one word to Dan Girardi. If that’s a John Moore, certainly we will try to help him along the way – maybe show him so tape, whatever it may be.

“With [Girardi], he’s one of the better defensemen in the National Hockey League that had a tough night. He knows it. He doesn’t need to hear it from any coach at all as far as what needs to be done.”

No need to hold serve?

The popular thinking is that the Rangers need to win the next two games at home to get back into the series.

Unsurprisingly, Tortorella dismissed the notion.

“I’m looking at this as one game,” Tortorella said, when asked about the prospects of the Rangers coming back from an 0-2 deficit for the second straight series. “We just want to win a game and crawl back in to make it a series. So all of the stuff as far as the history and what we did the last time, we’re not paying attention to it.

“We made corrections [at Monday’s practice in Greenburgh, N.Y.]. We felt we played a pretty good hockey game [Sunday afternoon]. It certainly wasn’t a 5-2 game. We want to win a game and we’ll see where we go.”

Powe, Staal updates

Darroll Powe and Marc Staal were part of a group of players that participated in the optional skate at the Garden Tuesday morning. Both Powe and Staal have not played since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Capitals.

As per organizational policy, the Rangers have not announced the reasons for their absence. Powe was elbowed in the head by Washington’s Joel Ward during Game 3 of that series when the Rangers center checked the Capitals right wing into the boards.

Staal has been sidelined with a potential reoccurrence of symptoms from the eye injury he suffered in the 4-2 win over the Flyers on March 5. The defenseman was struck near the eye by a Kimmo Timonen shot.

“Feel good. It’s good to be back on the ice, skating with the guys,” Powe said. “It’s a few days of skating. I felt pretty good. I’m just skating, working out and try to get back in the lineup. The goal is to get back as soon as I can.”

Staal was unavailable for comment.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The Yankees are branching off into the beautiful game.

The baseball franchise announced Tuesday morning they will be forming a new MLS team, named the New York City Football Club, which will join the league in 2015. The Yankees are forming the team in conjunction with Manchester City, one of the most powerful clubs in the world.

Manchester City will be the majority owner of the new club.

Manchester City was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, which has poured massive amounts of money into the club. The club brought in international stars such as Yaya Toure and David Silva. They won the English Premier League title in 2012 for the first time since 1968. They were shocked by Wigan in the FA Cup final just two weeks ago, with a 1-0 loss. They fired manager Roberto Mancini days later.

“We proudly welcome two of the most prestigious professional global sports organizations to Major League Soccer,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “This is a transformational development that will elevate the league to new heights in this country. The New York area is home to more than 19 million people­, and we look forward to an intense crosstown rivalry between New York City Football Club and the New York Red Bulls that will captivate this great city.”

The franchise will be the 20th in MLS.

“We are pleased to be associated with this major move by MLS to increase its presence in the New York market and to enhance the opportunity for New York soccer fans to enjoy high-level play in their own city,” Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “We look forward to the opportunity to work with Manchester City to create something very special for the soccer fans of New York.”

The team has not yet announced where in the city they will play, but promised a permanent stadium will be built. The city has discussed building a new stadium in Queens at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The owners of New York City FC said they would “continue these discussions.”

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Professional sports are mostly black or white — and about wins or losses — which explains Iman Shumpert’s view of the 2012-13 season.

“We failed. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do,” Shumpert said during his season-ending exit interview session with the media on Monday.

Despite earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, winning 54 regular season games and enjoying the franchise’s most successful season this decade, Shumpert doesn’t look back fondly on a season that ended far earlier than he, his teammates and the rabid fanbase expected.

“At least the Eastern Conference finals,” said Shumpert, when asked his minimum expectations for the Knicks this postseason. “We knew we were supposed to go farther and we didn’t.”

Shumpert, who spoke barely above a whisper during his session, seemed wise beyond his years when discussing the current state — and forthcoming prospects — of the Knicks.

He thinks the unevenness of the collective effort from game to game caused his team’s early exit.

“We just have to hold each other accountable. Come next year, little things like not playing hard should never come into play. Letting a game slip at home should never come into play. Getting beat on the boards when that’s an emphasis coming into a series should never happen,” Shumpert said. “We have to take care of the little things and we didn’t. And it caught up to us.”

Shumpert’s veteran teammates didn’t sound as pessimistic about the Knicks’ season or their fortune going forward. To a man, every other veteran who was allowed to speak towed the company line in saying they believe this season was basically a trial run considering it was the first time this unit played together.

“I’m going to say it was a great year. It was a great year, great run. Definitely a huge step from years in the past, [and] something to build on,” Raymond Felton said. “Definitely not satisfying but, you know [we] can’t really be too upset. I think we had a great year overall. We did a lot of special things this year. So all this is about now is just capitalizing and building on it.”

Perhaps Felton’s optimism should be taken with a grain of salt, considering the point guard actually felt he had a “pretty good performance in the playoffs.”

But Carmelo Anthony essentially agreed with Felton’s outlook that the Knicks can still contend, and thinks the future is bright.

“We’re right there, I mean we’re right there,” Anthony said. “When you recap this whole season, it’s just some detail-oriented things that we kind of got to fix. … I don’t think we underachieved. We made strides forward. We made huge steps. When I first got here in New York, I always said this was a process, [and that] this was going to take two to three years. This was the first year the pieces to the puzzle started to fall into place. … We’ve set a standard, [and] kind of teased the city of New York a little bit, because now everybody expects us to play at this high level. Eventually something has to happen. We want to win the championship, that’s the goal, and we’re going to keep striving for that. I feel very confident about that.”

Knicks notes …

» Shumpert said the coaches want him to play in Las Vegas summer league, and added he’s excited about doing so because he desires to be “under coaching and under coach’s wing” all summer. It’ll be the first time he’s done so since he missed his rookie campaign (lockout) and last season’s (ACL injury) summer league.

» Among the players who didn’t speak to the media today were J.R. Smith, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jason Kidd. The Knicks brass, however, will allow Woodson and team president Glen Grunwald speak with the media on Tuesday.

» Anthony admitted that he will have his left shoulder checked out and see what kind of therapy and rehab it needs. Anthony also declined to look ahead at what he’ll do next season in regard to his opt-out clause at the end of next season, because it would be “selfish” to think about that scenario and didn’t want to “jump the gun.”

» Chris Copeland said he wants to come back next season, and will be twisting in the wind until the Knicks decide what to do with the 29-year-old rookie. The team must make him a qualifying offer by June 30.

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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The facts paint a bleak picture for the Rangers.

For the second straight series, they return to the Garden in a 0-2 hole. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there has not been a team in NHL history that has won consecutive Stanley Cup playoff series after spotting opponents the first two games as the Rangers have against the Capitals and the Bruins.

The Rangers have been outscored 8-4 in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Only three players — Brian Boyle, Carl Hagelin and Anton Stralman — have a positive rating after the first two games of the series. The power play is 0-for-8 in the first two games and 2-for-36 in the playoffs.

And their Vezina-finalist goaltender appeared to injure his shoulder in the final moments of Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 loss in Game 2.

With all of that said, head coach John Tortorella painted a much different picture.

“I thought we played a much better game in the second game,” Tortorella told reporters after the Rangers’ practice in Greenburgh, N.Y. on Monday in preparation for Tuesday’s Game 3. “I’m very optimistic as far as where we’re going as a team.”

Tuesday’s game is at the Garden, where the Rangers are 3-0 in these playoffs and have outscored opponents 9-6 in those games. The Rangers finished the regular season with a 16-6-2 mark at the Garden compared to a maudlin 10-12-2 road record.

The biggest reason for Tortorella’s confidence is a Henrik Lundqvist, who appears likely to play in Game 3. Lundqvist, the reigning Vezina winner, tweaked his arm in the third period of Sunday’s loss while making a diving save.

“I landed on it awkwardly and it hurt a little bit but it’s under control,” Lundqvist said. “Everybody is sore. It’s the playoffs. You can’t sit out because it’s hurting a little bit. It happens. You have to do the right things to keep it going.”

In order to extend their season past the next two games, the Rangers will have to be decidedly better defensively than they were in the first two games, in which the Bruins attempted 143 shots towards Lundqvist.

To that end, it appears as if the customary top defensive pairing of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi will be reunited. According to reports, the two skated together during Monday’s practice session.

Split up prior to Game 1 in order to have a strong defender on the ice against Boston’s top two lines, the two logged their accustomed ice time while partnered with Anton Stralman and Michael Del Zotto, respectively. McDonagh finished with a goal in Game 1 in 55:55 of ice time in the series, while Girardi is minus-4 with an assist in 51:34 spanning the first two games.

Girardi was on the ice for four of Boston’s goals in Game 2, including Brad Marchand’s top-of-the-crease tap-in 26 seconds into the third period which gave the Bruins an insurmountable, 4-2, lead.

“We can defend,” Tortorella said. “It surprises me that we made some mistakes that we very rarely do on simple coverages. The third and fourth goal, they’re simple coverages and we beat ourselves.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Everybody who isn’t sick of Dwight Howard, please raise your hand. No one? OK, that’s what I thought.

Howard has somehow turned himself from one of the most-liked players in the league to one of the least-liked in two years. Remember when Howard was in the dunk contest, dressing like Superman and winning over fans young and old alike? What happened to that jovial superstar?

Well, as if last year’s “will he, won’t he” trade saga wasn’t enough, now he’s a free agent and again starting rumors. Word is, he is already throwing teams he’d like to sign with out there, such as the Rockets and Mavericks. Of course, he’s also making it clear he’s far apart on re-signing with the Lakers.

If he signs with the Lakers he can make more money in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement, since they would be re-signing him.

Oh, but wait. Did you notice something similar about those two teams he threw out there?

They’re both in Texas, which has no state income tax (unlike California). That’s not a coincidence.

Howard, and likely his agents, throws those two teams out there because he knows the playing field is more even with the Lakers thanks to no income tax.

It’s disgusting how dramatic Howard has become. Just shut up and take care of your business behind closed doors. When has negotiating in the media made a guy look good? Ask Osi Umenyiora how that worked out for him? The Giants, who are as classy an organization as you’ll find, said “thanks but no thanks” and let Umenyiora walk to Atlanta. And Giants fans didn’t care that a guy with 75 sacks in nine years was gone.

Here’s hoping the Lakers follow the same path. It’s not like they had any success with the suddenly injury-prone center this year. Hell, let him walk and sign Chris Paul.

Now there’s a good rumor to start.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. How has Dwight Howard become Alex Rodriguez?

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It’s back to the drawing board for the Grizzlies after an ugly, 105-83 loss in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals to the Spurs.

Veteran-laden San Antonio blitzed the Grizzlies right out of the gate, taking a 31-14 lead after the first quarter. The 17-point hole was too much to fight out of for Memphis. While a personal 8-0 run by Grizzlies guard Quincy Pondexter brought his team back to within striking distance with four minutes to play in the third, they never got closer than 62-56.

Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner answered Pondexter’s hot streak with two 3-pointers of their own to give the Spurs a 16-point lead heading into the fourth.

It was a particularly ugly game for the Grizzlies’ two post players, who were supposed to have the advantage on the aging Tim Duncan. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 17 points on 8-of-24 (33 percent) shooting. Memphis was a shocking minus-28 with Randolph on the floor. The All Star finished the game with two points on 1-of-8 shooting.

No one on the Spurs had a dominating performance — Tony Parker led the team with 20 points and nine assists — but it was the deep shooting of Bonner, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green which posed a problem. The trio of role players were 11-of-17 on 3-pointers.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

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Not even Don Draper could spin what happened Sunday afternoon into anything other than a disaster.

The Rangers are two losses away from a premature and unsatisfying end to a season which began with Stanley Cup aspirations after absorbing a 5-2 loss to the Bruins at the TD Garden in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Bruins lead the best-of-seven series, 2-0. Game 3 is Tuesday night at The Garden.

What is most troubling is that the Rangers have not had an appropriate response to the Bruins’ momentum surges in the first two games. For all intents and purposes, yesterday’s matinee was decided 26 seconds into the third period when Boston’s nominal second-liners Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand hooked up on the Bruins’ fourth goal.

Bergeron carried the puck along the wall into the Rangers’ end while being hounded by Michael Del Zotto. The Bruins center held off the defenseman, then fired a perfect saucer pass to a driving Marchand when Dan Girardi momentarily spied Bergeron. In an instant, the Rangers were down 4-2.

Milan Lucic added his third of the post-season 12:13 later to end the scoring. Boston outshot the Rangers 11-10 in the third. The Rangers had a 37-32 advantage in shots on goal.

Torey Krug, Gregory Campbell and Johnny Boychuk also scored goals for the Bruins. Boychuk’s top-of-the-circle wrister at the 12:08 mark of the second period was the game-winning goal.

What will rankle the Rangers is that, for as poorly as they played Sunday afternoon, they had a chance to win. Ryan Callahan and Rick Nash scored goals that tied the game at 1-1 and 2-2, respectively.

However, the Rangers could not score a go-ahead goal, and were unable to slow Boston’s rushes which were marked by defensemen consistently jumping into the play.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Standing at his locker and still in uniform after preparing for a start that was rained out against the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, CC Sabathia basically shrugged it off.

To show how little a chance the Yankees had of actually playing, Sabathia was sitting on the couch in the middle of the clubhouse when the game was officially postponed.

“I was all the way out, but I’m not very intense,” Sabathia said. “Either way I wasn’t really worried about it. I was sitting on the couch and they told me it was canceled so I’ll just play catch and I’ll be fine.”

Sabathia instead will make his second start of the season against Baltimore. His first one was April 12 in a game the Yankees turned a triple play in a 5-2 win. Monday will be his first start in Baltimore since Game 1 of the ALDS.

The early rainout gave Sabathia and the Yankees a chance to avoid the same issue in Colorado on May 9. Sabathia pitched four innings because of a two-hour rain delay in a 3-1 win.

“That happened in Colorado,” he said. “I ended up getting a win but you still don’t want kind of waste starts.”

After Sabathia, the Yankees will go with Phil Hughes and Hiroki Kuroda in Baltimore.

Steinbrenner speaks

Owner Hal Steinbrenner was at Yankee Stadium Saturday for a fan picture day event with Yankee season ticket holders and he also addressed several things concerning his team, most notably the team’s first-place performance, the drop in attendance and contract negotiations with Robinson Cano, a free agent this season.

In terms of the team’s 27-16 record, Steinbrenner was extremely pleased with the contributions of various players from the farm system while also saying he did not subscribe to the negativity of the preseason predictions.

“I’m not shocked. I didn’t buy into the doomsday scenario that many people did,” Steinbrenner said. “I knew we had some good kids at Triple-A. More importantly, I knew that the guys we got in the offseason were veterans. Whether people thought they were worth getting or not, I felt they were veterans and this is what you expect veterans to do.”

Steinbrenner was also in New York to attend the quarterly owners’ meetings which took place Wednesday and Thursday at MLB headquarters on Park Avenue.

The Yankees have not sold out since Opening Day and have played to two road sellouts that were not home openers. They have announced 15 crowds under 40,000.

“The good stories that we’ve all known about on this club are going to be more well-known to the fan base,” he said. “I think people are going to be excited to come out and see the Adamses, the Romines, the Hafners and the players we got in the offseason.”

Steinbrenner did not go in-depth on the future of Cano, but indicated that the sides have met a few times.

The Yankees have a policy of not negotiating new contracts during a season but it seems that could change concerning Cano, who hit two home runs Saturday.

Brignac becomes infielder

The Yankees have started nine players at the infield positions and Sunday, they added a 10th by starting Reid Brignac at shortstop. Brignac was acquired Saturday from the Rockies. He joined Chris Nelson as the second former Colorado infielder to join the team this month.

“I’ve seen him have some big days; Ive seen him have some good years,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I think there’s some good talent there. So we’re going to see what he can do.”

Brignac also became the fourth different starting shortstop, a list that includes Alberto Gonzalez (three games), Jayson Nix (14 games) and Eduardo Nunez.

The Yankees have used the disabled list 13 times with 11 DL spots still occupied. Five of those spots are held by infielders.

Brignac has extensive experience playing AL East hitters defensively after playing 185 of his 266 games with the Rays, a fact he pointed out Sunday.

“I know all these hitters in this division and how to position myself and where to play,” he said. “I think it can definitely help me out.”

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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I imagine people have been butchering America’s national anthem since it came into existence, but nothing has done more damage to the song than sporting events. Our latest entry in the “Oh, this is not good” category came this weekend from a Canadian junior hockey league tournament.

Plucky Canadian singer Alexis Normand is charged with singing the Canadian and American anthems at the Memorial Cup and since all hockey is televised in Canada, she has the unfortunate honor of her disaster preserved for YouTube eternity.

Ms. Normand actually starts out strong. But unfortunately it all goes terribly wrong at the end of the third line: “Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight.” She loses the last word — night? fight? — and then just loses it totally.

There are an incredibly painful seven seconds of silence, then she tries to start the third line over again and mostly just mumbles through the second half of the song.

But she certainly finished strong.

She apologized for the bungling on Twitter, and frankly I feel bad enough for her.

I’m embarrassed and deeply sorry. I wish I’d had more time to learn the American anthem. Thanks so much for the crowd’s help! #memorialcup

— Alexis Normand (@Alex6Normand) May 19, 2013

She’s a French-Canadian jazz singer from Saskatchewan for Christ’s sake! Oh and she’s quite amazingly good at her actual singing profession. (No, I don’t speak French either.)

So hang in there, Alexis. It could always be worse. You could be Carl Lewis … or Roseanne Barr … or that girl at the Trailblazers game … or, well you get the point.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. Let’s see Carl Lewis sing the Canadian anthem. That would be serious entertainment.

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Jets running back Mike Goodson was arrested early Friday morning on Route 80 West in Denville, N.J. for possession of a loaded handgun and marijuana.

Around 3 a.m. on Friday morning, a tow-truck driver pulled along a grey Yukon driven by Garant Evans of Roselle, N.J. in which Goodson was the passenger. The vehicle had stopped in the left-center lane of the four-way highway, located roughly 20 minutes from the Jets’ facility. Evans was was charged with driving under the influence. Goodson was taken for evaluation to nearby St. Clare’s Hospital.

A handgun was found in the vehicle after the police did a search.

Goodson was released from his cell at Morris County Jail around 6 p.m. on Friday evening and after he posted $50,000 bail. The delay had nothing to do with Goodson being held for medical reasons and was merely due to him waiting for the bail to be posted.

The state police found a “small amount of marijuana” on Goodson’s body, per the police statement on the incident. Evans was taken to the local state police barracks in Netcong, N.J. and was processed. His bail was set at $150,000.

According the police release, both Evans and Goodson were charged with possession of marijuana (under 50 grams), possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a loaded handgun and possession of hollow-point ammunition.

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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The Knicks almost rallied for a hard-fought road win, but in the end they came up short as the Pacers ended the series with a 106-99 win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Carmelo Anthony was brilliant for most of the game, scoring a game-high 39 points on 15-of-29 shooting, but struggled down the stretch. He went 1-of-6 in the fourth quarter for four points and had a couple of key turnovers — not to mention a momentum-swinging dunk blocked by Roy Hibbert at the rim that sent a charge throughout Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Total blame shouldn’t be placed at the feet of the league’s leading scorer and MVP finalist, however, because he was the Knicks’ best offensive option all night. New York got nothing from starters Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler. Felton, who struggled all series, only had two points (0-of-7 shooting) and six assists, while the 7-foot-1 Chandler mustered even less with two points, six rebounds and zero blocks. The 6-foot-7 Anthony, conversely, had seven rebounds from the forward position.

If not for the saving graces of their bench, namely J.R. Smith and Chris Copeland, the Knicks would’ve been run out of the arena. Smith didn’t shoot particularly well (4-of-15) in scoring 15 points, but he had a team-high 10 rebounds. Copeland, who critics may say head coach Mike Woodson waited far too long to insert into the regular rotation, added a solid nine points (all on 3-pointers in the pivotal third quarter) in 15 minutes.

Indiana was led by Lance Stephenson’s team-high 25 points, as every Pacers starter scored in double figures. Indiana didn’t even need a bench, as it combined for just eight points, because the starters combined for 98 points and 37 rebounds. The Knicks’ starters, conversely, combined for 68 points and 19 rebounds — certainly something that will need to be addressed in what has now turned into an earlier-than-expected summer vacation.

What we saw …

1. Hibbert changed the complexion of this entire round with his aggressive play from the onset of this series. Hibbert was a beast on the blocks as he tallied 21 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high five blocks, as he eviscerated fellow the All-Star Chandler all series.

2. Chandler fouled out with 3:12 remaining in the game, but it was as if he was nowhere to be found anyway. Chandler, who struggled all series with Hibbert because he had at least a one-inch and 40-pound disadvantage, only gave the Knicks 37 points (6.2 per game), 36 rebounds (6.0 per game) and 10 blocks (1.7 per game) in the whole series.

3. Stephenson was the ultimate X-factor as he notched a career-high 25 points, including 16 in the first half and a handful of key buckets late to send the Knicks packing. Stephenson, a Brooklyn native, certainly didn’t want to make the trip back to New York for a Game 7, as he tortured whatever Knicks defender in his way. Stephenson also added 10 rebounds from the shooting guard position to close out what was a promising season for his hometown team.

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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First blood goes to the Bruins.

Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the playoffs at the 15:40 mark of overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 win over the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series Thursday night at the TD Garden. Boston leads the best-of-seven series, 1-0. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon in Boston.

Marchand finished a counterattack with centerman Patrice Bergeron by tapping a feed under Henrik Lundqvist (45 saves).

The series opener between the Original Six franchises was not the mosh pit most expect the series to become. Instead, the two teams engaged in a feeling-out process.

Zdeno Chara opened the scoring in the series at the 12:23 mark of the second period with a slap shot Lundqvist never could quite control and inadvertently knocked into the goal. The goal ended Lundqvist’s playoff shutout streak at 152:23.

Ryan McDonagh tied the game with 1.3 seconds left in the period. The defenseman finished a sequence which began with a Rick Nash wraparound with his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal.

After the initial shot, Nash broke up a Tyler Seguin clearing attempt, and the puck landed on McDonagh’s stick.

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead 14 seconds into the third period on Derek Stepan’s third of the playoffs. Patrice Bergeron won the faceoff against Stepan to start the period but Marchand was unable to get the puck into the Rangers’ end. The Rangers’ top line counterattacked, finishing with Stepan one-timing Carl Hagelin’s feed past Tuukka Rask (33 saves).

The lead didn’t last long.

Torey Krug, one of three rookie defensemen in the lineup for the Bruins alongside Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski due to injuries, tied the game 2:41 after Stepan’s goal with his first playoff goal in his first NHL game.

Interestingly, head coach John Tortorella split up his normal top defense pair of McDonagh and Dan Girardi. Girardi started the game paired with Michael Del Zotto, while McDonagh played with Anton Stralman.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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It wasn’t always pretty, but the Knicks found a way to stave off elimination and push the series back to Indiana, as they held off the Pacers, 85-75, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Knicks enjoyed some good news pregame, as Pacers starting point guard George Hill was ruled out with a concussion he suffered in Game 4 when he crashed into a hard pick from Tyson Chandler. Hill was replaced in the lineup by D.J. Augustin, who had 12 points, but the Pacers offense sorely missed their floor leader.

Carmelo Anthony had a brilliant game as he tallied 28 points on 12-of-28 shooting and six rebounds. Anthony had perhaps his best all-around game as he got his hands on loose balls, battling rugged power forward David West (17 points and 10 rebounds) to a standstill in the post and scoring late in the fourth quarter — something he’s failed to do in the previous two games.

Anthony wasn’t alone, however, as Raymond Felton, J.R. Smith and even Chris Copeland picked up the slack when the Pacers defenders were paying too much attention to the league’s leading scorer.

Copeland, who was inexplicably left on the bench most of the series prior to tonight, scored 13 points — including eight in the pivotal third quarter when he helped the Knicks boost a six-point halftime lead to its largest margin of 10 points.

“It is a blessing. I’m extremely excited that I had some impact on the game. I hope I can do it again next game,” Copeland said. “I think I can help us spread the floor and get guys away from the basket. I think I can help Melo get opportunities on the block and space for J.R.”

Woodson, who never really gave a reason for burying Copeland on the bench, despite the team’s offensive struggles in all of their three losses, was impressed with the 29-year-old rookie’s ability to stay ready.

“It was a big lift throughout the whole game,” Woodson said, never really mentioning Copeland by name. “Our offense has spurted at times, but tonight we found our offense. We changed some things a little bit tonight … and tried to change some of our sets to see if it worked.”

The insertion of Copeland worked even if Woodson refused to acknowledge the rookie’s impact.

Smith also finally shook his series-long doldrums to contribute 13 points. Smith shot 4-of-11, as the controversial shooting guard finally lived up to his Sixth Man of the Year status for the first time all series. Smith also added six rebounds and a blocked shot.

The fact that the Knicks were so active in the paint was arguably the biggest difference. The Pacers dominated the interior in each of the previous three wins in the series, but seemed out of sorts Thursday night.

All-Star center Roy Hibbert was finally a nonfactor as he was essentially cancelled out by the Knicks’ own All-Star center, Tyson Chandler. Both bigs were hindered by foul problem for most of the game, but the Knicks will take that every time. Hibbert finished with just nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Chandler had two points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Chandler wasn’t much of factor again, but his teammates picked up the slack as they collectively defended the paint and attacked the glass. The Knicks had been pounded on the boards all series by the bigger and younger Pacers, but they finally held their own. The Pacers still won the rebounding battle, 43-40, but the Knicks didn’t allow them to dictate the play in the paint. The Pacers held only a slight advantage on the offensive boards, 12-10, which meant New York limited the second-chance points that harmed them most of the series.

“It was the second-chance points [that hurt the Knicks in the three losses]. We got outrebounded badly and that was the difference then,” Woodson said. “We were outrebounded tonight, but we had enough going for us defensively, as well as our offense, that it didn’t hurt us. … We have to have the same commitment when we step out on the floor at Conseco [now Bankers Life] Fieldhouse on Saturday.”

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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Andy Pettitte had a chance to reach 250 career victories. Instead he left the mound with a back injury.

Pettitte allowed two runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings but only lasted 79 pitches during last night’s 3-2 Yankees loss to the Mariners.

Pettitte winced and appeared to hold his side while throwing a slider to Kyle Seager. The trainer came out to look at Pettitte and removed him from the game.

“Every time a guy feels something you watch how it goes, and lot of times hitters go through it and it’s not a big deal,” manager Joe Girardi said. “Tonight I saw a drop in a velocity and that was a concern.”

The Yankees announced during the top of the eighth inning that Pettitte’s injury was a tight left trapezius.

For now, there was good news concerning Pettitte, who said he was not feeling any pain while explaining what happened in the postgame interview.

“I couldn’t extend it at all,” Pettitte said. “I felt like I was cutting everything off and really just throwing slower than slow to tell you the truth.”

The injury initially surfaced after the fourth inning and Pettitte said he thought it vanished after getting some heat and massage treatment. After his first pitch to Jason Bay, Pettitte said it locked up again, though he was uncertain if it would cost him his next start.

In typical Pettitte fashion, he was more upset about not giving the Yankees length a night after the bullpen was used for 25 outs.

“I can’t stand that I wasn’t able to stay out there and give us a good start and give us a chance to get the lead,” he said.

It is the second time this season Pettitte has had an injury issue. Last month he went 10 days in between starts due to back spasms and emerged from that problem to turn in two quality outings.

After not having much command of his pitches in losses to Houston and Oakland, Pettitte seemingly rediscovered it with seven strong innings in Kansas City on Saturday.

It was a typical Pettitte start with several base runners and a few jams but he only allowed a run-scoring double to Dustin Ackley in the second and a run-scoring infield hit to Brendan Ryan in the fourth. Along the way, Pettitte worked out of runners on second and third in the second inning and got of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning.

He started the fifth by striking out Jason Bay with one of the few changeups thrown. He remained throwing off-speed in the at-bat to Seager which might have been an indication something was off physically.

Pettitte’s injury overshadowed a quiet night by the Yankees offense which did little in 4 1/3 innings against Hector Noesi and not much else against four relievers. The Yankees scored their first run in the second a double by David Adams and made it a one-run game on an infield single by Robinson Cano in the seventh.

The Yankees were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10, including Brett Gardner on third following two stolen bases when Cano made the final out in a thrilling at-bat with Seattle closer Tom Wilhelmsen, who jokingly described the ninth as everything a closer could want.

Besides losing consecutive games for the fifth time this season, the Yankees suffered another injury besides Pettitte. Catcher Chris Stewart left the game with a left groin injury after the seventh but the Yankees did not know afterwards if a stint on the disabled list would be needed.

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Last week, head coach Rex Ryan sent a message to linebacker Quinton Coples, calling out the second-year player for what he saw was a lack of effort in the weight room. The former first-round pick says that the message was received.

Neither player nor coach have talked about the perceived lack of effort with Coples saying it was a “first-time experience for me” and that he has never been called out before. He called it a “wake-up” call.

“I wouldn’t say I got comfortable, it was during a drill, it was videotaped and I could have given better effort,” Coples said. “The next day when we came back here, I gave a better effort to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

In 2011 during his final year as a Tar Heel, Coples was dogged by criticism he would take plays off and lacked overall effort. It was a talking point that stuck with him throughout last spring’s NFL Draft process, despite his strong metrics.

Coples said he heard about his head coach’s disapproval when his business manager called him about Ryan’s quotes from rookie minicamp. A Google Alert went off in his business manager’s inbox, notifying him of the situation.

“I wasn’t shocked by it; it was just something he did,” Coples sad. “I responded well. I responded in the weight room and got better.”

Last week, Ryan said he holds Coples to a very high standard since he “has all the physical tools to be the best player out on the field and that’s what we need him to be.”

In 2012, Coples played in all 16 games and had 30 tackles. He led the Jets with 5.5 sacks.

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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Mark Sanchez sounds like someone who is ready to battle for the spot under center.

Following Thursday’s organized team activities, Sanchez addressed the ever-brewing quarterback controversy. The competition got a little less crowded Wednesday with the retirement of David Garrard, who called it quits due to a long-standing knee injury.

“He was one of those guys that I felt like I’d be able to bounce my ideas off of, having that veteran experience,” Sanchez said. “So, it’s tough to see a guy go like that and you just wish him the best health-wise first, and then, he has a career to celebrate, he played a long time in this league and did a heck of a job. It was great to be around him in the short time I had with him and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Taking Garrard out of the picture doesn’t change Sanchez’s perception heading into June’s minicamp and then training camp a month later.

“Nothing’s changed. My mindset is the same,” Sanchez said. “Just stay focused, master this offense, improve on my fundamentals, be as accurate as possible, take care of the football and lead this team.”

Sanchez looked a lot like his rookie self in his fourth season in the league in 2012. He was unsure in the pocket, held onto the ball too long, went consistently with his first read and forced way too many passes.

For the second time in his career and the first since his rookie season in 2009, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns.

Now with Garrard out of the picture, Sanchez will be locked in a quarterback battle with second-round pick Geno Smith in addition to Greg McElroy, who replaced Sanchez in Week 15 last year and then started over him the next game. If he wants to be the starter, Sanchez will need to cut down on his turnovers which means throwing the ball away more.
He’s been working on that in practice.

“Guys will raise their hands if they’re open, and if no one raises their hands, you’re either running or throwing it away,” Sanchez said. “That’s kind of the drill. I think it’s valuable and I think it’s one of those things that we aim to address.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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Four weeks after learning Derek Jeter had suffered a second fracture in his left ankle, the Yankees finally received what qualifies as good news concerning their captain.

Jeter is expected to be out until after the All-Star break but the Yankees said when he was recently re-evaluated, it had healed to the point where he can soon shed the walking boot.

“It’s healing,” manager Joe Girardi said. “They see the bone is going back together. They say it’s healing. I think he’ll be out of the boot sometime shortly and then he’ll go from there.”

Jeter has not played since crumpling to the ground in Game 1 of the ALCS against Detroit on Oct. 13. He was hoping to return by Opening Day but during spring training it became apparent that was not going to happen nor was the second tentative return date of May 1 once he struggled with soreness at various points in exhibition games.

Jeter did not make his spring training debut until March 9, and took the field March 13. After playing defense in consecutive games March 15 and March 16, he was scratched on March 19 and required an anti-inflammatory injection.

Without Jeter, Eduardo Nunez has started 26 games, Jayson Nix has made 11 starts and Alberto Gonzalez has made the other starts at shortstop. Defensively, Yankee shortstops have made five errors in 162 chances for a .969 fielding percentage.

Now a reliever, Betances joins Yankees

Dellin Betances threw five no-hit innings for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre at Gwinnett on May 5. After throwing 90 pitches to 20 hitters, minor-league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson told him he was headed to the bullpen.

“It was [strange] because I was starting to feel like I was getting quality starts, but there’s nothing I could have done about it,” Betances said. “Whatever I need to do, I’m ready for whatever.”

In two outings, he allowed one run and four hits in 4 1/3 innings while throwing 64 pitches to 16 hitters. Since the Yankees used Brett Marshall for 108 pitches spanning 5 2/3 innings in Wednesday’s 12-2 loss, they needed another arm and Betances was the choice.

“It’s just been a battle, just mechanic-wise,” Betances said. “I’ve worked real hard to repeat my delivery. I feel like I’m getting there. I feel like I’m real, real, real close. I feel like I’m throwing more strikes, especially out of the bullpen in a different mode. It’s more of an attack mode right out of the gate.”

Betances spent time with the Yankees as a September call-up two years ago when he issued six walks to 16 hitters in mop-up relief. Last year, the 6-foot-8 Grand Street Campus (Brooklyn, N.Y.) product was 6-9 with a 6.44 ERA in 27 appearances (26 starts) while splitting time between Double-A Trenton and Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

“He’s done OK. He had one really good outing the time before last,” Girardi said. “His last outing was OK. We like that he can simplify things and get on a roll and [can] be another arm for us.”

Yankee injury updates …

» Michael Pineda will throw 50 pitches on Friday either in extended spring training or in an intrasquad game.

Since Pineda has not pitched in nearly two years, the Yankees need him to build his arm strength back up to 100 pitches but they expect that to happen and that he will pitch sometime this summer

“We’ll continue to build him up,” Girardi said. “Starters as you know take a lot longer than relievers because you have to get him to 100 pitches and for a kid who hasn’t pitched in a couple of years, you may want to see a couple of times and make sure he’s ready to go every fifth day.”

» Joba Chamberlain will need another week to heal from a ribcage injury. Chamberlain was eligible to be activated but although he has not had a setback, the Yankees are playing it safe by having him play catch which will likely be followed by another bullpen session and another rehab appearance.

“Ribcages are tricky,” Girardi said. “A lot of times you’ll see where guys can actually throw or swing but you don’t feel that they are a hundred percent full power and we don’t think he’s quite there yet so we want to make sure he’s ready.”

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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And then there were nine.

Eight contenders will seek to topple the favorite Orb in this Saturday’s Preakness and keep the Kentucky Derby winner from completing two-thirds of the Triple Crown. Orb didn’t draw any favors with a draw at the first post, but this horse should have the class to be in it until the end. Will it be enough?

The field …

1. Orb (1/1)
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Shug McGaughey
Coming off training this past week at Belmont Park, Orb has had some strong morning workouts that show a horse potentially peaking heading into Pimlico. Orb’s dam (racing parlance for a mare) is Lady Liberty, who is bread for distance. While Pimlico is shorter than the Kentucky Derby, this will still be the second-longest race any horse in the field will face. He didn’t draw any favors along the rail and needs to avoid being bottled up early.

2. Goldencents (8/1)
Jockey: Kevin Krigger
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Doug O’Neill took I’ll Have Another to a win in the Derby and Preakness last year but his entrant this year, Goldencents, disappointed at Churchill Downs, coming in 17th. Conventional wisdom says stay clear but this horse had a nice trip in the Santa Anita Derby in April against a good field.

3. Titletown Five (30/1)
Jockey: Julien Leparoux
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
He will be outclassed at this level and might lack the stamina to stay in the mix come the final turn. There’s little value here.

4. Departing (6/1)
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Trainer: Albert M. Stall Jr.
He’s fresh and well rested, but Departing has never won anywhere near this level. He placed third at the Louisiana Derby in March, finishing behind Revolutionary and Mylute. He’s been bred for distance and this could be a good pick come Saturday.

5. Mylute (5/1)
Jockey: Rosie Napravnik
Trainer: Tom Amoss
He ran a solid fifth at the Derby under a nice trip by Rosie Napravnik, who is having a very nice year. In a depleted field, could be a nice option for a trifecta. Good pedigree for distance and stamina means he should be right there at the end.

6. Oxbow (15/1)
Jockey: Gary Stevens
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
He’s erratic. He can put in a good performance one race and then a flop just weeks later. He’s struggled in graded stakes although the potential is there. But Oxbow ran sixth at the Derby and should be in the mix given strong bloodlines.

7. Will Take Charge (12/1)
Jockey: Mike Smith
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith gives this horse a chance, even after the disappointment of placing eighth at the Derby. But it will take a lot more than this horse has to compete in this class.

8. Govenor Charlie (12/1)
Jockey: Martin Garcia
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Another rested horse, Govenor Charlie is coming off a 1:47.54 at the Sunland Derby against a weak field. That is still a fast time and trainer Bob Baffert always seems to shine in the big moment. He could be a sleeper.

9. Itsmyluckyday (10/1)
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Eddie Plesa Jr.
He’s capable of strong runs and did place behind Orb six weeks ago at the Florida Derby, but then finished 16th at the Derby. This is likely too strong a field again although a top-half finish is not out of the question.

Kristian Dyer’s pick: Would be lovely to see Orb take New York City in a few weeks and create some Triple Crown buzz but drawing the first gate is a cruel blow. Mylute is positioned well from the middle and hungry after a strong Derby showing. Go with Mylute. 5-4-1-8.

(*Odds as of Thursday, May 16.)

Follow Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

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Dan Girardi summed up the impending Rangers-Bruins Eastern Conference semifinal series with one word: physical.

“It’s definitely going to be physical for sure,” Dan Girardi said following a spirited practice at the Rangers’ training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. Wednesday in preparation for the best-of-seven series which begins Thursday night at the T.D. Garden in Boston.

This will be the 10th time the Original Six brethren have met in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers have lost six of the nine series, but won the last meeting, a five-game elimination of the Bruins way back in the 1973 quarterfinals.

The Rangers won two of the three regular season matchups between the long time rivals, including a 4-3 shootout win in Boston on Feb. 12, the last time the teams met. Both teams finished with nine goals scored in the three games.

“[We played] them three times in the first couple weeks and that’s pretty much it,” Girardi said.

At first glance, the Bruins and Rangers appear to be mirror images of each other. The Bruins ended the regular season with one more goal than the Rangers (127-126). The Rangers finished the regular season ranked third in the NHL in hits (1,413) and sixth in blocked shots (773), while Boston was 10th (1,200) and 22nd (650) in those categories.

“I think the teams are pretty similar,” Girardi said. “Both teams want to get on the forecheck, create some momentum that way.”

When the Bruins are at their best, Boston’s top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton is able to use their size to wear down their opponents in the offensive zone. The trio totaled 29 points in the seven-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Maple Leafs.

“It’s going to be a pretty good challenge for us,” Girardi said. “I think they’re going to do their best to get in front of [Henrik Lundqvist] and bring pucks to the net. We just have to be strong down the walls, make sure they can’t get to the front and just be strong. [We] can’t let them push us around in front of the net. We have to make sure [it's clear] for Hankie in front – let him [see] shots.”

Like the Bruins, the Rangers also have size. Since the trade deadline acquisitions of Ryane Clowe from San Jose and the triumvirate of Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore from Columbus, the Rangers are 13-7.

“We’re able to play the way we want to play more consistently because I think we have a deeper lineup,” head coach John Tortorella said. “I think we played our best game of the seven game series in Game 7. I’m hoping that transfers over to the start of the [Bruins] series, where I can use the whole bench.”

One of the themes in the series win over Washington was the Rangers’ secondary scoring. While the Capitals kept the Rangers’ stars in check, the Southeast Division champions did not have an answer for the Blueshirts’ depth.

Brassard totaled nine points in the seven games. Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin finished with five points (one goal and four assists) and four points (two goals and two assists), respectively. Linemates Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt recorded three points (two goals and an assist) each.

“For a team, it helps when your second [and] third line guys contribute, as our team did, but for the top end guys, that’s why they are where they are [as] top players because they want that,” Tortorella said. “So I don’t think it takes any pressure off them. I think they want to be the person to make a difference.”

One such player is Rick Nash. Nash only had two assists against the Capitals, but he did lead the team with 22 shots in the seven games. Tortorella believes the left wing is due to break out.

“He played really well in Game 7, and really didn’t have many bad games in the series. In Washington he didn’t finish,” Tortorella said. “He certainly wasn’t totally on but he’s very close. I thought he played very well in Game 7. He’s playing and I think he’s going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Let’s just say head coach John Tortorella does not have any use for the Capitals’ grousing regarding the officiating in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

“We get everybody and their brother whining out there in Washington about what happened in that series, and I think that’s a big reason why they lose that series,” Tortorella said, unprompted, in response to a question about the importance of playoff experience during his post-practice press conference Wednesday afternoon in Greenburgh, N.Y.

The Capitals were bothered by what they perceived was league favoritism toward the Rangers in the series. The Rangers had 28 opportunities on the man advantage in the seven games compared the Capitals’ 16.

Following the conclusion of the series, Alex Ovechkin told Slava Malamud of the Russian-language newspaper Sport-Express “The refereeing … you understand it yourself. How can there be no penalties at all [on one team] during the playoffs? I am not saying there was a phone call from [the league], but someone just wanted Game 7 — for the ratings. You know, the lockout, escrow, the league needs to make profit. I don’t know whether the refs were predisposed against us or the league. But to not give obvious penalties [against the Rangers], while for us any little thing was immediately penalized.”

Yesterday, Capitals general manager George McPhee backed his captain.

“I don’t think there’s a league conspiracy, but it sure didn’t feel right. Alex wasn’t wrong. I talked to them during the series, but at some point you stop. They’ll referee the way they want to referee,” McPhee told the Washington Post. “What we didn’t get a chance to do was go on the power play very often, and it was a real strength of ours. It was real good during the season. We didn’t get many power plays during the series; I don’t know why. We had to kill too many penalties; I don’t know why. I didn’t think that part of the game from the league standpoint was all that good.

“I didn’t like the refereeing, but if you complain about it during the series and you’re accused of trying to gain an edge. If you complain about it after a series is over, then it’s whining and sour grapes.”

Yankee Stadium hockey

The House That George Paid For With Taxpayer Money will accommodate hockey next January.

Yankee Stadium will host two games as part of the NHL’s Coors Light Stadium Series, the league announced yesterday. The Devils will host the Rangers on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 at 12:30 p.m., and the Islanders will meet the Rangers three nights later.

The Rangers will be the visiting team in both games.

“The innovative nature of the Stadium Series affords the opportunity to have all three NHL teams in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area play, outdoors, at one of the most-celebrated stadiums in the world,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We’ll be able to create a multi-faceted, multi-day experience for our fans, and we thank the teams, Coors Light, the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium for their support of this memorable NHL event.”

The two games at Yankee Stadium are part of a four-game series of outdoor games sponsored by the beer conglomerate. Previously, the NHL announced a Jan. 25, 2014, game between the Ducks and Kings at Dodger Stadium, and a March 1, 2014 match involving the Blackhawks and Penguins at Soldier Field.

These outdoor games are separate from the Jan. 1, 2014, Toronto-Detroit Winter Classic, which will take place at Michigan Stadium. That game was scheduled to take place this past January but had to be postponed due to the NHL lockout.

Information regarding how to purchase tickets will be released shortly.

Injury updates

Ryane Clowe, Darroll Powe and Marc Staal did not practice. There was no update on their conditions. Clowe has not played since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Powe missed the final four games of the series, while Staal only played in Game 3.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Down the stretch and into the playoffs last season, opposing pitchers struggled to figure out a way to retire Raul Ibanez when he was a designated hitter for the Yankees.

Last night, Phil Hughes experienced that frustration by allowing a grand slam to Ibanez during a start that lasted 36 pitches.

The Yankees were handed a 12-2 loss to the Mariners that could easily qualify for their worst performance of the season.

“When I tried to go to changeup, slider, curveball, it seemed like nothing was there,” Hughes said.

Ibanez hit a pair of home runs and drove in six RBIs, but it was his grand slam which set the course for a rare lopsided loss for the Yankees.

Ibanez created his place in Yankees lore with numerous highlights, including becoming the first player to hit three home runs in the ninth inning or later in the same playoff series.

“You can’t help but to think about that,” Ibanez said. “That obviously was a big moment as a team over there and something I never forget. So I definitely remember that. But at the same time last year is over and you’ve got to move on and my job is to try and help this team win. So I try to just have good quality at-bats.”

On Tuesday, Ibanez hit a two-run home run against CC Sabathia that at the time provided the Mariners with two key runs in what was seemingly going to be a 3-1 victory that ultimately became a 4-3 defeat.

A night later, in his third career at-bat against Hughes, Ibanez helped ensure a more comfortable outcome for the Mariners by sending a 0-1 curveball just over the right-center field wall. The homer put the Yankees in a 6-0 hole and continued a troubling outing for Hughes.

“I don’t get frustrated,” manager Joe Girardi said. “This is a hard game. I think sometimes people want to make this seem like you have a Nintendo controller in your hand and you can control the baseball. It’s not that simple.

“For whatever reason, I mean, Phil’s a guy that pitches up and we know that. But today, I didn’t see the tape, but there were probably too many balls in the middle of the plate and he didn’t locate enough pitches and he got hurt.”

Up to that point, Hughes did not appear to have much movement on his fastball and it showed when he gave up three straight singles ahead of a walk to Justin Smoak.

“It’s tough,” Hughes said. “It seems to go by very quick and everything kind of speeds up. You’re just trying to find something, and the next thing you know you’ve got two outs and seven runs are in.”

“We pretty much threw everything out there and he didn’t really have a feel for any of his pitches, unfortunately,” catcher Chris Stewart said. “It seems like sometimes if you can get him through that first inning, he goes out and settles down after that. But we couldn’t get him through that. It happens and hopefully he comes back next time and finds it.”

Hughes came within one run of equaling his career worst in runs allowed. His career worst came in Baltimore on May 9, 2009 when he gave up eight runs in 1 2/3 innings.

“I don’t think I’ve had a worse start in my career, so it stings a little bit,” Hughes said.

The Yankees’ bullpen had extended its scoreless innings streak to 27 1/3 innings, the longest since 1998, before Ibanez struck again for a two-run shot to left field with one out in the fifth off Brett Marshall.

Marshall gave the Yankees five innings but by the time they needed to get the final out of the ninth, shortstop Alberto Gonzalez was on the mound.

“We need one out,” Girardi said. “It’s not something I want to do, but for me to bring in another pitcher. I think it doesn’t make a lot of sense there.”

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is fiercely loyal, which may be why he finds his team down 3-1 to the Pacers.

Woodson, a coach veterans love playing for, is banking on his aging squad to reward his faith by finally knocking down the open shots they used to. A strong believer in staying with the vets, no matter how badly they’re shooting, Woodson said following Wednesday’s practice he has no plans of tinkering too much with his rotation.

“I will never kick J-Kidd to the curb,” Woodson said of Jason Kidd, who has yet to even score this series. “Kidd has been a positive for our club, our franchise and these players that play around him. We all still believe in Kidd. My thing is that he still does the intangibles. He might not score the ball, but he still does the things that help you win.”

Contrary to Woodson’s statement, Kidd has taken away production from the team. Kidd’s plus-minus is a staggering minus-21 in the three losses.

The coach allowed that going big by starting Kenyon Martin over Pablo Prigioni in Game 4 ended up backfiring. Martin (five rebounds, three assists and two blocks) didn’t score in his 29 minutes, while Prigioni was only on the floor for 3:26.

Such an egregious swing and miss is likely what has given Woodson pause to do any more subtle changes, even though guys like Copeland and Steve Novak are itching to do get on the floor.

“We’re contemplating [going back to Prigioni], but I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. That smaller lineup has been great for us for two [or] three months. But I went away from that [in Game 4] to go big and a lot of that was based on guys not being in practice and not being too sure about Iman,” said Woodson. “I didn’t want to bring [Shumpert] off [the bench] because I didn’t want him going in stiff. That [smaller] lineup has worked for us this year, so there’s a strong chance we’ll go back to that. … Bottom line is, our backs are against the wall, so tomorrow night is a must-win.”

Despite things looking bleak, the Knicks still believe. Woodson said he’s “curious” to see how his team reacts, while Shumpert said he accepts the task of trying to achieve the rare feat of coming back to win a series after being down 3-1.

“I embrace the challenge. It’s one game at a time, but it’s been done before, so we just have to win,” said Shumpert. “We’re good. We’re back at home. Guys are getting shots up, and Rasheed [Wallace] is out here talking up a storm keeping us loose. I think being back home and seeing that ball go in for us will do us a lot of good.”

Woodson agreed that guys were loose during their morning session, crediting a veteran team that never seems to panic.

“I’m very curious because our backs are against the wall. It’s a must-win that we have to get tomorrow night. We haven’t had our backs against the wall too much this season so we’re being tested,” Woodson said. “But I feel good about going into tomorrow night’s game. And if we win tomorrow night, it’ll put us in position [to extend] this series and go back [to Indiana]. And then we’ll see what they’re made of. First thing, though, tomorrow is a must-win game.”

Knicks notes …

» Woodson said Amar’e Stoudemire’s production has been a nice surprise, but he doesn’t foresee the former franchise player contributing too much more than he’s already done, simply because of the minutes restriction the team’s medical staff has placed on him.

“He’s only played 10 [or] 12 minutes in his two games and his minutes have been pretty positive.”

» Since his declaration that had he played in Game 4 instead of being suspended the Knicks would’ve won and he’d “be fishing,” J.R. Smith has shot a mere 29 percent from the field. Woodson, though, put the blame at his feet and not the players.

“It’s not about all of that. I’m the head coach, so blame it on me. The bottom line is that if we don’t have the slippage at home in Game 1 to start the series then we’re standing here feeling pretty good about ourselves. Right now, my job is to get us out of that hole.”

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

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Shawn Kelley has a strikeout rate of 14.67 per nine innings after totaling 25 in his first 15 1/3 innings in the Yankee bullpen.

Last year for the Mariners, he struck out 44 in 45 1/3 innings and in four seasons for Seattle, Kelley fanned 122 in 128 innings spanning 120 relief appearances.

So even though his strikeouts currently lead Yankee relievers, Kelley would be shocked if it continues. As he joked, if it did it would simply mean coming up with ways to explain to the media what he’s doing differently.

“I guess you guys can ask me a bunch of stuff about what I did differently and I don’t have any answers for you,” Kelley said with a chuckle.

The bulk of Kelley’s strikeouts have come recently. He has struck out seven of the last nine hitters he faced and 10 in his last five appearances after fanning 15 over his first eight appearances.

“I really don’t know,” he said. “I’m a fastball, slider guy. I try to attack and get ahead and stay on the aggressive. That’s what I’ve done my whole career. It’s a small sample size. It’s only a month and a half into the season. So I think as it balances out, I’m probably not going to be striking as many guys as I am. I don’t mind getting the first or second pitch groundout or pop out. I’m getting some punch outs right now but I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve always done the last three years.”

Kelley’s most significant performances have occurred in the last week. On Friday, in Kansas City, he relieved Phil Hughes with two outs in the sixth and used his slider and four-seam fastball evenly to get six strikeouts, becoming the first Yankee to fan at least six without allowing a runner since Ron Davis (eight strikeouts, three innings) on May 4, 1981 in Anaheim.

In Tuesday’s 4-3 win, Kelley entered with runners at first and third with one out in the seventh in relief of CC Sabathia. The Yankees trailed 3-1 at the time. Kelley retired Kelly Shoppach and Raul Ibanez and they scored three runs immediately after.

Kelley’s last appearances have been among the highlights for a unit that has allowed one run in the last nine games, spanning 23 2/3 innings. That marks the best stretch since Yankee relievers posted a 37.1 scoreless inning streak from July 20-Aug. 9, 1998.

“My mentality is to come in and do everything I can to leave those runners right there, just go for a strikeout or get a double play,” Kelley said. “Whatever it is, I’m trying with everything I have and with the situation in the game to keep us only down two and to give us a chance, especially with the meat of our order coming around the next inning. It’s just with a bullpen like ours you can take a little pressure off yourselves and go out there and execute your job and get the outs that they ask you to get and not have to worry about much past that.”

Adams joins team, starts at third

In the last three years, David Adams has had a bumpy path to the major leagues. He was nearly traded to the Mariners as the Yankees pursued Cliff Lee, saw his father suffer a heart attack this spring and dealt with a back injury. When the Yankees acquired Vernon Wells to fill the hole in left field they released Adams in the final week spring training.

“I think he really came on the radar for a lot of people around the Cliff Lee time,” manager Joe Girardi said. “That was probably when he appeared on the radar closest to our screen.

“There’s still people who come up to me and question me about it,” Adams said. “I’ve never thought anything of it. Trades fall through all the time. Who knows what was going on behind the scenes? That’s the way I look at it. I’m here today, and that’s all I worry about.”

Three days after being released, Adams rejoined the Yankees and in 27 games with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, he batted .316 (31-for-98). It earned him a promotion to the majors and Wednesday night he became the fourth different player to start at third base.

“They told me that when they released me, that we really like you but it’s a business and I understand it,” Adams said. “I was very excited when I found out [I was coming up] and even more excited, knowing how much I love the game.”

Like many other players on their first promotion to the Yankees, Adams was awestruck with the immenseness of the Yankee clubhouse.

“I’m lost,” he said. “This is a maze. Honestly I walked in and you got this and that and it’ll take me a couple of days to get accustomed to it if I’m fortunate enough to get this opportunity.”

In terms of his ability, the Yankees said he began impressing them for the first time this past spring training before suffering a back injury.

“He’s a young man that we’ve had high hopes for a long time,” Girardi said. “The injuries that he’s had have really set him back and kept him from being here earlier.”

To make room for Adams on the roster, Chris Nelson was designated for assignment. The Yankees acquired him two weeks ago after he was designated for assignment by the Rockies, who drafted him in the first round in 2004.

Wedge praises Montero

Former Yankee prospect Jesus Montero’s second full season as a major leaguer has seen him struggle as pitchers adjust to him.

Last year, Montero played 135 games after the Mariners acquired him from the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Michael Pineda. While Pineda has yet to pitch for the Yankees, Montero’s first 159 games with Seattle have been a mixed bag.

He hit .278 in the final month last season to finish with a .260 average. Montero also hit 15 home runs and drove in 62 runs.

Montero did not start Tuesday against Sabathia but was Seattle’s starting catcher Monday night and batted eighth. He came into the game hitting .200 with three home runs and nine RBIs to go along with a .250 on-base percentage.

Despite the low production so far, Seattle manager Eric Wedge praised the 23-year-old, especially with his game-calling ability in 21 starts as a catcher.

“The kid’s working hard,” Wedge said. “He really is and everything that he’s going through right now, developing as a young major-league player is going to be part of his DNA and just understanding how hard he has to work to catch and how hard it is to hit up here and having a greater respect for that. He really does. He’s got a great attitude. He comes to the ballpark ready to play every day, so he’s progressing.

“He still needs to continue to improve; we all know that. But he’s 23 and we saw a lot out of him in a short period of time. I just like the way he’s going about his business, calling a game and handling a pitching staff and working better fundamentally so it’s been evident.”

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

The post Yankees Notebook: Shawn Kelley making an impression appeared first on Metro.us.

The comeback story of David Garrard didn’t even make it to minicamp.

According to multiple reports, Garrard retired from football Wednesday afternoon just two months after signing with the Jets to battle for the starting quarterback position in the fall. He reportedly told his teammates he would be leaving Wednesday as well.

“Having to call it quits,” Garrard told SiriusXM’s Adam Schein in a text message. “My knee is not holding up.”

Garrard was expected to be a legitimate contender to usurp the starting spot from Mark Sanchez, who has started since his selection in the first round in 2009. Sanchez had his worst season as a pro in 2012 with 13 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Sanchez was so bad by the end of the season that head coach Rex Ryan decided to bench him in favor of backup Greg McElroy.

McElroy did not stand out in two games against the Chargers and Cardinals. He was 19-of-31 with one touchdown, one interception and one fumble. Still, McElroy will now be in the competition along with 2013 second-round pick Geno Smith and Sanchez.

Garrard last played for the Jaguars in 2012 where he was beat out by Blaine Gabbert as starter. He was in camp with the Dolphins last preseason, but was cut from the roster. He had knee surgery while with the Dolphins in August 2012. He didn’t have a history of knee injuries before that, though he did have back surgery in October 2011.

Wednesday’s retirement may have pre-empted the obvious, one member of Jets management told Metro New York.

“With Mark returning he has the proverbial leg-up and I think Geno showed he can come in and compete and maybe even start,” one member of the Jets’ personnel team told Metro New York. “David was needed when there was no other viable option on the roster other than Mark. Geno comes in as a draft pick and does well and showed at the very least potential. You have a new general manager who is preaching that everyone has to compete. Well, after seeing Geno last week at [rookie] minicamp I think he has the goods to compete with Mark, clearly.

“Nothing really changed with today’s news. I think it was Mark and Geno at the top then everyone else. David never really looked comfortable throwing either so the chance of him being here come Week 1? Rather slim.”

Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

The post David Garrard pulls out of Jets QB competition, retires appeared first on Metro.us.