N.Y. NBA, NHL teams make playoffs for first time since '94

Jalen Brunson Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, Devils all make playoffs for first time since 1994

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 4/13/23

New York. If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere.

Just ask the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. Those five New York-area winter season teams are set to have a spring/summer to remember.

As the New York Post pointed out, the Islanders clinching a playoff spot on Wednesday night ushered in an era of New York sports that hasn't been seen in 29 years.

How far each team might make it in their respective postseasons remains to be seen, but the region arguably hasn't had a sports moment this exciting since when the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI in February of 2012 -- and even that was over 10 years ago at this point.

The back page: PARTY OF 5! https://t.co/Om3JxILMj8 pic.twitter.com/DS4v84q7bm
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) April 13, 2023

The Knicks finished the regular season 47-35 and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a series that will pit the Eastern Conference's four and five seeds against each other. For their part, the Nets finished 45-37 and earned the sixth seed in the East. They will play the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in round one.

The Rangers, meanwhile, have been considered a Stanley Cup contender all season after making it to the conference finals last season. They finished 47-21-13 -- and ironically -- there's a chance they could match up with the 51-22-8 Devils in the NHL playoffs.

Last but not least are the Islanders, who clinched the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Notably, Islanders boss Lane Lambert is in his first season at the team's helm.

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