Heat Lead 3-1

All-new Italian Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich, Italian Mozzarella Cheeseburger and Garlic Fries are bringing bold and savory innovation to Wendy’s.

Wendy’s Italian Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich brings all the familiar flavors of a homemade Italian dinner in one delicious sandwich. The juicy, lightly breaded crispy chicken breast is topped with fried mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and naturally aged Asiago cheese, served in a toasted garlic bun. 

The Italian Mozzarella Cheeseburger includes a quarter-pound of fresh beef, topped with fried mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and Asiago cheese all sandwiched between a toasted garlic bun.

And last but not least, coated in a flavorful garlic herb sauce, are Wendy’s Garlic Fries, made with natural-cut, hot & crispy french fries. 

The New Jersey Devils, who made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, will continue on their journey to the Stanley Cup as they defeated their Hudson River rival, the New York Rangers, 4-0, in Game 7 of their first round series. 

With their first playoff series win in 11 years, the Devils will now head down to Carolina to face the Hurricanes, who took care of the New York Islanders in six games in their first round matchup. 

It felt like all Devils throughout this game, as they were constantly pressuring the Rangers on both ends of the ice. New York’s netminder Igor Shesterkin, though, kept his team in the game after a scoreless first period, but then the Devils broke through scoring four goals.

The Rangers were shut out in Game 5 at The Rock by 22-year-old Akira Schmid, and he did the same thing when it mattered most for New Jersey here in Game 7. 

The SuperSonic Double Stack Cheeseburger is back at Sonic.

The SuperSonic Double Stack Cheeseburger features two 100 percent pure seasoned beef patties stuffed with melty cheddar cheese and cheddar cheese sauce, and topped with grilled onions, crinkle-cut pickles, creamy mayo and classic mustard on a toasted brioche bun.

The returning fan-favorite cheeseburger last appeared on Sonic’s menu back in 2018.

You can find the SuperSonic Double Stack Cheeseburger at participating Sonic locations nationwide.

The third period of Game 6 on Friday night at UBS Arena should have been the ideal time for what’s come to be known as Islanders hockey. A club with a sturdy reputation was just 20 minutes away from sending its series with the Hurricanes to a decisive seventh game in Raleigh, leading 1-0 after two periods.

Instead,  the Hurricanes skated all over them. They outshot the Islanders 19-5, enjoyed an 11-1 advantage in high-danger scoring chances, and tied the game at 1-1 on Sebastian Aho’s goal midway through. Paul Stastny’s overtime goal six minutes into overtime ended the Islanders’ season.

They had lost a winnable series, blowing leads in both Game 2 and Game 6 that will haunt them for the entire off-season. 

And they might have lost their best chance of an extended playoff run with this core of players.

“One-goal leads in the playoffs are just not safe,” Mathew Barzal said in a dead-quiet locker room, repeating a mantra the Islanders learned in the first round to their chagrin.

One game after Julius Randle had been benched for the entire fourth quarter of Sunday’s win at Madison Square Garden, he re-injured his left ankle late in the second quarter and didn’t play in the second half.

And Tom Thibodeau’s gritty squad absorbed every punch once more and prevailed yet again.

Jalen Brunson finished with a team-high 23 points and Obi Toppin filled in ably for Randle in the second half as the Knicks dispatched the Cavs in five games, finishing them off without their leading scorer for the final two quarters of a series-sealing 106-95 victory Wednesday night at a silenced Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Thibodeau and the Knicks deservedly will make the franchise’s first trip to the second round of the playoffs since 2013 and only their second since 2000. 

RJ Barrett capped a strong final three games of the series with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, and Josh Hart started in place of Quentin Grimes again and registered 12 rebounds in 47 heartbeat minutes, including the entire second half.

The Green Bay Packers and New York Jets have agreed to a trade sending longtime Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Big Apple.

The long-awaited trade will see the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player sent to the Jets along with the Packers’ 15th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, according to reports from ESPN and NFL Network.

The Packers will receive the Jets’ 13th overall pick in this month’s draft, as well as one of the Jets’ second-round picks and their 2024 first-round draft pick if Rodgers plays at least 65% of the Jets’ offensive plays this season.

Rodgers, 39, has spent his entire 18-season NFL career with the Packers, where he led the team to a 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV in 2011. 

The New York Knicks completed the MSG-sweep of Cleveland with a stout 102-93 win on Sunday.

Tom Thibodeau made an incredible decision that could very well be credited as the deciding and game-changing choice that lifted New York above the Cavs to wrap up the weekend: he benched Julius Randle for the whole fourth quarter.

Randle played 77 regular-season games this year. He sat through a fourth quarter just eight times, once because of his season-ending ankle injury against the Heat on March 29. Obi Toppin, his replacement on Sunday, played only 14 minutes in Games 1 and 2, 15 in G2, and, finally, 20 in G4 to send Cleveland home packing.

“We were searching, and we knew this game was going to be a challenge because of the late game on Friday, short turnaround, early start today, and have to find a way to win,” Thibodeau said. “That group got going, so at some point, you make a decision—probably around the five-minute mark, six-minute mark—and rode that out.”

And rode that out they did on the way to another W, the third in this series and the second-to-last before clinching a place in the Eastern Conference semi-finals for the first time since 2013.

Pete Alonso took it personally last October when the Mets were eliminated from the postseason with a loss to the Padres in the NL wild-card series.

Alonso says he took a “deep dive” during the offseason into examining where he could improve. The results have followed through the first three weeks of the regular season.

Alonso entered Friday night’s game against the Giants tied for the major league lead with nine homers.

“I just feel really good and in control right now, which is a really good feeling,” Alonso said. “I feel like I am more of a complete player. I feel like I am playing well on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively and I feel like I am running the bases well.”

The Mets had six victories in seven games to open this West Coast trip  as they arrived at Oracle Park on Friday, and Alonso’s hot bat ranked high on the list of reasons the team has succeeded in overcoming injuries within the starting rotation.

Ultimate Endless Shrimp is back at Red Lobster and is now available all day, every day for a limited time. This year’s lineup features new Parmesan-Bacon Shrimp Scampi (because everything tastes better with bacon) as well as Argentine Red Shrimp. And, back by popular demand, classic Shrimp Linguini Alfredo has returned to the roster of options.

Guests are invited to roll up their sleeves and indulge in a variety of craveable offerings by choosing two delicious shrimp preparations to start, and when they are gone, order additional shrimp dishes one at a time. Each Ultimate Endless Shrimp meal is accompanied by a choice of side and of course, unlimited Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Insider tip: avoid grabbing the extra biscuit to leave room for endless amounts of shrimp.

This year’s Ultimate Endless Shrimp menu features five enticing offerings to satisfy any shrimp craving.