🏒 Behind the mask | Sports Daily Newsletter

We’ll unpack last night’s Sixers game, one that was considerably better than Game 1, but today, let’s lead off with a “did you know” of sorts.

Did you know that the painted hockey goalie mask originated in Philly? And that there’s a Philly-area native still making them for NHL netminders to this day? Meet Franny Drummond, a Flyers fan who, before attending art school, was the goalie at Neshaminy High School and is the go-to for several NHLers, including Flyers goalie Dan Vladař.

Drummond, who still resides in Langhorne, looks at each mask like a blank canvas and within two weeks creates many of the masterpieces sitting atop some of the NHL’s biggest names between the crease.

We’re leading off today with the guy who is picking up (and running) with an NHL tradition started by a Flyers trainer 56 years ago.

Expect today to mimic yesterday, weather-wise, as you’re looking at scattered showers and temperatures in the mid-60s.

— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓What’d you think of the Sixers’ performance in Game 2? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Until they pulled away to win 108-102, the Knicks’ largest lead of the night was four points, and it didn’t arrive until late in the fourth quarter. Wednesday night was a much better look from a Joel Embiid-less Sixers collective who took Game 2 of their second-round series the distance against New York inside Madison Square Garden.

Now, the series comes to Philly for Games 3 and 4 beginning Friday night (7 p.m., Prime Video) for what’s sure to be a pivotal swing one way or the other. Before all of that, we examine what the Sixers did to put the Knicks on edge — despite coming up short.

Also, did you see what New York eateries are calling their brand of cheesesteaks? (I mean, if you can call it that).

⚽ Sharing: Haiti plans to bring the party to Philly in a few weeks for the World Cup. Even if their fans are unable to attend.

🧠 Thinking: That from an infrastructure standpoint, Philadelphia is very well situated to become the next home of the National Women’s Hockey League.

👩 Watching: What Kylie Kelce thinks is a perfect Mother’s Day.

🎧 Listening: To beat writers Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner give early reactions from Eagles’ rookie camp.

Nic Deslauriers may be with the Carolina Hurricanes, but Philadelphia will always have a place in his family’s hearts.

Deslauriers, 35, spent 4½ years in Philly while a member of the Flyers and says he and his family “love” the city. In fact, his wife and kids have remained in the area since the March trade, as they finish out the school year and their respective sports.

But don’t think for one second that Deslauriers’ love for the city, GM Danny Brière, and his old teammates are distracting him from his ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup: “I’m on the other side now.”

If being down 2-0 in the series wasn’t enough bad news, the Flyers learned Wednesday that any comeback attempt will have to happen minus one of their top centers due to injury.

Nick Kurtz might be the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, but his heart is in the National League, specifically with the Phillies.

The Lancaster native, who grew up a Phillies fan and would make the trek to Citizens Bank Park for games, has a cat named Bryce Harper, for Pete’s sake.

So when Harper singled in the first inning on Tuesday against the Athletics, Kurtz couldn’t wait to strike up a conversation. What’d they discuss? Inquirer writer Lochlahn March found out, for your reading pleasure.

The Phillies improved to 8-1 under interim manager Don Mattingly with a 6-3 win over the Athletics. Edmundo Sosa ignited the comeback victory.

The Eagles did a little restructuring yesterday, in what was over a dozen moves across by way of title changes or new hires.

Perhaps the biggest is the newest sidekick to general manager Howie Roseman, as the team promoted Adam Berry to the role of assistant general manager. Berry, who’s the twin brother of Cleveland GM Andrew Berry, replaces Alec Halaby, who left the team in April after the draft.

It’s an upgrade from Berry’s former position of vice president of football operations and strategy and a long way from his 14-year career at Goldman Sachs, where the Birds plucked him from in 2023.

Inquirer writer Jeff Neiburg has more on the move and other new titles and roles in the organization.

May 7, 1986: After 15 seasons in the major leagues, 12 with the Phillies, where he was a two-time National League MVP and a seven-time Gold Glove winner, Garry Maddox announces his retirement from professional baseball.

“[Flyers general manager Danny] Brière, at the moment, is content to view the slump less as an indictment of a team that’s not quite ready to make a deep run and more as a rite of passage for players with little or no previous postseason experience.” — Sielski’s latest examines the approach of a Flyers great when it came to the playoffs as a player, juxtaposed with his thought process as a GM.

We asked: Will the Flyers or Sixers win a game in their respective series?

Of course, they’ll win a game. Both teams are too good to get swept. It’s a long series; I could even see them rebounding from these current holes they put themselves in. Wrong team, but the idea still remains, “Ya gotta believe!” — Dan K.

Hard to imagine either the Flyers or the Sixers not winning a game. I think the Flyers will respond to the home crowd and win tomorrow night, and the Sixers will win at least one of the 2 games when they return home after the two in New York. At this point difficult to picture either team winning their series, but I always hope for the best — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, Matt Breen, DeAntae Prince, Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Ryan Novozinsky, Jonathan Tannenwald, Lochlahn March, Scott Lauber, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, Jeff Neiburg, and Beatrice Forman.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

That’s your Thursday. I’ll run it back tomorrow to get you ready for the weekend. Until then, have a good one, Philly. — Kerith