Daily Cross Checks

Wednesday November 4

Who’s playing in the NHL tonight? Where can I find it on TV? When should I turn on the aforementioned TV? Most importantly, should I even bother turning on the TV? Here’s a place to find all the games of the night and talk about them to your hearts content. Don’t worry, tomorrow we’ll start all over. Hockey fans, these are your Daily Cross-Checks.

NY Islanders at Buffalo
Time: 4 PM PST
TV: MSG PLUS 2,MSG-B (HD)
Break up the Islanders! 4-0-2 in their last 6 games, the team from Long Island has been putting things together as of late. This is what happens when they don’t blow 3rd period leads. Tonight, they’ll get the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres in upstate New York. This looks like it could be a good game—who knew?

Washington at New Jersey
Time: 4 PM PST
TV: RIS,CSN-DC,MSG PLUS (HD)
A.O. usually means Alexander Ovechkin. But in this case, AO is going to mean “After Ovechkin.” News broke yesterday that Ovie is week-to-week with an upper body strain. We could get into how the Devils are off to a fast start, but they’re only 1-4-0 at The Rock. Or we could talk about how they’re 7-0 on the road. But when it comes down to it, Ovechkin’s injury is the story here. How will the Capitals react to playing without their spark plug?

San Jose at Columbus
Time: 4 PM PST
TV: NHLN-US,FS-O (HD)
It’s funny how things have a way of working themselves out. The San Jose Sharks may have problems in the playoffs, but there’s no questioning the fact that they’re a talented team. After a slow start, that talent has risen to 2nd in the Western Conference. Not bad for a team that got off to a slow start. On the flip side, the Blue Jackets got off to a hot start only to see a 3 game losing streak slow them down. They’ll look to build on Sunday’s shootout victory in Washington.

Carolina at Florida
Time: 4:30 PM PST
TV: FS-CR (HD),FS-F (HD)
If a game happens between the Hurricanes and Panthers and nobody watches, did it really happen? Two of the three worst teams in the East go at it looking to get any victories they can. The Hurricanes are a complete mess with Eric Staal out of the lineup and a 9 game losing streak. The Panthers aren’t doing much better—but somehow their struggles were a LITTLE more expected. How is it that the Southeast Division is this bad EVERY year?

Calgary at Dallas
Time: 5:30 PM PST
TV: TSN (HD),KDFI (HD)
So how should we do this? Does anyone realize that the Dallas Stars are off to a decent start? They’ve started the season with a 6-3-5 start—and that’s WITH the current 2 game skid they’re on. Believe it or not, they actually have more points than the Flames do! Ahh, the joys of Canadian media outlets vs. non-traditional markets. Look for a high scoring affair between two of the top scoring teams in the league (CGY: 3rd; DAL: 4th).

Phoenix at Colorado
Time: 6 PM PST
TV: FS-A,ALT (HD)
For those of you that care about things like the NHL’s 3 Stars of the Month, this is the game for you. October’s #3 star Ilya Bryzgalov takes on October’s #1 star Craig Anderson. You’d think it would be a 1-0 game; so that’s a pretty sure bet that it’ll be 7-6. Either way, NOBODY expected this to be a game between teams that are actually decent.

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