New York Sports Weekend: A Quiet Friday, Then a Loaded Saturday — Knicks in Cleveland, Islanders Host the Devils, Giants and Jets on the Road Sunday
There is no local game to watch Friday night — the NHL's Friday slate is three games, none of them ours, and the Knicks and Nets are idle too. The weekend makes up for it: five area teams play Saturday, the Islanders and Devils play each other, and the Giants and Jets both kick off at 1 PM Sunday on the road.
Friday is the deep breath. The NHL's own day-ahead file lists exactly three games on Friday, November 6 — Columbus at Buffalo, San Jose at Minnesota and Anaheim at Calgary — and the Knicks' calendar shows no Friday event either, nor the Nets'. The one local uniform in action Friday belongs to the G League: the Westchester Knicks open their Tip-Off Tournament at the Maine Celtics at 7 PM in Portland. Thursday is where the week's last local results sit: the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 at Madison Square Garden, the Devils beat the St. Louis Blues 5-4 in overtime at the Prudential Center on Jesper Bratt's breakaway winner at 1:26 of overtime — their third straight win, after blowing a 4-1 lead — and the Islanders lost 5-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena.
Saturday is the loaded day. The Knicks are in Cleveland to face the Cavaliers at 8 PM at Rocket Arena. The Nets are in Atlanta against the Hawks at 7:30 PM, then turn around and play at Dallas on Sunday at 7:30 PM Eastern. The Rangers open a western swing at the Seattle Kraken at 5 PM Eastern. And the metro's own rivalry takes the night slot in Elmont: the Devils at the Islanders, 7 PM at UBS Arena — New Jersey's second game of a back-to-back after Thursday's overtime win, against an Islanders team that has had Friday to sit with the Carolina loss.
Sunday belongs to football and one hockey matinee of travel: the Devils complete their weekend at the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 PM, while the NFL puts both local teams on the road at the same hour — the Giants at the Philadelphia Eagles at 1 PM on FOX, and the Jets at the Kansas City Chiefs at 1 PM on CBS. Two stadiums, two conference statements, one remote-control problem at home.
This desk files Saturday's results as they finish — the Islanders-Devils game first, as the only head-to-head on the slate — and the Sunday football finals in the Sunday cycles. Friday night, for once, the city's fans can simply rest up for it.
