NHL Stadium Series: What to look forward to
This coming weekend, Feb. 17-18, the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers will participate in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union National Hockey League (NHL) Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. These games will be the first time the NHL will host two back-to-back days with outdoor games in which fans are in attendance.
NHL Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer said, "This is an area that loves the NHL, loves hockey, and these three teams, so that's a lot of people to watch games and, for us, it's a showcase of the League, a showcase of the sport.” Mayer added on to his comments stating, "It's going to be a big weekend for us."
The NHL has made sure to make this Stadium Series one for the books with New Jersey bands such as the Jonas Brothers and The Gaslight Anthem set to perform and many New Jersey celebrities stating they will be making appearances at the games.
Each of these teams has had experience in the realm of outdoor games with the Flyers playing five (1-3-1), the Rangers playing four (4-0-0), and both the Islanders and Devils with one (0-1-0).
The Flyers will take on the Devils on Saturday, Feb. 17 to kick off the weekend. The match-up should be interesting as Philadelphia has been looking electric this season in comparison to New Jersey. The Flyers are third in the Metropolitan Division, just ahead of the Devils by eight points. With right-wing Travis Konecny leading the Flyers’ offense alongside right-wing Owen Tippett, who has just recently become a break-out player, the Devils are up for a challenge. Both teams have young and dynamic players that control their offenses which will make for a closely contested match, especially now that Devils’ star center Jack Hughes is back in the line-up.
New Jersey is in a desperate position as they are playing to clinch a spot in the playoffs. A win this weekend might be just what they need to get the fire under them burning again. The Devils' roster has taken major hits with key players out due to injury, most notably defensemen Brendan Smith, Dougie Hamilton, and Jonas Siegenthaler leaving the Devils' defensive zone in the hands of young rookies like Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. In their last meeting on Dec. 19, the Flyers pulled away with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Devils, with Owen Tippett scoring an unassisted overtime goal.
On Sunday, Feb. 18, the New York Rangers will take on the New York Islanders in another faceoff in the “Battle of New York”. The Rangers are leading the Metropolitan Division, leaving a huge 15-point deficit ahead of the Islanders. Starting off strong with the Rangers' stacked offense of left-wings Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider, along with centers Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trochek, it’s not hard to see why the Rangers are currently ruling the division.
On the other hand, the Islanders are tied for fourth in the division but with major standout names like centers Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, and defenseman Noah Dobson, the Islanders will prove to be quite the challenge for the Rangers. In their past meetings this season, the Islanders have taken two of three games.
Stadium Series games tend to garner much attention from hockey fans, and this year will be no exception. Both games are expected to be high-scoring but closely contested. The novelty of the outdoor games will only add to what will already be a great weekend for those watching from home or within the frigid stands.