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Workers build for the outdoor NHL Stadium Series hockey games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers play Saturday and the New York Rangers and New York Islanders play Sunday at Metlife Stadium. (AP Photo/Tom Canavan)
© 2024 AP
East Rutherford-N.J. (NCC News) – The NHL Stadium Series returns to the Meadowlands this weekend for the first time since 2008 when the Devils called this area home. There will be two games played, the first being the Devils against the Flyers on Saturday, and the second is the Rangers vs the Islanders on Sunday.
Although outdoor hockey has been played every year since 2008, this is the first where all four teams are in a tight playoff race.
“That always means a good game or good games, as the case may be. I think that’s fantastic,” Bill Daly, the Deputy Commissioner said.
This is the first game played outdoors for the Islanders and Devils since the 2014 Stadium Series when both teams lost to the Rangers in a three-day stretch at Yankee Stadium. The Rangers last played in 2018 at Citi Field when they won over the Sabres.
For some players, this game is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Hockey Hall of Famer and former Devil goaltender Martin Brodeur told the players to embrace the game.
“It’s no different in the Stanley Cup Finals,” Brodeur said. “If they are able to adjust to this, when it’s time for them to deal with the Stanley Cup Final they’ll see that it’s the same thing. It’s a lot of distractions. You gotta block those noises.”
MetLife Stadium is set to host the World Cup Final in 2026, the second big non-football game.
