Respect | COLUMN 

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – A loose puck was headed to the right corner of the Devils zone. Veteran Devils forward Ondrej Palat and Philadelphia defenseman Cam York, pinching very deep into the play, were both in pursuit. As they did, Devils captain Nico Hischier unassumingly drifted behind the last two Flyers inside the blue line.

York reached the puck first, but Palat overpowered him from behind, swatting the puck ahead. A fortunate ricochet off the boards led the black disc up ice to where Hischier had a head start. Hischier collected for a breakaway on Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson.

Hischier pulled the puck to his backhand and forced Ersson to move to his left. When Ersson was in the process of that lateral movement, Hischier quickly directed a shot through his five-hole and into the net.

Hischier turned to the glass and looked up at 70,328 fans packed into MetLife Stadium with his arms raised in triumph.

On a stage near the neutral zone, New Brunswick, New Jersey native Brian Fallon picked up his guitar and rushed to a standing microphone. The remainder of his band, The Gaslight Anthem, erupted into a live performance of their song “Howl” – the Devils official goal song since 2015.

And with that, the 2024 Stadium Series was underway.

It was a spectacular night of spectacles, not the least of which was the Devils’ skating off the ice (field?) with a 6-3 victory against Philadelphia Saturday evening, the first outdoor win in franchise history. Hischier scored twice, Nathan Bastian scored twice and Brendan Smith nearly recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick. And that was just the fireworks on the ice.

The Flyers arrived at the game wearing the running sweats of (fictional) Philly icon Rocky. They wore Rocky’s jogging suit from the original Rocky I, which, in case the Flyers hadn’t seen the ending, Rocky lost in that boxing match to Apollo Creed (RIP – Carl Weathers).

The Devils arrived in Soprano-inspired décor, matching track suits, sleeveless white undershirts and gold chains. The players embodied the Jersey spirit.

Even Bastian committed to the bit after scoring his first of two goals by taking off his glove and giving an Italian hand gesture to the crowd.

“Normally guys that score every 15 games don’t plan celebrations,” said Bastian at a post-game press conference while wearing just his white sleeveless undershirt and gold cross. “But I had a good feeling tonight."

Perhaps he was inspired by a certain New York Giants quarterback. 

"I heard Tommy (DeVito) was going to be in the building so I was excited about it," Bastian smiled. 

“He was talking about he had something. When he pulled that out, I chuckled,” Smith said. “He played the part. He became the part.”

The game itself was hotly contested and heated. Tempers flared; anger ignited. Even a game played at low 20-degree temperatures couldn’t cool these guys down.

“There was a lot of chatter on both sides. It was chippy,” Smith said. “You’re going to get a lot of talk back and forth. I’m curious to see how some of the mic’d up goes. I hope I don’t look bad in that. It was an intense game by all means.”

Smith even found himself in the odd position of getting the Gordie Howe hat trick. He scored a goal and had an assist. He certainly thought about adding that fight to his career bucket list in what is his fifth and possibly final outdoor game.

“I thought about it. I don’t have one in my career. I don’t have a lot of goal and assist games,” he said. “I was welcoming (a fight). But at 5-3 you don’t want to give them any momentum. And at 6-3 it would just be silly. But if anything were to happen for it, I wasn’t opposed to it.”

The stars of the game were the Nicos: Hischier and Daws.

Hischier’s first goal, just 32 seconds into the game, was the second fastest goal in an outdoor game since the inaugural Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008 (Colby Armstrong, :21 seconds).

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff was on the bench in that 2008 contest for the Buffalo Sabres, who hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ruff certainly was much happier being on the other side of the fast start.

“It was great to get the start that we got,” Ruff said.

All the 23-year-old Daws did was post the record for saves in an outdoor game with 45, beating David Rittich (43) from the 2019 Heritage Classic.

“We needed him. What did he make 40 saves, 50 saves?” asked Tyler Toffoli, who also scored in the game. “He was awesome, made huge saves. Kept us alive when we needed him.”

Overall, it was a great night for Devils fans, and Devils fans only. Which is only fitting. After all, it was a return to a former homeland in the Meadowlands. The Devils used the New York Football Giants locker room as their own, and entering the locker room is a sign that reads: “WIN AT HOME.”

So, the Devils won at home.

“The crowd was surreal. What a great stadium,” forward Erik Haula said. “What a great place to play a hockey game. It’s going to be a game that we’ll remember.”

But spectacle aside, the victory meant a lot to the Devils. They won the proverbial four-point swing against a Metro Division foe, and kept pace with the Detroit Red Wings – whom they trail by two points for the second Wild Card spot and final playoff position.

“We needed this win,” said Ruff, who celebrated his 64^th birthday with the victory. “If they beat us, it would almost put them out of reach (in the playoff chase).”

“It was a big game, a big event, four-point game,” Hischier said. “It was a huge win for us. That’s a team we’re chasing. Everybody was ready to play and it was all business for us.”

The captain was all business. He finished the night with three points, a plus-2, 22-plus minutes of ice time, five shots and won 62 percent of his faceoffs (18-11). He opened the scoring in the third period, but this time he waited a little longer than 32 seconds. Hischier's second of two goals came at 2:48 to give New Jersey a comfortable 5-2 lead. 

With the Devils leading 5-2, the crowd also felt some comfort. During a stop in play, the arena blared “Higher” by the band Creed. When the puck dropped, the music stopped. But the crowd of 70,000-plus kept the vocals going. 

And that’s where the Devils hope this win can catapult them to: higher. In their play. In their results. In the standings. After all, they're only as good as their last envelope.

“That’s a win that brings a group together,” Hischier said. “Everybody had this circled on the calendar. We knew it was a big game at the beginning of the year. With how the standings are it’s an even bigger game. This brought the group together.”

Sounds like the perfect end to a perfect day.

“I’m looking forward to drinking a beer and enjoy this one,” Haula said.

Or as Ruff surmised a little more eloquently:

“It was amazing. What a night. Everything was done to a T. To have 70,000 fans here. To pull up with the bus and you’re driving through, it’s 30 degrees and 40,000 people are in the parking lot, drinking Diet Coke probably it looked like, playing cornhole.”

“What a day,” Ruff continued with a grin. “You use a football stadium. I thought it was so well done. The ice was good. You had two teams that competed hard. In the end we found a way to win a hockey game. All our fans that came out and supported us got rewarded with a heck of a game by our club.”

The Devils woke up this morning and got themselves a game. They ended the night with a blue moon in their eyes and two points. And in between a lifetime of memories. 

“I tried to soak it in as much as I can. It was such a fun game,” Hischier said. “Those are games you’ll never forget in your career.

"The win makes it even better.”