Stadium Series showdown key step in playoff race for Devils, Flyers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The time of the year, two months left in the regular season, 29 games to play, points to make up, it's all making the New Jersey Devils feel a sense of urgency as they prepare to play hosts on a cold Saturday night in the wind-whipping Meadowlands.

The Devils and Philadelphia Flyers will play the first game in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1).

"The stakes are obviously really high, and the games are starting to dwindle down a little bit and we have to play catch up," Devils center Jack Hughes said. "That's the spot we're in. It's a four-point game against a division rival. We get this one it's a big win. Obviously, we know this is really important. No matter if it's played in front of zero people, 60,000, wherever it's played, this is an important game and we need to be a really focused group."

This Stadium Series, which also features the New York Rangers against the New York Islanders here on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), is meant to be a true Jersey experience in the Garden State's most well-known sports venue. It's a celebration of hockey in New Jersey.

But from the nuts-and-bolts hockey perspective, the Stadium Series game Saturday is about everything Hughes said.

The Devils are fourth in the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the third-place Flyers with two games in hand. They are two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"It's a meaningful game in front of I don't know how many people, 60,000?" New Jersey forward Ondrej Palat said. "It's going to be amazing."

The Devils made this game more interesting with their play of late, but a two-game winning streak and three-game point streak ended in a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Prudential Center on Thursday, when at one point Hughes smashed his stick over the dasher boards at the bench and threw the broken twig on the ice in frustration.

The Devils used Friday, when they had a crisp practice followed by a family skate, to get rid of that sour feeling.

"Honestly, last night was last night," Hughes said. "I just was skating around on an outdoor rink. Like, that's the farthest thing from my mind. There's no answer there. I'm excited to be here with my teammates and we're really looking forward to tomorrow."

The Flyers feel the same urgency as the Devils despite being on more stable ground in the playoff race thanks to a five-game point streak (4-0-1), including a 4-3 overtime loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

"It's such an important game," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "I haven't followed where the guys are in the standings in the other games, but this one is right in front of us here. Twenty-plus games left for each team. You can see where the East is. Yeah, and that's what I try to balance. I do not want to disrespect our team or their families. Let them enjoy this, but when that puck is dropped, I know we'll be ready to play because I think they're zeroed in on how important it is."

Tortorella said the fact the Stadium Series is played in the middle of February makes it feel more important in the standings than the other two NHL outdoor-game series: the Winter Classic, which is traditionally played on New Year's Day or Jan. 2, and the Heritage Classic, which this season was Oct. 29.

"I one hundred percent agree," Devils defenseman Brendan Smith said. "I firmly believe that if you had this, I don't know, 10 games in it's still going to be fantastic, it's going to be fun, it's going to be exciting, but the game might not be that impactful or you might not feel it's that impactful. That's the one thing that you try to talk to a lot of the young guys about, the points at the start of the year are just as impactful as the points at the end of the year because if you can get ahead of the race it puts you in position to keep that playoff spot, which we were able to do last year. It just helps you that much more. Now we're in a dogfight and it makes this game that much bigger not only for the atmosphere, but for us trying to make the playoffs, and that's our goal."

That type of balancing act is what the teams are trying to manage leading into the game. It's why practicing at MetLife Stadium on Friday and getting a chance to have their families on the ice with them after practice was so important to the players and coaches.

Saturday is all business.

"It screws me up because, you know me, I just want to play the game," Tortorella said. "I want to get to it. I want to see where we're at. I want to do the best we can and try to get these points. But I also understand this here I think it's important for the League and I think it's important for guys to experience it. I've got to find my way as far as the preparation, leaving them alone, getting them ready. But what's made it easy for me is I have a team, it's a good room, so it's helped me. Tomorrow is when you zero in on where we're at because it is a little bit of a different feel as far as where these two teams are at."