The New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and New York Islanders all return to outdoor hockey this weekend at the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Devils host the Flyers on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1) and the Islanders host the Rangers on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS, SN).
This will be the sixth outdoor game for the Flyers, are 1-3-1 outdoors. The Rangers, on the other hand, are undefeated in four previous outdoor games. The Devils and Islanders are each 0-1-0 outdoors, each loss coming to the Rangers during the 2014 Stadium Series.
Though several memories will be made this weekend, there have been a lot of memorable moments for each of these teams when they have taken it outside.
We asked a panel of NHL.com writers, who between them have covered every outdoor game in the League’s history, to recall their favorite moments of the four teams’ outdoor experiences.
Here, in chronological order, are their answers:
A memory to last a lifetime
Jan, 1, 2010: It’s one thing to score in an outdoor game, but it’s another to score your first career goal -- and one of three in the NHL – in an outdoor game. That was what happened to Danny Syvret, a Philadelphia Flyers defenseman called up before Christmas in 2009. Syvret was over the moon, with his brother having flown up from Florida to be in the stands and a chance to play in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston ahead of him. At the time, he had played 43 games during four seasons in the League, with three assists and no goals. Then, at 4:42 of the second period, his moment arrived. It was a play off the rush and Syvret was the weak-side defenseman jumping into the play. The puck squirted out toward him. Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas made the save, but the puck squirted out again. “The puck ended up going through his five-hole,” Syvret told me in 2022. “I scored from almost like shortstop shooting to third base.” He never saw it go in. “It wasn’t until the guys are all coming to me in the pile, like I scored” that he realized he had beaten Thomas. Goal No. 1 of his career in a memorable game, in a memorable setting. What more could you ask for? -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer