NEWARK, N.J. -- Tyler Toffoli remembers the bittersweet feeling he had after becoming the first player to score a hat trick in an NHL outdoor game.
The 31-year-old forward provided all the offense for the Los Angeles Kings in a 3-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at the 2020 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game at Falcon Stadium on the site of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Toffoli, now with the New Jersey Devils, is hoping to achieve similar results in his third outdoor game appearance Saturday, when the Devils face the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1).
"To be able to say I was the first player to have a hat trick in an NHL outdoor game is obviously pretty cool," Toffoli said. "It was just a really emotional time for me and, honestly, a night that I won't forget."
Two days later, Toffoli, who was to become an unrestricted free agent that summer, was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
"It was one of those things where I was in trade rumors for pretty much a year-and-a-half in Los Angeles and that outdoor game ended up being my last game as a King," said Toffoli, who won the Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2014. "It was definitely a bittersweet moment."
Toffoli's name hasn't been mentioned in any trade rumors this season with the NHL Trade Deadline set for March 8, so he looks forward to enjoying the experience with teammates and family. He leads the Devils with 23 goals and is third in scoring with 36 points in 52 games.
"The experience of this is just really cool," Toffoli said, "and being able to have your family skate with you on the ice the day before the game, knowing what the atmosphere is going to be like for them, is what makes it special for me. I'm going into my third outdoor game so to see my family have as much fun as possible and take it all in is what it's all about."
Toffoli said his mom and dad will witness their first outdoor game, and his wife will also be in attendance.
His advice to teammates playing their first NHL outdoor game?
"I wore one of those thermal tops during the game, but some guys didn't, so it's a preference," he said. "The bench is usually really warm, so for the most part, you're not really dealing with the cold too much. The weather we've had the past couple days in this area might make it a little chilly out there."
Toffoli said the one thing he enjoys about the outdoor setting is being able to hear cheers from teammates on the ice whenever a big play happens.
"The fans are so far away, it's almost like a delayed reaction a little bit," he said. "But I think it kind of makes it more cool because after a goal goes in, all the boys are cheering, so you hear them first and then you get the fan noise after, so it's definitely a really cool experience. Hopefully we hear the boys cheering a lot."
Toffoli, who also played in Los Angeles' 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL Stadium Series at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, is one of five players on the New Jersey roster to play in at least one NHL outdoor game. Defenseman Brendan Smith will appear in his fourth (2014 and 2017 with the Detroit Red Wings; 2018, New York Rangers). Centers Erik Haula (Minnesota Wild, 2016) and Tomas Nosek (Boston Bruins, 2023) and forward Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2022) each will play his second.
Toffoli knows a win against the Flyers is crucial, so though he wants to soak in the atmosphere, he also realizes the magnitude of the moment.
New Jersey (27-22-4) is fourth in the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind Philadelphia (29-19-7) with two games in hand. The Devils are also two points behind the Detroit Red Wings (27-20-6) for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
New Jersey and Philadelphia have split the first two games of the regular-season series; the Devils won 4-3 in overtime at Philadelphia on Nov. 30, and the Flyers won 3-2 in overtime at New Jersey on Dec. 19.
"We're going to take it all in, for sure, but we know what's at stake," Toffoli said. "It's one of those things where there's going be a lot of moving parts, but it's going to be a lot of fun. At the end of the day, it's going to be cold, but I think they've kind of figured out how to treat the ice and make it as good as possible for being outdoors. We're going to have to go out there and work and find a way to win."
