Reports: Flyers to play Devils outdoors next season at MetLife Stadium
The Flyers will head outdoors for the first time since they played the Boston Bruins at Lake Tahoe in 2021.
Next season, the Flyers will reportedly take their talents outside.
The Flyers are set to play in the NHL’s Stadium Series against the New Jersey Devils at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in February 2024, according to The Fourth Period. The game will reportedly be part of two straight days of outdoor games, with the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders also set to face off at the home of the Giants and Jets. ESPN reported that there will be a concert at the venue as well.
» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier continues to shine for Team USA at Worlds
The Flyers last appeared in the Stadium Series on Feb. 23, 2019, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3, in overtime at Lincoln Financial Field. Trailing 3-1 late in the third period, the Flyers scored goals in the final three-plus minutes to force OT before Claude Giroux netted the game-winner.
The franchise has played a total of five outdoor games, most recently on Feb. 21, 2021 — a 7-3 loss to the Boston Bruins at Lake Tahoe. The Flyers have won one outdoor game and lost four. This will be the first time the Flyers have played the Devils outdoors.
The Flyers faced off against the Devils four times last season, going 2-2-0. One of those losses marked the Flyers’ worst defeat of the season, 7-0 on Feb. 25. The Devils finished the regular season 52-22-9 (second in the Metropolitan) under coach Lindy Ruff and were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs in five games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The NHL introduced the Stadium Series brand in 2014 as a means of incorporating more outdoor games into the schedule beyond the annual Winter Classic, which began in 2008 and is held annually around New Year’s Day. There have been 13 Stadium Series games in all, with last year’s featuring the Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., where the North Carolina State football team plays.
Since 2017, only one Stadium Series game per year has been scheduled, so 2024 will reportedly become the first multigame season since 2016.
» READ MORE: Which Flyers should stay or go? Swipe and decide.