The Stadium Series was the biggest NHL stage yet for several Flyers. Even bigger ones await.
Many of the team's younger players like Sam Ersson have never played in truly meaningful NHL games before. That's about to change with the team in the thick of the playoff race with 26 games to play.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ― The latest chapter of the Flyers-Devils rivalry was written on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium, with the Flyers falling, 6-3, in the Stadium Series.
Besides marking the first time the Battle of the Jersey Turnpike has been taken outside, Saturday also added a Rocky-Sopranos conflict to the lore. But spectacle aside, for two Metro Division teams in the playoff race, the result of this game will have some ramifications down the stretch.
» READ MORE: Flyers dig themselves an early hole, lose 6-3 to Devils in outdoor Stadium Series
“I think [the rivalry is] heating up,” said winger Owen Tippett, who scored two of the Flyers’ three goals. “I think the last little bit here, obviously, the OT game in their building [on Dec. 19] kind of ramped things up for the year.”
Both previous meetings this season between the rivals went to overtime, with the Devils taking a 4-3 win on Nov. 30 and the Flyers answering with that 3-2 road victory on Dec. 19. Now, the Devils have the edge in the season series, but that only heightens the stakes for the teams’ final matchup of the season at the Wells Fargo Center on April 13.
The Flyers and Devils have met in the playoffs on five occasions, but not since 2012. Ahead of this season, the two teams were expected to be on completely different trajectories, with the Devils a dark horse Stanley Cup pick fresh off a playoff series win over the Rangers, and the Flyers projected to finish near the bottom of the league as they progressed through the early stages of a rebuild.
But as it turned out, the Flyers entered Saturday with a seven-point lead on the Devils in the Metro with the opportunity to add even more distance. Instead, the Devils have gained some valuable ground.
“Points count, and you’ve got to play and try and fight for the standings,” Tippett said. “And that was fun to play. But obviously, we left two points on the table.”
On the other hand, Flyers coach John Tortorella disagrees with the notion of counting points or fretting about the standings. With 26 games remaining in the season, there’s still some runway left, but the Devils are a team the Flyers will need to hold off.
Saturday was undoubtedly a bit of a missed opportunity in that regard. Blame it on the cold, blame it on the condition of the ice, blame it on Nico Hischier’s breakaway goal that put the Flyers in a 1-0 hole just 32 seconds in. Postgame, Tortorella pointed to a string of penalties and four-on-four play in the second period as a momentum killer.
“We know it’s an important game in a lot of aspects, and especially in the standings there,” goaltender Sam Ersson said. “We know they’re shaping up there, they’re a good group, good team. Lose the game today. And that’s kind of what it is. It’s a loss. We know it’s going to happen. We have to deal with it and move on, and keep building on what we’ve been building up here after the break.”
One positive takeaway from the loss is the experience the Flyers gained playing on a bigger stage, under some brighter lights. It’s one thing to be in a playoff spot, and it’s another to actually play in a playoff game, which is not an experience that the Flyers’ young core has had much of.
Captain Sean Couturier said last week that a major factor in the Flyers’ success, particularly as they make their push to maintain playoff position, has been how they approach each game the same way.
» READ MORE: Sam Ersson’s unflappable mindset to be tested as he takes over for Carter Hart in net
“It’s almost like, we just come in to play no matter what,” Couturier said. “I don’t know if we’re just too young to really realize what’s at stake, or we’re kind of learning on the go, but I mean, that kind of mentality seems to have really helped us just stay level, low-key, and never too high, never too low.”
It’s pretty difficult not to notice the differences when playing on a football field in front of 70,000 fans, which could have pushed the Flyers away from that mentality. But the Flyers’ first national, big-stage moment with this particular group is now behind them. And in April, the rivalry will head indoors again.
“To play in a series like this was pretty cool. And gets that rivalry going even more,” Tippett said. “... We play them again, so it should be a fun game.”