For the first time in rivalry history, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils will face off outside.
The two teams will battle in the 2024 Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.
For the Flyers, this is their first Stadium Series appearance since 2019 and their first outdoor appearance in general since 2021 at the NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe.
”I trust our team. I want them to enjoy the experience,” said head coach John Tortorella at Friday’s media availability. “They’ll be ready to play. I won’t have to worry about that because I know they’ll be ready to play.”
The Flyers are 4-0-1 since returning from the All-Star break but have had some so-so performances in that stretch, failing to play a full 60 minutes consistently. However, they remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division and have a seven-point edge over their opponents tonight.
Newly christened captain Sean Couturier is no stranger to outdoor games, playing in four previously – the 2012 Winter Classic, 2017 Stadium Series, and 2019 Stadium Series. Couturier leads all active Flyers in outdoor scoring with four points, which is also tied for the franchise record. His leadership will be an integral role in snatching a victory in the Meadowlands.
“I trust every single guy in the room,” said Couturier. “Like I’ve said, I think we’ve done a great job all year of handling ourselves and growing as a team. I really haven’t had much to say all year to be honest because guys are on the task and ready to go. I kind of expect the same thing going into tonight’s game.”
On the other side of the ice, the Devils have lost five of their last eight and are searching for answers in a hurry in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Tonight begins a three-game stretch of divisional opponents for New Jersey, and every point up for grabs in those games will be crucial to their postseason hopes.
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff is used to preparing teams for exterior play, coaching the Buffalo Sabres at the 2008 Winter Classic. The veteran bench boss of 1,898 NHL regular season and playoff contests will make sure the designated home team is ready to win in their first outdoor game since 2014.
PHI Record: 29-19-7, 65 pts, 3rd in Metropolitan
NJD Record: 27-22-4, 62 pts, 6th in Metropolitan
When: 8:00pm ET
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Broadcast Info: ABC, ESPN+, 97.5 The Fanatic
Last Game PHI: 2/15/24, 4-3 OTL at Toronto
Last Game NJD: 2/15/24, 2-1 L vs. Los Angeles
PHI Goalie: Samuel Ersson (15-9-4, .900 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 3 SO)
NJD Goalie: Nico Daws (5-6-0, .909 SV%, 2.93 GAA, 0 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#74 Owen Tippett – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #48 Morgan Frost – #89 Cam Atkinson
#27 Noah Cates – #25 Ryan Poehling – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #21 Scott Laughton
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #26 Sean Walker
#18 Marc Staal – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#5 Egor Zamula
#33 Samuel Ersson
#40 Cal Petersen
Scratches: #62 Olle Lycksell
Injuries: #55 Rasmus Ristolainen, #71 Tyson Foerster
NJD Projected Lineup
#18 Ondřej Palát – #13 Nico Hischier – #63 Jesper Bratt
#86 Jack Hughes – #56 Erik Haula – #73 Tyler Toffoli
#28 Timo Meier – #42 Curtis Lazar – #91 Dawson Mercer
#10 Alexander Holtz – #92 Tomáš Nosek – #14 Nathan Bastian
#88 Kevin Bahl – #17 Šimon Nemec
#43 Luke Hughes – #6 John Marino
#2 Brendan Smith – #24 Colin Miller
#50 Nico Daws
#40 Akira Schmid
Scratches: #11 Chris Tierney, #57 Nick DeSimone
Injuries: #7 Dougie Hamilton, #41 Vitek Vaněček, #71 Jonas Siegenthaler
News and Notes
– The Flyers are 1-0-1 against the Devils this season, winning the last matchup on December 19th in Newark, 3-2.
– Philadelphia is just 1-3-1 in outdoor games all-time, only winning the 2019 Stadium Series against Pittsburgh.
– Sean Couturier leads all active Flyers in outdoor scoring with 4 points and is tied for the franchise lead with Claude Giroux, Jakub Voráček, and James van Riemsdyk.
– The Flyers are 125-109-18-14 against the Devils all time since New Jersey’s inception as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974.
– Samuel Ersson is just 1-1-0 with an .855 SV% and 4.39 GAA against the Devils in his career.
