Devils Outlast Flyers in 2024 NHL Stadium Series

In what was an electric atmosphere at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night, the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers kicked off the first of two outdoor games this weekend in the 2024 NHL Stadium Series. It is the first time that the NHL has played two outdoor games on back-to-back days, with the Rangers and Islanders squaring off on Sunday afternoon. Entering the matchup, the Devils were playing in their second outdoor game, while the Flyers were playing in their sixth. With the help of a multi-goal effort by Nico Hischier, the Devils would outlast the Flyers 6-3 to come away with their first outdoor game victory. Let’s take a look at how the Devils came out on top. 

The game would get off to a fast start, as captain Nico Hischier would score 32 seconds into the contest on a breakaway shot to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. With 6:30 left in the first period, the Devils would extend their lead to 2-0, as Tyler Toffoli rebounded a shot from Brendan Smith into the back of the net. The Flyers would trim their deficit to 2-1 after Owen Tippett scored on a wrist shot in the middle of the offensive zone at 12:17 of the second period. At 16:36, Smith would extend the Devils’ lead to 3-1, as Smith would score on a rebound shot from Hischier. With 2:12 left in the middle frame, Nathan Bastian would increase the Devils’ lead to 4-1, as Bastian would score on a snap-shot goal. The Flyers would capitalize on a late-period power-play opportunity and would cut their deficit to 4-2, as Tippett would score his second goal of the game. 

To begin the third period, at 17:12, Hischier would get his fourth multi-goal game of the season by scoring on a wrist shot to further the Devils’ lead to 5-2. Mid-way through the period, the Flyers would cut their deficit to 5-3, after Nick Seeler scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot. With 1:45 left in the game, Bastian would score his second goal of the game on an empty-net goal to secure the Devils’ 6-3 victory over the Flyers. Following his multi-goal game that propelled the Devils to their 28th victory on the season, Hischier met with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan rinkside to discuss scoring his first goal of the night in front of more than 70,000 fans. Hischier stated, “It was pretty cool. Now that the game is over, you can soak it in. It’s the way you want to start, so I was really excited about it, and it was a great win.”