Inside the Stadium Series: NJ Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers
This past weekend, I attended the 2024 NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium! As a diehard New Jersey Devils fan, I have been waiting for this day since they announced the event! And it made it that much better that the weekend was held right here in New Jersey! I had to represent my hometown team, while also bundling up because the temperature throughout the day dipped down to 26 degrees!
Megan Moritz – BBGI
The parking lots at MetLife Stadium opened at 2 pm, and there were lines of cars waiting just to get in before opening. The fans wasted no time getting right to tailgating and brought out tents, firepits, grills, street hockey, and corn hole.
These Devil’s fans enjoying a game of corn hole while tailgating!
In addition to personal tailgates, the NHL and New Amsterdam Vodka held a Pregame Fan Fest in one of the lots. The fan fest was free to attend and had a variety of stands for fans to enter giveaways, play games for prizes, buy drinks and merch, and meet some hockey legends. The biggest hockey legend of all was in attendance: that of course being The Stanley Cup. However, if you wanted a chance to get a picture with Lord Stanley, fans had to stand in a line that was easily over an hour and a half long wait.
The Stanley Cup itself!
Also in attendance was Devils legend, Ken Daneyko. As the current color analyst for the Devils on MSG Network, he is at all Devils games and often will walk around the arena to interact with fans. So, it was no shock that he was taking the time to get pictures, sign autographs, and have conversations with every fan in line. He probably is the biggest Devils fan out of everyone!
Had my chance to get a picture with Ken Daneyko!
After all the pregame fun, it was finally time for the gates to open! Fans flooded in and tried to find their seats before the Jonas Brothers took the stage for a pregame concert. After their set, the two teams took to the ice for the first time for warmups!
The Devils and Flyers are out on the ice for warmups!
As expected, the teams’ entrances for game time were extravagant. The lights went down, and music blasted for each team as flames shot up behind them. Their entrances were followed by a Saxophone rendition of the National Anthem performed by Jake Clemons.
The scoring started off early with Devils’ captain Nico Hischier scoring on a breakaway just 32 seconds into the game. Since this was considered a home game for New Jersey, it’s safe to say the crowd went wild. The Gaslight Anthem got to work performing the Devil’s goal song, ‘Howl’ live for each goal. Then with just 6:30 left in the first period, Tyler Toffoli scored to give the Devils a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission. The Gaslight Anthem wasn’t just there to perform the Devils’ goal song, the New Jersey native band also performed a short set during the first intermission.
The Gaslight Anthem performed more than just “Howl”!
During intermission, fans walked around the corridors for the opportunity to buy what merch was left at the stands (because they ran out of jerseys quickly). As expected at any major event, however, prices were not cheap. The varsity jackets seen being worn by each team’s coaching staff behind the bench were on sale for $1000 each!
Fans also searched for any way to warm themselves up during this time. Hot chocolate was being sold at almost all concession stands, and MetLife Stadium also has a few “Public Warming Areas”, except the line to get into those was almost as long as the line to see the Stanley Cup!
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Cold fans were eager for their chance to get into the warming area!
Just under halfway through the second period, Owen Tippett got the Flyers on the board with his first goal of the night. Flyers fans took a sigh of relief and cheered with each other, despite no goal horn or song being played for the visiting team. Within the last 3 and a half minutes of the period, things really picked up. Brendan Smith scored for the Devils at 3:24 and Nathan Bastian scored just a 1:12 later to put the Devils up 4-1. Then Tippett scored his second of the night on a power play to close out the period at 4-2. For the second intermission, the Jonas Brothers came out again and performed four songs, three of which they had already performed in the pregame performance.
Jonas Brothers taking the stage during the second intermission
Hischier then scored his second of the night at the beginning of the third period to make it a three-goal lead for the Devils. The Flyers didn’t give up so easily and Nick Seeler scored halfway through the period to make it a two-goal game once again. Both teams were held off the scoreboard for the remainder of the period until the Flyers pulled Samuel Erreson out of the net to play 6-on-5 in the hopes of tying up the game. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Bastain scored his second of the night into the empty net, which would solidify the Devils’ win and end the game with a final score of 6 to 3.
Devils win 6-3!
As a Devils fan, I was obviously excited for the win, but overall, I thought this was an amazing event! It was great to see some Jersey representation as 70,328 people endured the cold to experience outdoor hockey in The Garden State! One of the main concerns people had for this game was the view of the ice from the stands. I will admit, that it was hard to make out exactly which players were on the ice and where the puck was at all times, but all that matters is you know when they score. The atmosphere was something that can’t be replicated in a normal hockey arena and I hope to see more events like this here in the future (and maybe a Stanley Cup win from the Devils).
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