When each team participating in the 2024 NHL Stadium Series got to practice and have a family skate at MetLife Stadium, it was clear that this was going to be an incredible event.
That was true from the moment it started until the end. After hours and hours of tailgating, fans poured into the stadium on Saturday night for New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers.
The Devils walked in paying tribute to "The Sopranos" while the Flyers had their "Rocky" getups going strong. Both groups represented where they came from well.
Once the Jonas Brothers concert ended, the games began and it was crazy right off the bat. New Jersey took a 1-0 lead 32 seconds in when Nico Hischier slid the puck through Samuel Errson.
From there, the Devils took over and won the game 6-3. Hischier ended up with two goals and an assist to lead his team to victory. With the captain leading the way, everyone on the team did what they needed to do in order to win.
Both Stadium Series games were incredible for the NHL here in 2024
A day later, the games resumed when the New York Rangers took on the New York Islanders at MetLife. This game went very differently.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead pretty early much like the Devils did the night prior. However, the rest of the game was nothing like the one that came before it.
The Islanders scored three unanswered goals to lead 3-1. That score lasted through the first intermission. 1:03 into the second period, the Isles made it four unanswered when Anders Lee made it 4-1.
By the end of the second period, however, the Rangers made it interesting by scoring two themselves. They went into the second intermission with the Islanders winning 4-3.
It looked like the Islanders would be able to hang on when Alexander Romanov scored early in the third to restore the two goal lead. Nope.
Chris Kreider made it a one goal game with under five minutes left in the third so things were really interesting. Then, the Rangers earned a late period power play. They pulled the goalie so they had a 6 on 4 advantage.
Mika Zibanejad scored at 18:31 to tie the game and force overtime. Then, Artemi Panarin ended it 10 seconds into the OT period to give the Rangers the 6-5 win. It was the largest comeback victory in the history of outdoor games.
These two games will be remembered as two of the most exciting matches in the history of the Stadium Series. The New York/New Jersey area balled out and showed the hockey world how they do things.
Events like this showed just how important hockey culture is. Every market does things a little bit differently. No matter how many outdoor NHL games they do, it will never be enough.