The total number of NHL Stadium Series games at MetLife Stadium increases to 41

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Two Stadium Series games at MetLife Stadium this weekend raised the NHL’s total outdoor games to 41.

Each of the four teams consisted of five players who previously played a professional sport in the open air.

“The outdoor experience, it’s great,” said forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was playing his second outdoor game on Sunday when the New York Islanders faced the crosstown-rival Rangers. “It’s great for everyone, it’s great for the fans, but also for us it’s something you’ll always remember and you want to make the best of it.”

Pageau’s debut came while playing for Ottawa in the NHL 100 Classic on December 16, 2007, which was tied for the third coldest outdoor game in NHL history – only 13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-10 Celsius) at the start. Temperatures were slightly cooler for Sunday’s game, 39 °F (4 Celsius) at the 3:48 p.m. start of the game, which was delayed by about 45 minutes due to the sun reflecting off the ice.

Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier and Marc Staal played their fifth match Lost to New Jersey 6-3 On Saturday night, Couturier appeared in all five with Philadelphia and Staal played with the New York Rangers. Scott Lawton and Travis Sanheim played their second games with the Flyers, while defenseman Egor Zamula played outdoors in a Western Hockey League game in 2019. Additionally, John Tortorella coached in his third outdoor game.

For the Devils, Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Smith played their thirds and Eric Haula, Tomas Nosek and Ondrej Palat played their second. Lindy Ruff was also the coach in her third stint, including her second as head coach.

Rangers forwards Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin played their third outdoor game on Sunday facing the Islanders, and defenseman Eric Gustafsson and forward Jimmy Vesey played their second outdoor game. Peter Laviolette set an NHL record by coaching in his fifth outdoor game, although he has yet to win.

Vesey and Zibanejad are the only players remaining from the Rangers team that played in the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field, home of MLB’s New York Mets.

“It’s very different being in a stadium like this compared to a baseball field and its structure,” Zibanejad said. “The stadium makes the rink feel much smaller.”

For the Islanders, Matt Martin played in his third outdoor game, while teammates Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Palmieri were also appearing in their second outdoor games. Islanders coach Patrick Roy, in his ninth game since replacing fired Lane Lambert, was behind the bench for the second time out.

Islanders–Rangers rivalry

The Rangers and Islanders are meeting for the first time this season, which is an unusually late start to their four-game season series, especially after a three-game series finish before Christmas last season.

Islanders captain Anders Lee said, “I feel like it’s unusual that we waited so long to see those guys, and it’s a big game for both teams.” “An opportunity for us and it’s always fun. There’s always extra juice, extra energy. Fans on both sides bring it, so I don’t think there will be any difference here. It is going to be fun.”

The Rangers are four points ahead of second-place Carolina in the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders start the day in fifth place in the division and trail Detroit by five points for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“At the end of the day we need to win, we need to get these points,” said Islanders forward Bo Horvat, who is playing his first New York rivalry game nearly 13 months after being acquired in a trade ahead of the All-Star Game. Were. -Star Break.

“Obviously, it’s been a rivalry for many years,” Horvat said. “They’re a good hockey team, and so are we. Obviously things are going to get heated and everyone will be fighting for wins, and we want to come out on top.

Zibanejad expressed similar sentiments for Rangers, saying: “Always intense games, and the crowds on both sides get into it. …It’s fun, it’s the type of games you want to play. I think like every team in the league in any sport, you have rival games, and this is one for us. Hopefully we can make sure we remember it in a good way.

The Rangers began their game against the Islanders with a 4–0–0 record in outdoor games. They defeated the Flyers in the 2012 Winter Classic in Philadelphia, had wins over the Devils 7–3 and 2–1 over the Islanders in Stadium Series games at Yankee Stadium in 2014, and defeated the Buffalo Sabers 4–3 in overtime in Citi. Field at the 2018 Winter Classic.

The Islanders will play their second outdoor game, their first since a loss to the Rangers on January 29, 2014.

With their win against the Flyers on Saturday night, the Devils evened their record at 1-1-0 and dropped Philadelphia to 1-4-1.

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