Andrew Noel, Staff  

After weeks of build-up, we are just days away from the Flyers playing the New Jersey Devils at Metlife Stadium (home of the NFL’s Giants and Jets). The game, part of what is known as the NHL Stadium Series, will only be the 40th NHL game played outdoors. Saturday night’s game will be the sixth outdoor game in Flyers history. There are some teams that have never played outdoor games in their entire history, so for the Flyers to be a part of six in about a 15-year period, is really special and something that the fans should appreciate.

The first Flyers outdoor game was in 2010 at Fenway Park in Boston with the Bruins topping the Flyers 2-1 in overtime. The Flyers hosted the same event two years later at Citizens Bank Park with the Rangers topping Philadelphia 3-2. The Flyers had to wait five years for their next outdoor experience, losing 4-2 in Pittsburgh against the cross-state rival Penguins. Philadelphia finally got its first outdoor win in 2019, beating the Penguins 4-3 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Flyers’ most unique outdoor experience came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when they lost to the Bruins 7-3 in front of no fans on the shore of Lake Tahoe in 2021. 

Due to the fact that outdoor games don’t happen very often (with between one and three outdoor games being played per season), the NHL always tries to make the events around the game as memorable as possible and Saturday’s game is no exception, with The Jonas Brothers set to perform live during the pregame. Another feature of outdoor games is celebrating the area where the game is being played. Given that the Jonas Brothers are New Jersey natives, having them as the pregame entertainment is an obvious choice. 

The Flyers are in the middle of the most important part of the season, with many of the players’ futures to be decided in the next few days and weeks. Saturday’s game will give us another massive hint as to how this new Flyers front office will approach the trade deadline, which will affect the outlook of the team both in the short and long term. 

The Flyers have two options: load up for a deep playoff run or sell current assets for future assets. The futures of forward Scott Laughton and defensemen Sean Walker and Rasmus Ristolianen are in the air, and the result of Saturday’s spectacle will go a long way to determining if they will finish the season as Flyers or not.  

No matter how the rest of this season goes, Saturday is sure to be a fun and memorable occasion for both the players and fans. On a day which will hopefully result in a Flyers win, this is another positive step in the team’s surprising push to the playoffs.