New Jersey right winger Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates putting the puck in the net against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period in the Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on Sat Feb 17, 2024

By Jessica Kwong

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils dominated the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night with a 6-3 victory in game one of the NHL Stadium Series that is making history as the first-ever outdoor professional hockey event with back-to-back contests at the same venue.

The NHL’s 40th outdoor game was filled with spectacle at MetLife Stadium, which serves as the home for the NFL teams the New York Jets and the New York Giants. The Devils hosted their division rivals, the Flyers, and came away with a much-needed win that put them two points behind Detroit Red Wings for the wild card.

“It was a big game, big event but especially a big game against a rival, a four-point game there and it was a huge win for us so that’s a team we’re chasing,” said Devils captain Nico Hischier. “So I think everybody was ready to play and it was all business for us.”

Only 32 seconds into the first period, Hischier made a backhand goal assisted by Ondrej Palat to put New Jersey up 1-0. It was the second fastest goal in an NHL outdoor game after Colby Armstrong’s goal 21 seconds into the Winter Classic back in 2008. At 13:30, Tyler Toffoli made a wrist shot from Brendan Smith and Jack Hughes to boost the Devils up 2-0.

In the second period, Owen Tippett made a wrist shot assisted by Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula to cut the Flyers’ lead to 2-1. There was an outburst of scoring at the end of the second period. At 16:36, Smith made a wrist shot from Palat and Hischier to put the Devils up 3-1. New Jersey kept up their offense and at 17:48, Nathan Bastian made a snap shot from Timo Meier and Curtis Lazar to extend their lead to 4-1.

The Flyers answered back at 18:23 when Tippett made a wrist shot from Konecny and Morgan Frost and Philadelphia trailed 4-2.

Flyers head coach John Tortorella said the most important part of the game was when they got a roll in the second period and starting taking penalties.

“Not so much being man down but we’re man down, four on four,” said Tororella. “We needed another goal in the second and I thought we were right there knocking on the door, but then we took some penalties and it took us out of our flow.”

In the third period, Hischier made a wrist shot at 2:48 from Jesper Bratt and John Marino to bring the Devils up 5-2. The Flyers pushed to remain in the game as Nick Seeler made a wrist shot at 9:07 from Scott Laughton and Sean Walker to make it 5-3. But the Devils were relentless as Bastian made a wrist shot from Erik Haula and Lazar at 18:15 to lead and eventually beat the Flyers 6-3.

Devils head coach Lindy Ruff commended his team for coming through in the third period.

“As we talked this morning, we needed this win. If they beat us it puts them almost out of reach,” said Ruff. “You look at that game and you enjoy it and we move on to the next one now.”

It was 30.6 degrees Fahrenheit when the puck dropped at 5 p.m. PT for the first game of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. There were 70,328 fans in attendance.

MetLife Stadium was transformed under the theme NHL Stadium Series Park, with the ice rink in the middle of the football stadium surrounded by grass, plants, paths, park benches and a couple of floor hockey courts. The teams’ mascots, the NJ Devil and Gritty, ran around the “park” and special guests watched a special pre-game concert on a grassy area behind one of the goals. The Jonas Brothers played the pre-game concert and during the second intermission.

The Devils travel to face the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Flyers finish their three-game road trip at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the Stadium Series continues at MetLife Stadium with the New York Rangers (5-16-3) versus the New York Islanders (22-18-13), first and fifth in the Metropolitan Division respectively. The puck drops at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET.