Tag: NHL

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Preds GM Trotz says they want to hang onto Carrier; Rangers end 10 game win streak; plus more news

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The Nashville Predators defenseman Alexander Carrier (45) will most likely stay with the Predators. The Predators are trying to get him to sign a new contract before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz said that defenseman Alexander Carrier will stay and defenseman Tyson Barrie might be on the trade bubble. Goaltender Jusse Saros has a deal with the Predators through next season. Teams are seeking Carrier’s services but the Predators are trying to sign him as his contract runs out after this season. Trotz said Barrie is a player any team in the NHL would interested in.

#2 The Columbus Blue Jackets ended the New York Rangers hot ten game win streak Sunday at Nationwide Arena 4-2. The loss stops the Rangers from tying their all time win streak record at 11.

#3 Len, even though the Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid has not scored a goal in his last ten games he has scored at least a point in his last eight games. So there’s really no way to keep McDavid down.

#4 Len, have to ask you about the Winnipeg Jets their attendance is down a quarter and their not getting the expected 90% line expectation for NHL crowds. The Jets are one of the winningest teams in the NHL, they have a shot at the Stanley Cup, they have speed which buries their opponents, they have the league’s best goalie and they can score yet no one is coming

#5 Len the San Jose Sharks absolutely got clobbered on Wednesday night at SAP Center in San Jose 7-2 by the New Jersey Devils. The Sharks lost their goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood after playing some good hockey in the first 17 minutes to an injury. Backup Kappo Kahkonen came in late in the first period for Blackwood, he surrendered three in the second period and four in the third period.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice

Disastrous third period for Sharks gives Devils the victory 7-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks continued their five game home stand against an Eastern Conference opponent the New Jersey Devils.

This game would be the second and final meeting between the two teams with the first game surprisingly enough going to the Sharks by a final of 6-3. That win over New Jersey was also the Sharks first road win of the season with Kahkonen doing most of the work making 44 saves.

Another surprising stat heading into this one is the fact that the Devils and the Sharks over their last ten share the same record of 4-5-1.

Mackenzie Blackwood faced off against his former team who heading into his one was sporting a 9-18-3 record with a 3.51 GAA and .898 SV%. On the other side of the ice it was Nico Daws in between the pipes who had a 7-8-0 record with a .895 SV % and 3.30 GAA.

Of course the biggest former player in this one was Timo Meier who was making his big return to SAP Center.

For the Sharks Filip Zadina was coming in as their hottest scorer with five points in four games.

Speaking of Zadina he almost scored just a couple minutes into this game as he wrapped one around the net that hit the far post and ricocheted out.

New Jersey ended up getting the first power play opportunity in this one as Henry Thrun blatantly interfered with Tyler Toffoli. While the power play did look threatening it looks like the media will continue to pester them about it as they did not score.

Late in the first a couple of interesting events happened. The first one being Blackwood exited the game during a break in the action as Kahkonen came in to replace him. Only a minute after that Alexander Barabonov found Nico Sturm wide open back door as he tapped home his fourth of the season. When the Sharks score first they are 11-8-3. The Devils on the other hand are 18-22-2 when their opponents score first.

It didn’t take long for the Devils to tie things up in the middle frame as less than four minutes in Jesper Bratt slid home his 22nd of the season. The goal came of an odd man rush between him and Timo Meier as they played a little bit of give-and-go before Bratt finished the play off.

Things continued to fall apart when Henry Thrun made a costly turnover that fead a Jack Hughes breakaway. Hughes did not miss as he snapped one in between the pads of Kahkonen making it 2-1 with the goal being his 19th of the season.

The Devils got their second power play of the night on a hold by Nikita Okhotiuk and would score as Timo Meier scored against his former team. At least it appeared that way until David Quinn challenged the goal for offside. He’d end up winning that challenge and the Sharks killed off the rest of the penalty.

That 2-1 score didn’t last long as Nico Hischier found a streaking Kevin Bahl who fired home a slap-shot from in close for his first goal of the season.

The Sharks would get a power play of their own later in the period but did not score keeping things at 3-1 heading into the final frame.

For San Jose they only have two wins when trailing after two periods so the odd were definitely not in the home teams favor.

The final period in this one felt like the Sharks from the beginning of the season who would casually give up ten goals a game came back to play. Before the ten minute mark had passed the Devils scored four goals with the third and fourth coming only a minute apart. Colin Miller and Bredan Smith got the first two while Dawson Mercer and Nico Hischier got the next two.

The last goal in this game would be scored by the Sharks as Justin Bailey whipped around and fired one that deflected off of a defender and in.

With the victory the Devils improve to 30-25-4 with 64 points. The loss makes the Sharks record 15-37-5 with 35 points.

The shots in this one favored the Devils at 45-31 while the Sharks went 0/1 on the power play and the Devils went 0/2.

Blackwood would not return to the game as Kahkonen would have to stay in.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Nico Hischier 2nd: Jack Hughes 3rd: Jesper Bratt

The last game of this home stand will be against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Sharks hope to take advantage of struggling New Jersey tonight at SAP

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The San Jose Sharks left winger Alex Barabanov (94) gets some of the Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon’s arm extension (right) at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SJ Sharks podcast with Titus:

#1 The San Jose Sharks just couldn’t figure out the Nashville Predators on Saturday night at SAP Center in San Jose losing in a two game contest 4-2.

#2 The Predators Kiefer Sherwood found the back end of the net twice, the Preds Filip Forsberg scored his 27th goal of the season against San Jose which proved big in the Nashville scoring tally.

#3 Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 23 shots and allowed two goals while the Predators Gustav Nyquist got an empty net goal against San Jose.

#4 The Sharks Filip Zadina and Mikael Granlund scored goals and the Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 31 Nashville shots but it was enough to match the Predators.

#5 The Sharks face the struggling New Jersey Devils tonight here at SAP Center in San Jose and the Sharks hope to take advantage of New Jersey’s downside and get back in the win column.

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Sharks beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sportstalk podcast at Sushi Confidential downtown San Jose Feb26, 2024

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Sushi Confidential at 26 San Pedro Square, downtown San Jose (photo by Sushi Confidential)

Marko Ukalovic (host and San Jose Barracuda beat writer), Titus Wilkinson (San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda beat writer), Troy Ewers (San Jose State Spartans and SJ Sharks beat writer) and Chiranbir Mahal (INDTV USA) with our host owner of Sushi Confidential Restaurant Randy Musterer.

Were podcasting from the Sushi Confidential San Pedro Square location at 26 San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. There are three Sushi Confidential locations here in the South Bay to serve you 247 East Campbell Avenue in downtown Campbell, 17340 Monterey Road Morgan Hill and right here at San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.

Sushi Confidential serves sustainable wild caught California Halibut caught off the coast of Santa Cruz. This is as fresh as it gets. Sushi Confidential offers a full menu made to order of Nigiri Sushi, special rolls, and try a favorite the sticky pork bao buns from the starter menu.

There is so much to choose from hot entrees, salads, ramen, a kids menu, to the eight piece Sushi Confidential rolls. Sushi Confidential with three South Bay locations in Campbell, Morgan Hill and downtown San Jose.

San Jose Sharks Lose Hard Fought Game Against Nashville Predators 4-2

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San Jose Sharks left winger Alex Barabanov (94) gets the puck past the Nashville Predator defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (right) in the first period at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Feb 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, February 24th, 2024

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose Sharks host the Nashville Predators in the SAP Center and the boys in teal look to recover from last game. The Sharks penalty kill had its seven-game streak without allowing a power play goal snapped (Mason Morelli, first period).

Henry Thrun was activated from injured reserve prior to the game and logged one takeaway and one blocked shot in 20:43 time on ice. Mario Ferraro led the Sharks with four blocked shots in a team-high 23:47 time on ice and paces the team in blocked shots this season (148). Mackenzie Blackwood’s four game win streak and five-game point streak (4-0-1) were snapped with the loss.

Slow first period for the Sharks, a lot of time in the offensive zone, but no goals off eight shots. Nashville despite two penalties that they killed off, they scored a goal halfway through the period. After Roman Josi passed to Michael McCarron, McCarron dished a tape to tape assist to Keifer Sherwood, who scored his sixth goal of the season. 1-0 Predators. Sharks down one after one period, but still a lot of opportunities to captialize on. 

Nashville gained another goal in the second period off a power play goal. Henry Thrun got a tripping call 17 minutes into the second and this penalty led to an efficient goal for the Predators. Filip Forsberg hit a wrist shot from the point, assisted by Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist. 2-0 Nashville.

This goal was Forsberg’s 27th goal of the season and 56th point of the season. Sharks gained more opportunities, but Juuse Saros of the Predators was stopping everything.

Last period of the game started off hot for the Sharks. Mikael Granlund kept San Jose in it with a wrist shot past Saros, 2-1 and Sharks were back in the game. Granlund with 31 points over the past 35 games. Nashville didn’t let up off the gas though, Sherwood scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway silencing the crowd, 3-1 Nashville.

Sharks were still fighting early in the third as Filip Zadina scored off a rebound making it 3-2 and the crowd got a hit of adrenaline and momentum had shifted. Right after the Sharks goal, they almost had another line thanks to Anthony Duclair, but after review it was no goal and San Jose was down one goal with 10 minutes left in the game.

The game went down to the final minute, but after an empty net goal with 10 seconds left, fans made their way to the exits and the game was over 4-2 Nashville.

A hard fought game for the Sharks, but Nashville had the game from the beginning. Next game for the Sharks is Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils, who are having a hell of a season, so the hard season keeps getting harder for the boys in teal as the season winds down into the final two months.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks hope to get back in win column tonight against Nashville

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The San Jose Sharks goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (left) looks to defend against the Vegas Golden Knights center Nicolas Roy in second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, In the San Jose Sharks (15-35-5) last game against the Vegas Golden Knights (32-17-6) at SAP Center in San Jose on Mon Feb 19th the Knights put a whooping on San Jose shutting them out 4-0.

#2 The Knights goaltender Logan Thompson got the shutout against the Sharks he stopped all 29 shots. For Thompson it was his fourth career shutout.

#3 The Knights Mason Morelli got a goal and an assist and the win was a season sweep over the Sharks.

#4 The Knights came right out of the gate with three goals in the first period and pretty much just took the Sharks out of their game.

#5 The Sharks host the Nashville Predators tonight at SAP Center in San Jose for a 7pm face off at SAP Center. The Predators are fifth in the Western Conference and have won three straight games and won five of their last ten games. How do you see this match up.

Join Mary Lisa for the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Stadium Series gets TV ratings boost from outdoor games; Canes Andersen is on the way back from blood clotting; plus more news

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TV ratings were up 21% at the Met Life East Rutherford in the NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series on Sat Feb 17 with the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New Jersey Devils and on Sun Feb 18 New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Len, the NHL Stadium Series with the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils on Sat 17th and the New York Rangers and New York Islanders Sun 18th were big hits at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford. Both games combined for 150,000 fans and the TV rating were up 21% from last season’s Stadium Series. ABC TV had 1.37 million viewers and 449,000 in the 18-49 demographic.

#2 Len talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs Austin Matthews he’s been unstoppable on Wednesday night he scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season in 54 games. Matthews also has 24 assists and a total of 75 points. San Ramon’s very own Matthews was born in your neck of the woods Contra Costa County.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings Patrick Kane for the first time this season. Bedard who will face Kane who has won the Stanley Cup three times and looks at it as a challenge and an honor to face one of the best former Blackhawks in history. Face off between the two teams at the United Center in Chicago is Sunday at 6:00pm ET/3:00pm PT.

#4 The Philadelphia Flyers after winning three straight games dropped their next two one to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the second to the New Jersey Devils. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was barking at his players during the Monday morning skate “not enough” and said he wanted “more from everybody” and it looked like it worked as the Flyers who took on the Blackhawks on Wednesday night and played a much tighter game and getting the win 3-1.

#5 The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers have expressed interest in a possible trade for the San Jose Sharks center Luke Kunin and defenseman Mario Ferraro. Ferraro is in the third year of his four year $13 million contract and Kunin is under team control and would be a restricted free agent after this season. The Sharks would get a first rounder from either club.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcast Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Vegas completes season sweep of San Jose with 4-0 victory

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Sharks continued their home stand against one of their most hated rivals the Vegas Golden Knights.

Taking over for San Jose today in goal was Mackenzie Blackwood who’s last start was against Calgary when they got a 6-3 win. For Vegas it was Logan Thompson who heading into this one was sporting a 2.77 GAA and .906 SV%.

If you wanted to classify today’s win in anyway it was clinical. Vegas did what it does best which is play their brand of hockey.

Though funnily enough the game did not start that away as they let San Jose hit the post twice early in the game.

Things looked to be in the home team’s favor until Michael Amadio sprung the zone and Zach Whitecloud hit him with a breakaway pass that he scored on getting his eighth of the season.

Vegas then continued to buzz ragging the puck in the Sharks zone until William Karlsson got the puck out front and stuffed it past Blackwood.

Thing continued to get worse when Jan Rutta took a tripping penalty putting Vegas on the power play 17:30 into the period.

The Golden Knights quickly got set up in the zone and Alex Pietrangelo found Mason Morelli wide open out front who tapped home his first goal career goal in his first NHL game. It was certainly a specail moment for the 28 year old who had toiled away for a longtime in the minors before finally getting his shot. On top of that as well they showed on the broadcast that his family was in attendance who got to celebrate his first career goal in person.

The middle frame saw the Sharks get an early power play but they were able to do little with it as Vegas easily killed it off.

Vegas pretty much did the same thing with the rest of the period as they completely shut down San Jose.

We wouldn’t get a goal until 18:44 in when Keegan Kolesar tapped home a pass from Alex Martinez making it 4-0.

The final period saw no goals as Vegas continued to play their brand of hockey frustrating the Sharks to no end.

In the third San Jose was pretty undisciplined being penalized four times though one of them was at the end of the game.

Thompson did end up recording the shutout making 30 saves which was actually his first shutout of the season.

After the loss San Jose’s record drops to 15-35-5 while Vegas notches it’s 33rd win of the season making their record 33-17-6.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Logan Thompson 2nd: Alex Martinez 3rd: Mason Morelli

San Jose will now have a four day break as they won’t play again until Saturday when they take on Nashville at 7 p.m at SAP Center in San Jose.

NHL Stadium Series game 2 Rangers vs Islanders: Rangers Panarin supplies goal for 6-5win in overtime against Islanders; Game delayed 45 minutes

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The New York Islanders Cal Clutterbuck bring the puck from the back of the net (far right) against the New York Rangers in the NHL Stadium Series at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey on Sun Feb 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jessica Kwong

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Rangers beat their biggest rival, the New York Islanders, in an overtime 6-5 win in game two of the NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium that had similarities to the Super Bowl.

The NHL’s 41st outdoor game at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon was the second of historic back-to-back games at the same venue.

Artemi Panarin made an unassisted shot 10 seconds into overtime to win it for the Rangers.

“The weather was great. Two teams played hard and you know they had their moments, we had our moments,” said Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. “It goes to overtime and obviously it was a big goal for us by Panarin but it was unbelievable.”

At 1:28 into the first period, Erik Gustafsson made a slap shot assisted by Kaapo Kakko and Jonny Brodzinski to put the Rangers up 1-0. A fight broke out on the ice shortly after.

After the Rangers’ first goal, it was all Islanders. At 4:20 in, Brock Nelson made a wrist shot goal, his 23rd of the season, assisted by Scott Mayfield and Cal Clutterbuck to even the score at 2-2. Then Bo Hovart made a wrist shot assisted by Noah Dobson and Adam Pelech at 7:18. Sixteen seconds later, Mathew Barzal had a tip-in power play goal assisted by Nelson and Dobson to boost the Islanders up 3-1.

The Islanders got off to a good start in the second period as well, with Andres Lee making a wrist shot power play goal assisted by Peirre Engvall and Mike Reilly at 1:03 in to extend their lead to 4-1.

The Rangers showed they were far from giving up as Vincent Trocheck made a wrist shot power play goal assisted by Panarin and Adam Fox at 5:36 into the period to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-2. Then at 18:24, Trocheck made a wrist shot assisted by Alexis Lafrèniere and Ryan Lindgren so the Rangers trailed by one point to end the period.

The Islanders started the third period strong too as Alexander Romanov hit a snap shot assisted by Dobson at 1:53 in to put them up 5-3. But Chris Kreider on a 6-on-4 power play made a wrist shot assisted by Panarin and Trocheck at 15:52 into the period to come within one point of the Isles. Then at 18:31 in another 6-on-4 power play, Mika Zibanejad made a slap shot assisted by Fox and Lafrèniere to tie the game at 5-5 and take it into overtime. The rest was history for the Rangers.

“It’s a game we’ve been looking forward to. The atmosphere was incredible and to win in the way we did was incredible,” said Zibanejad of the comeback.

It was a crushing blow for the Isles, who have lost multiple games this season in which they lead. But head coach Patrick Roy

“As a coach, ’cause I’m not a player, I feel good about our game,” he said. “Yes, those penalties at the end hurt us, but we did a lot of good things.”

When the puck dropped around 3:45 p.m. ET, it was 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Attendance was 79,690, exceeding game one of the Stadium Series on Saturday night when the New Jersey Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3. The indie pop band AJR, who are from New York City, performed during the first intermission.

The first-ever back-to-back outdoor games at the same venue was a resounding success for the NHL. From the PreGame fan festival in the middle of tailgating lots to the NHL Stadium Series Park theme that incorporated park elements like grass and paths surrounding the ice rink, it was a larger than life hockey experience that proved that the league is in a spectacular place.

Panarin said he almost cried before the game.

“I had to hold back tears because it was such a spectacle,” he said in Russian. “The support we got from our fans was exactly what we needed to secure the win.”

The Rangers (36-16-3) remain in first place in the Metro division and host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. The Islanders (22-18-14) are fifth in the Metro division and visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Stadium Series game 1 Flyers vs Devils 2/17/24: Devils Hischier nets two goals in 6-3 win over Flyers at Met Life

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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.