On Sunday, February 18th, 79,690 New York hockey fans gathered at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for day two of the 2024 NHL Stadium Series. The fans were, of course, there to see historically fierce rivals New York Islanders and New York Rangers face off on the outdoor rink in another installment in the Battle of New York. The previous night, division rivals Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils faced off on the ice at MetLife in front of 70,328 members of their combined fanbases. The Flyers vs Devils game ended in a score of 6-3 in favor of the Devils, a far cry from the overtime ending of the Islanders vs Rangers game the following day. Intermission performers for the weekend included the Jonas Brothers and AJR. Additionally, there were appearances from New York Jets and Giants players as well as Islanders alumnists Brian Trottier and Denis Potvin, who announced that the Islanders will be hosting the 2026 NHL All-Star Game at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
After having the time pushed back and pulled forward three times, the puck dropped on the Islanders vs Rangers stadium series game at 3:45 and almost immediately saw a goal from Ranger Erik Gustaffson followed by a fighting penalty for rookie Matt Rempe against veteran Islander Matt Martin. Gustafssons goal was met with three consecutive Islanders goals in the first period by Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, and Mat Barzal. During an intermission interview, Martin, who is known for his reputation as a quick-to-fight enforcer, stated he knew the rookie would be looking for a fight and wanted to get it over with before momentum picked up. The 21 year old rookie is the first NHL player to make their rookie debut in an outdoor game. Goal scorer Brock Nelson is one of only six players, including Martin, who was also on the roster in 2014, which was the last time the Islanders played in an outdoor game. The game in 2014 was also against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. The score at the end of the first was 3-1 Islanders with a cumulative four penalties in the period.
The second period saw a goal from Islanders captain Anders Lee and two from Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck, bringing the Rangers within one goal of the Islanders lead. Play was relatively uninterrupted throughout the period with only two penalties in 20 minutes of play. In the third period, after a goal from Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov and Rangers forward Chris Kreider, Ranger Mika Zibanejad scored on a slap shot on a power play to tie the game at 5-5. Five penalties were served between the teams including roughing on Romanov and Trocheck leading to a heated exchange between the two in the penalty box.
Zibanejad’s goal led the game into overtime where Rangers powerhouse Artemi Panarin scored an unassisted goal 10 seconds into the five-minute three-on-three overtime period. The Rangers win came in a surprise upset as a result of excessive penalties taken by the Islanders throughout the 60 minutes of play. Rangers Trocheck and Panarin were named first and second star of the game with Islanders alternate captain Brock Nelson earning the third star title.
Overall, both the Islanders and the Rangers played 60 productive minutes of hockey in the 2024 Stadium Series game. The Rangers are undefeated against the Islanders in the two outdoor games they have played each other in. They have a 5-0 record in outdoor games over the teams 98 years of existence.
About her experience at the Stadium Series game, a Wantagh High School senior said “The energy of fans from both teams was electric, everyone was just so happy to be there and it showed… It was a close and thrilling game and I think every fan there felt lucky to experience it live.” She added that she and her friends in attendance, all rooting for the Rangers, befriended Islanders fans in the seats around them and noticed fans of both teams talking and smiling with each other the whole day.
The Islanders and the Rangers face off again on March 17th, the first indoor regular season game the teams will play against each other since December 22, 2022, 451 days before the upcoming game as a result of controversial scheduling in the last two seasons.