Ranking NHL Stadium Series games based on venue, hype, more

Greg Wyshynski, ESPNFeb 17, 2024, 07:05 AM ET

CloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

What’s the difference between the NHL Stadium Series and the Winter Classic, besides their spots on the calendar?

Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer, has said there’s an aesthetic difference between the two.

“The Winter Classic is more traditional, historic. It’s got that touch of snow — whether it’s real or fake,” he said. “The Stadium Series is a little more modern. Colorful, graphic-oriented, interactive.”

But there’s also a spiritual difference. The Winter Classic is usually marinated in nostalgia. Mayer said the Stadium Series — in execution, venue and participants — can be a bit more “progressive” by comparison.

“It’s where we do a lot of future thinking,” he said.

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That thinking has produced some of the most memorable outdoor games in NHL history during the Stadium Series, which began in 2014 and continues this weekend at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, as the New Jersey Devils face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+) and the New York Rangers play the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+).

But not every Stadium Series game has hit the bullseye, usually for reasons outside of the NHL’s control.

Here’s a subjective ranking of the Stadium Series games and their relative greatness. We’ve assigned a score of 1 to 10 in four categories for each outdoor game. There’s environment, which covers the novelty of the venue and the elements that challenged teams during the game; there’s hype, which covers the buzz leading up to the Stadium Series, as well as the allure of the teams involved; there’s the game itself, and whether it was competitive, boring or rendered unwatchable by the conditions; and finally style, as we consider how good the teams looked in their Stadium Series gear.

We’re counting down from 13 to 1, beginning with a trip to the State of Hockey:

Environment: 5
Hype: 4
Game:…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39539709/nhl-stadium-series-rankings-games-opponents-style-hype-venue

Author : Greg Wyshynski

Publish date : 2024-02-17 12:36:04

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