The Flyers say the Stadium Series was an ‘amazing’ experience but they need to turn the page quickly

Owen Tippett was a bright spot for the Flyers, scoring two goals against the Devils on Saturday night.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ― The eye black was still smeared under his player’s eyes when John Tortorella was asked Saturday night if it was deflating to lose an outdoor game against the New Jersey Devils in front of more than 70,000 people.

“I hope the boys had fun,” the Flyers head coach said after the 6-3 loss at MetLife Stadium. “We lose the game, we move by it. It’s only one game. You have to be really careful here to not make it into more of a thing than just losing a game.”

Flyers dig themselves an early hole, lose 6-3 to Devils in outdoor Stadium Series

The game was played under a night sky but the Flyers still skated with eye black under their helmets. They entered the stadium dressed like Rocky Balboa running through the Italian Market, the coaches stood behind the bench in varsity jackets, and the teams had to wait until the Jonas Brothers finished their set before the game could start. The 70,328 fans at the Stadium Series was the largest crowd to ever watch a Flyers game.

Saturday night did not go as planned for Travis Konecny and the Flyers.

It was the first time most of the Flyers had played in one of the NHL’s signature events and the team’s sixth outdoor game was an event. But Tortorella wanted his team to remember that it counted the same if the game was played in Newark.

“We move by it. We’re thinking of Chicago,” Tortorella said ahead of the Flyers’ visit to the downtrodden Blackhawks on Wednesday. “We’ve played a lot of hockey and we have one game in six nights. I’ve already planned it out. We move by it.”

Winger Owen Tippett, who scored twice, said the atmosphere was “amazing” and did not think the elements altered the play. The temperature (30 degrees at puck drop) was cold enough to not have much effect on the ice. The only difference, Tippett said, was the distance between the boards and the fans with the lower bowl about 20 yards from the rink.

“It’s great to be a part of an event like this,” said goaltender Samuel Ersson. “You kind of have to suck it in when you go out there and enjoy the moment. At the same time, you know you have a job to do and that’s to play a game and that has to be done as well.”

The Flyers outshot the Devils, 48-40, but took two more penalties. They allowed a goal on their first shift, seeming to allow the game to feel bigger than it was. The Flyers showed resolve in the second period and got back to within a goal before the Devils scored twice in an 72-second span to squash that threat.

“We made some mistakes,” Tortorella said. “We had some coverage problems. We certainly weren’t at our best. The chances end up being 25-25. These games end up being shootouts. They think they’re on the pond playing. They score, we don’t. I thought we had some opportunities.”

The loss was the team’s first regulation defeat since January 27, snapping a five-game streak where the Flyers gained at least a point. It was also a chance for the Flyers to increase their lead in the standings over the Devils, who now trail the Flyers by five points for third place in the Metropolitan Division. (New Jersey also has two games in hand.)

For many of the Flyers, outdoor games bring back memories of family and freezing temperatures

“There’s 20-plus games left,” Tortorella said. “We’re not going to get into counting points, four-point games, and all that. We don’t operate like that. We just get ready for our next game.”

That next game is Wednesday against the Blackhawks, who own the NHL’s lowest point total and snapped an eight-game losing skid on Saturday by edging Ottawa, the last-place team in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers will have three days off before playing against hockey’s worst team. It seems like a perfect chance to “move by it” before they host the first-place New York Rangers on Saturday. They can leave the eye black — and the result — in North Jersey.

“That game scares the [crap] out of me. Chicago,” Tortorella said. “I want us ready to play that game. That’s the next game. We’re not going to do the math right now with 25, 26 games left. We don’t operate that way.”

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.