The New York Rangers Are Set To Play Their Fifth Outdoor Game In The 2024 NHL Stadium Series at Metlife Stadium

The New York Rangers are 4-0 in Outdoor Games in franchise history. They will be taking on the New York Islanders for the second time in an outdoor setting come February 2024 when these two rivals meet at Metlife Stadium.

As reported by David Pagnotta, the New York Rangers will be involved in a set of Stadium Series games next season, also featuring the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. 

Outdoor games have been very kind to the New York Rangers. They have participated in two Winter Classics and two Stadium Series games, winning all four of those contests. 

Their first outdoor game came in 2012 when they went into the city of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. This was the "Mike Rupp game" as the Rangers fourth-liner tallied two goals, helping the team erase a 2-0 deficit and leading them to a 3-2 victory. 

As memorable as Rupp's goals were, the moment that stands out from that 2012 game is Henrik Lundqvist's game-saving stop on a penalty shot by Daniel Briere in the final minute of the heated battle. 

Ranger fans didn't have to wait very long for the next outdoor game, as two years later, New York would not only get one, but they would play two games at Yankee Stadium. One against the Devils and another against the Islanders in the 2014 NHL Stadium Series. 

First, the Rangers would take on New Jersey in what would be a completely dominant effort from the eventual President's trophy-winning Rangers group. New York erased yet another two-goal deficit in an outdoor game, coming back from down 3-1 and scoring six straight goals to defeat their Hudson River rival by the score of 7-3. Mats Zuccarello tallied twice and Derek Stepan would add insult to injury for the Devils with a beautiful penalty shot snipe on Cory Schneider. 

Three nights later, the Rangers would take on the New York Islanders in what was a much tighter game. Once again, the Rangers played from behind, but were able to come back from down 1-0 and win the game by the score of 2-1, thanks to a game-winning goal by the unsung hero, Daniel Carcillo. 

After playing in Yankee Stadium in 2014, the Rangers had the opportunity to play at the other ballpark in New York, Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets in the 2018 NHL Winter Classic as they welcomed the Buffalo Sabres into Queens. 

Rather than playing from behind yet again, this time it was the Rangers who saw a two-goal lead disappear as the Sabres would force this game into overtime. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, considering that the Rangers would be rewarded with a power play in overtime, setting up a very memorable game-winning goal by J.T. Miller, to give the club their fourth straight win in outdoor games. 

Despite playing in four of these games already, this will be the first time that the New York Rangers will play in an NFL stadium, as the previous games were all in MLB ballparks. 

Metlife Stadium is going to be an excellent venue for a game like this considering the fact that New York Giants and Jets fans already know how to tailgate, so it will be an easy adjustment for the diehards in the parking lot. 

It's pretty neat that the last time the Rangers and Islanders played one another in an outdoor game will be a full decade by the time this game gets played. 

There haven't been many details released about the game. All we know is that it will be Rangers vs. Islanders in February of 2024. I will provide more details once they become available, but this is certainly something to look forward to for next season.