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NHL Stadium Series
National Hockey League
First playedJanuary 25, 2014
Times held11
Teams participated14
Most appearances3:
Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins,
New York Rangers
Most recent 2024

The Stadium Series is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic played on New Year's Day in a different NHL city every year, and the NHL Heritage Classic (played occasionally at different Canadian stadiums). Games in the Stadium Series have been held in either late January, February, or early March in a football or baseball stadium in the United States. The first Stadium Series was held in 2014 and consisted of seven teams participating in four games held in three venues. In 2015, only one game in the Stadium Series was held, while in 2016 and in 2024, two games were held. [1] [2] From 2017 to 2023 and again in 2025, only one game was scheduled per year. [3]

List of games

Dodger Stadium being prepped for the NHL's inaugural game of the Stadium Series in January 2014
  • Bolded teams denote winners
  • Italicized games are yet to be played
Year Date Primary team at venue Venue Location Visiting team Home team Score Attendance
2014 January 25 Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA Anaheim Ducks Los Angeles Kings 3–0 54,099
January 26 New York Yankees Yankee Stadium New York City, NY New York Rangers New Jersey Devils 7–3 50,105
January 29 New York Rangers New York Islanders 2–1 50,027
March 1 Chicago Bears Soldier Field Chicago, IL Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Blackhawks 1–5 62,921
2015 February 21 [4] San Francisco 49ers Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, CA Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks 2–1 70,205
2016 [1] February 21 Minnesota Golden Gophers TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN Chicago Blackhawks Minnesota Wild 1–6 50,426
February 27 Colorado Rockies Coors Field Denver, CO Detroit Red Wings Colorado Avalanche 5–3 50,095
2017 [5] February 25 Pittsburgh Steelers Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 67,318
2018 [6] March 3 Navy Midshipmen Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals 2–5 29,516
2019 [7] February 23 Philadelphia Eagles Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh Penguins Philadelphia Flyers 3–4 (OT) 69,620
2020 February 15 Air Force Falcons Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Los Angeles Kings Colorado Avalanche 3–1 43,574
2022 February 26 Tennessee Titans Nissan Stadium [8] Nashville, TN Tampa Bay Lightning Nashville Predators 3–2 68,619
2023 February 18 NC State Wolfpack Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC [9] Washington Capitals Carolina Hurricanes 1–4 56,961
2024 February 17 New York Giants & New York Jets MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ Philadelphia Flyers New Jersey Devils 3–6 70,328
February 18 New York Rangers New York Islanders 6–5 (OT) 79,690
2025 March 1 Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Detroit Red Wings Columbus Blue Jackets N/A N/A

Uniforms

The uniforms worn in the Stadium Series are unique in that they feature enlarged logos, letters and numbers in order to increase visibility for spectators who sit in the upper deck seats. Whereas the Winter Classic and Heritage Classic focused on vintage hockey uniform designs intended on celebrating ice hockey history, the Stadium Series focused on more futuristic and experimental looks showcasing the modernization of the sport.

While a majority of the participating teams were able to create radically new looks for the event, the New Jersey Devils in the 2014 Stadium Series refused to do so, instead wearing their throwback red and green uniforms during the game. This was due to general manager Lou Lamoriello's refusal to adopt the third jersey trend at the time. However, for their 2024 Stadium Series appearance, the Devils wore a different uniform design akin to the game itself, having embraced the third jersey concept following Lamoriello's departure in 2015.

Broadcasters

United States

In the United States, the Stadium Series was broadcast on NBC Sports from 2014 to 2020, as they held the U.S. national NHL rights during that period. NBC aired the majority of the Stadium Series games on Saturday nights; the exceptions being the 2014 Ducks–Kings game in Dodger Stadium (aired on NBCSN), the 2014 Islanders–Rangers game in Yankee Stadium (held on Wednesday night on NBCSN), and the 2015 Kings–Sharks game in Levi's Stadium (aired on NBCSN).

From 2022 to 2028, the U.S. national rights are split between the ESPN family of networks and TNT, with the former producing the weekend Hockey Saturday package on ABC. Scheduling conflicts have largely dictated which of the two broadcasters have aired Stadium Series games. The 2022 game aired on TNT, marking a return to cable television for the first time since 2015, while ABC was committed to airing the NBA on that day. In 2023 and 2024, the Stadium Series was scheduled at the same time as TNT's broadcasts of NBA All-Star Weekend, thus ESPN/ABC has covered these games.

Canada

In Canada, the first two 2014 Stadium Series games were aired on CBC, while TSN simulcast NBCSN's broadcast of the Islanders–Rangers game. The Penguins–Blackhawks game did not air in Canada due to CBC's prior commitment to broadcast a Canadiens–Maple Leafs game. Since the 2014–15 season, Sportsnet has been the sole rightsholder of NHL national games in Canada, taking over Hockey Night in Canada in a sublicensing agreement with CBC. However, with the exception of the 2015 game, Sportsnet has generally simulcast the American broadcast feed of the Stadium Series. They would still provide their own broadcast crew if a Canadian team is involved, as was the case in 2018 with the Maple Leafs–Capitals game.

References

  1. ^ a b Masisak, Corey (24 January 2015). "National Hockey League announces 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and two 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series Games". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Devils to play Flyers, Rangers against Islanders at 2024 Stadium Series". NHL.com. June 3, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "2025 Winter Classic features Blackhawks, Blues in return to Wrigley Field". NHL. NHL. February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sharks, Kings to play in 2015 NHL Stadium Series". Sports Illustrated. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Fans Brave Dropping Temperatures For NHL Stadium Series Game". KDKA-TV. February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Khurshudyan, Isabelle (May 27, 2017). "Capitals expected to play in outdoor game at Naval Academy next season". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  7. ^ Philadelphia Flyers (November 19, 2017). "2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series Announced". PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "NHL Announces 2021-22 Outdoor Games and 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend" (Press release). NHL. June 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "2023 NHL Stadium Series opponent, date announced". NHL.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.