The Rangers and Islanders made the most of their arrivals for Sunday’s Stadium Series, paying homage to local police officers and firefighters as they showed up to MetLife Stadium.
Dressed in blue NYPD and red FDNY sweaters, the Rangers rode up to the stadium on fire trucks behind old-timey police cars.
The players then walked into the stadium alongside members of the NYPD and FDNY hockey teams who were dressed in their service uniforms.
“I’m not sure whose idea it was, but I thought it came together great,” Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow said Sunday of the entrance. “It was great meeting those guys. Obviously, we all know what they do for our community and it was great to share that moment with them.”
An honor to share this moment with you, @NYPDnews and @FDNY. pic.twitter.com/B1FJVehADj
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 18, 2024
The Islanders, too, showed up to MetLife in police cars and fire trucks from different Long Island departments. Those included stations in East Meadow, Commack and Greenlawn.
Islanders players did not don special sweaters to walk into the stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and instead wore suits.
“I want to say thank you to the policemen and the fire department for supporting us in this event,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said before Sunday’s game. “I think the players are very thrilled about this.”
Sunday marked the Rangers’ fourth time playing outdoors during the regular season and their first time since 2018.
The Rangers entered Sunday 4-0 in outdoor games, with one of the previous matchups coming in 2014 against the Islanders at Yankee Stadium. That 2-1 Rangers win marked the Islanders’ lone outdoor regular season game before Sunday’s. Neither team had played previously at MetLife Stadium.
The Rangers entered Sunday on a six-game win streak and atop the Metropolitan Division at 35-16-3. The Islanders, meanwhile, had lost two in a row and began the day in fifth place in the division at 22-18-13.
Sunday’s game was the second of this weekend’s Stadium Series. The Devils beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3, on Saturday at MetLife.
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