Players from the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers channeled the spirit of local cult heroes ahead of their NHL Stadium Series showdown.
The Flyers stars appeared at Saturday’s game dressed as the fictional Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa in the famous film series.
The team wore matching gray sweatshirts and black hats, with white towels around their necks and white tape wrapped around their hands, much like how Balboa looked when he trained for his fights in the movies.
The Devils players, on the other hand, showed up to work in colorful tracksuits, white t-shirts and jewelry around their necks, resembling characters from The Sopranos. The iconic series revolves around Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mobster.
Devils players Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt even posed for photos sipping cups of espresso as if they were drinking outside the iconic Satriale’s Pork Store.
Philadelphia Flyers players dressed up as Rocky Balboa before Saturday’s game.
New Jersey Devils players appeared channeling the spirit of The Sopranos
The teams are scheduled to meet in the NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium.
The iconic series revolves around Tony Soprano (second from left), a New Jersey mobster.
The 29-19 Flyers and 27-22 Devils will meet at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night.
Players from both teams, as well as those from the New York Rangers, were seen testing out the newly installed ice Thursday night in preparation for the highly anticipated Stadium Series games.
“You never know where these games are going,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said.
“There’s a lot of things that happen around the players. My job is just to get the team ready to play after they’re done with their families, just get them ready to play. A very important game for us.”
During the two teams’ previous matchup, the Devils earned a hard-fought 4-3 overtime victory on November 30.