Before relocating to New Jersey, the only notable confrontation between these two franchises occurred in the 1978 Stanley Cup preliminary round where the Flyers swept the previously-located Colorado Rockies (NHL) in two games.

The series was considered an upset, as the Devils were the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, while the Flyers had made a dramatic improvement to end their five-year playoff drought by winning the division and the second seed in the East,[3] and were led by eventual Hart Memorial Trophy winner, captain Eric Lindros.

They would meet once again in the 2000 Eastern Conference finals; this time, the Flyers blew a 3–1 series lead over the Devils, including losing three of the four games played in Philadelphia.

The Flyers finally defeated the Devils in the playoffs in 2003–04 when they eliminated the defending Cup champs four games to one in the 2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The Flyers also defeated the Devils in the 2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, again four games to one,[4] en route to the Stanley Cup Finals.

During the overtime period, Flyers forward Simon Gagne attempted to a score a goal that hit the crossbar.

The teams met in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals, with the Flyers being heavily favored after dismantling Stanley Cup favorite Pittsburgh in the first round.

However, the trend of defeating the Flyers en route to winning the Stanley Cup was broken when the Los Angeles Kings, coincidentally featuring former Flyers Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Justin Williams, Jeff Carter and John Stevens defeated the Devils 4–2 to win their first Stanley Cup.

Coupled with poor performance on the ice (missing the playoffs three out of four seasons) and attendance figures near the bottom of the league, the Devils suspended operations in July 2011.

For several years, the American Hockey League had a rivalry between the Adirondack Red Wings and Capital District Islanders/Albany River Rats, both served by Interstate 87.