The 2026 NHL Season has already been one to remember, highlighted by tons of fantastic rookies, the emergence of new expansion teams and now the exciting annual Stadium Series. On Feb. 1, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins faced off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The electric evening kicked off with Tampa Bay Lightning players arriving to the game in fashion, wearing the jerseys of the neighboring Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team. As for the Boston Bruins, they also dressed for the occasion, paying tribute to the New England Patriots in full-on patriot costumes. With 64,617 fans in attendance, this game was bound to be one to remember.
6:30 arrives, puck drop. The game starts out hot, 11 seconds in, the Lightning take a quick 1-0 lead with a Brandon Hagel snap shot. The remainder of the first period takes a sharp turn, with the momentum entirely shifting to Boston as they score 3 unanswered goals. The buzzer rings, and the zamboni trudges onto the ice as the first intermission begins, 3-1 Boston.
As the second period begins, Matthew Poitras scores early, before Morgan Geekie follows him up to give Boston a commanding 5-1 lead. Shortly after, the Lightning finally get something in their favor, as Oliver Bjorkstrand lights the lamp, getting Tampa back in the scoresheet at 5-2. With the Lightning down 5-2, a momentum shift was bound to happen. A rare and historic goalie fight breaks out at center ice between Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was the first goalie fight in NHL outdoor game history, and surely a thriller as the two traded blows. Ultimately, Vasilevskiy got the upper hand before officials separated them.
After the goalies finished each other off, the game continued, as Vasilevskiy’s victory proved to be a major momentum shifter. The Lightning scored a pair of five-on-three power-play goals just 23 seconds apart, putting the game at 5-4. One of the scorers, Darren Raddysh, Tampa defenseman, recorded a goal for the fourth consecutive game to set a franchise record. With about 8:10 left in regulation, Nikita Kucherov tied the game at 5, shocking all 60,000 fans in attendance. The buzzer rang: onto overtime.
Shortly into the overtime period, Bruins superstar David Pastrnak scored the go-ahead goal to shut down the Lightning’s incredible comeback; however, it was called back due to a late penalty. The teams went back and forth, both goalies continuing their historic nights, until it was time for a shootout. Jake Guentzel scored the lone shootout goal, giving Tampa Bay a 6-5 victory in stunning fashion.
This stadium series proved to be one for the ages as Tampa Bay completed its largest comeback in franchise history after trailing by four goals into the second period. The goalie fight between Swayman and Vasilevskiy, which has only happened 43 times since 1954, seemed to be the turning point that swung momentum toward Tampa Bay. As for the takeaways from the game, with the win the Lightning take a commanding lead in the Atlantic Division, while the Bruins remain in fifth, battling for a playoff spot.
