The Hockey Gods were certainly smiling on Tampa Sunday evening for the Stadium Series.
As far-fetched as an outdoor game at a fully open Raymond James Stadium in early February seemed, everything fell into place for the 2026 Stadium Series. Unlike the Winter Classic last month in a retractable dome stadium in Miami, the NHL constructed a protective air-conditioned tent on the field around the temporary rink to help keep the area’s warm temperatures and humidity from undercutting the ice when it was under construction.
Stadium Series worked, even the weather
Mother nature cooperated as well, as temperatures dropped from 68 degrees in Tampa on Friday to an unseasonably cold 41.8 degrees by the game’s 7:02 p.m. faceoff, and the area even saw snow flurries for the first time since 2010 overnight Saturday. The cold spell even allowed the tent to be removed a few hours earlier than scheduled, with conditions perfect for the ice.
Despite the fact the temperatures were frigid for the area, the tickets for the tilt between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning were still selling for over $300 heading into the weekend, and an enthusiastic 64,617 crowd filled the first truly outdoor game in the Sunshine State.
The two teams also embraced the spirit of the event, with the Bruins dressed as the original American patriots – the ones who upset the British in 1776 – and the Lightning dressed in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 200 years later – the ones who went winless in the NFL franchise’s first season.
And Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper took the themed attire to another level behind the bench with a Cuban look and a white fedora.
“A tip of a cap, no pun intended to the heritage in Tampa,” Cooper said after the game. “And our staff, we’ve been known to hit Ybor City a little bit and smoke some cigars, as a little staff outing. We thought it was apropos to kind of go down that road and then it grew. It grew into gold chains, and canes, and rings.
“This event doesn’t come around very often, either. It was a part of it, it was a ton of fun.”
Wide open, feisty game
The game itself was a wide open-affair, with the Bruins being staked to a 5-1 lead before taking a parade of penalties – which even a goalie fight – but in the end, the home fans went happy after a 6-5 win decided in a shootout.
Tampa seemed to be poised to run away with the game early, scoring just 11 seconds in, a new record for fastest goal in an outdoor game. But the Bruins took over in the second part of the first, scoring three times to take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Boston came out early in the first half of the second, adding three more for a 5-1 edge halfway through that seemed to be too much for the hosts to handle. But the game turned when the Bruins came unglued with a penalty parade that let the Lightning back in.
Just 33 seconds later, things really got strange when Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy squared off at center ice to get the crowd back into the game, as the league’s first outdoor goalie fight – and just the second overall in two weeks – got a loud ovation from the crowd.
“That was a game-changing moment for our team, and that’s what we needed,’’ Lightning forward Jake Guentzel told reporters. “That was definitely cool to watch.’’
“Fighting the biggest, toughest goalie in the league, so wouldn’t be my first choice. Glad we got the first one out of the way, probably retire after that,” Swayman said afterwards, and gave a goalie hug to his opponent in the handshake line after the contest.
“That’s game respecting game.”
Historic Comeback
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored to cut the deficit to three, and Boston quickly gave Tampa a 5-on-3 with penalties 13 seconds apart. Boston was able to kill most of the 5-on-3, but Sean Kuraly used his hand to play the puck, and that opened the door for the comeback.
With the extended two-man advantage, Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul scored the rare two-man advantage goals just 23 seconds apart, and the chippy contest continued to help the hosts.
Tampa Bay, credited with just 8 shots in the first, threw 22 at Swayman in the second and then outshot Boston 16-5 the rest of the way, with Nikita Kucherov evening the score 5-5 with 8:10 left in regulation.
The Bruins seemed to have won the game in the first minute of overtime, but David Pastrnak was called for slashing and the goal was waved off immediately.
“I have no clue what happened, honestly. Turnover, we got a 2-on-1, the referee has his arm up, is letting [play] go, [Swayman] is going to the bench. Finish the play, score a goal and all of a sudden, I’m in the penalty box,” Pastrnak said afterwards. “I don’t understand. I’ve never seen something like that.”
Thanks to that minor and another late in overtime, the only shot the Bruins had in the extra session didn’t count, and the Lightning outshot the B’s 9-0 in the extra session.
Jake Guentzel scored the only goal in the shootout, with Vasilevskiy ending the game with a save on Pastrnak in the third round.
“It was fun to be part of. The people of Tampa, everything with the crowd and everything around was pretty nice to be part of,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told reporters afterwards. “I give my guys a lot of credit the way they played overall. We take that point, for sure. Just a little disappointed today, but tomorrow will be a different day.”
Does 2026 Stadium Series Revitalize Outdoor Games?
Certainly, the 2026 Stadium Series, which seemed an absurd concept with numerous potential to go sideways, will end up as one of the wildest and most entertaining outdoor events in league history, featuring some back-and-forth and absurd scenes on a field which has hosted Super Bowls, a college football title game and U.S. Soccer events added a new chapter with the unlikely show on ice in a tropical climate.
With the Lightning’s recent success on the ice with a pair of Stanley Cups this decade and a strong push by ownership to make this event happen, it may pave the way for more unusual venues for outdoors as the NHL got lucky with the weather and one of the more entertaining outdoor games in the league’s history.
“It was the game had everything,’’ Cooper told reporters. “It had the weather in a state which doesn’t usually get weather like this. It was a phenomenal atmosphere, perfect ice hockey playing conditions. You had goalie fights, you had 11 goals, you had a shootout. It had everything. That one’s going to go in the memory bank. It was a special occasion.’’
