The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted their first outdoor home game on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium as a part of the 2026 Stadium Series with the Boston Bruins at the other end of the rink.
Victor Hedman returned to the lineup, although since head coach Jon Cooper didn’t want to rush him back into heavy minutes, the Lightning entered the night with seven defensemen and 11 forwards.
The excitement throughout the Lightning organization was overwhelming ahead of the puck drop, and it quickly continued into the game itself. Brandon Hagel got the Lightning on the board instantly, scoring just 11 seconds into the first period. The goal was the fastest in an outdoor game in NHL history.
Dominic James accidentally caught Charlie McAvoy up high on the follow-through of a shot just under five minutes into the opening frame, giving the Lightning their first penalty kill of the night. Just five seconds into the penalty kill, Viktor Arvidsson took down Ryan McDonagh with a trip, resulting in some four-on-four hockey.
The Lightning went back to the penalty kill shortly after the four-on-four expired, as Pontus Holmberg tripped up David Pastrnak. The Lightning successfully killed off the penalty, but Boston wouldn’t take much longer to get their equalizer. Following a turnover, Alex Steeves beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-1.
Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman made a big glove save on Oliver Bjorkstrand to keep the game tied with just under six minutes remaining in the period.
Morgan Geekie deflected a McAvoy shot past Vasilevskiy with 4:24 remaining in the first, scoring his 31st goal of the year and giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
Jake Guentzel was called for the Lightning’s third penalty of the night when he tripped Matthew Poitras. Viktor Arvidsson made it 3-1 with a deflection a minute into the penalty, again off of a McAvoy shot. The Bruins would carry their lead into the first intermission.
Poitras would extend the Bruins’ lead early in the second period, making it 4-1 just two and a half minutes into the middle frame. Geekie scored his second of the night near the midway point of the second period, extending the Bruins’ lead to 5-1.
About a minute or so later, the Lightning got a power play opportunity when Charlie McAvoy was penalized for roughing.
The Lightning scored on the power play, and Mark Kastelic immediately started a major scrum resulting in another Lightning power play. The goal was scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand, cutting the Lightning’s deficit to 5-2.
After Hagel crashed the net and got his stick stuck in Jeremy Swayman’s pads, Swayman retaliated with a high swipe. In response, Vasilevskiy came down the ice and there was a rare goalie fight between the two. They both were given five minutes for fighting, while Hagel was called for slashing and McAvoy was penalized for roughing. Bjorkstrand served Vasilevskiy’s penalty, while Mikey Eyssimont served Swayman’s.
The Bruins then killed off the remainder of Kastelic’s penalty.
Swayman was again called for a penalty with just under six minutes remaining in the period, as he knocked the puck over the glass and out of play. This time, it was served by Arvidsson. Jake Guentzel was hauled down by Tanner Jeannot 12 seconds into the penalty, giving the Lightning a key five-on-three power play.
The Lightning were running out of time on the five-on-three when Sean Kuraly closed his hand on the puck resulting in another penalty for Boston. Immediately after Kuraly’s penalty, Darren Raddysh scored to make it 5-3.
The Lightning scored again before the five-on-three ended, as Nick Paul tipped a Guentzel pass into the back of the net, making it a one-goal hockey game. Tampa Bay also still had a minute and a half left on the power play following the back-to-back power play goals.
The Bruins killed off the remainder of Kuraly’s penalty, but Holmberg nearly tied things up with a minute remaining in the period. Swayman made a big save to deny the Swedish forward.
Early in the third period, it was announced that Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli would not return to the game following a collision in the first period. The injury, as well as Cooper’s decision to run with seven defensemen, left the Lightning with only 10 forwards as they looked to complete the comeback.
Nikita Kucherov scored with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, tying the game at 5-5.
Neither side would break the deadlock before time expired, as a result, the game went to overtime.
Boston celebrated after the puck found the back of the net 22 seconds into overtime, but the goal didn’t count as David Pastrnak was called for slashing. Instead of the Bruins walking away with a victory, they went to the penalty kill.
Swayman made two quick saves on Bjorkstrand and Raddysh respectively. Kucherov then hit the post moments before the penalty expired. Ultimately though, Boston would kill off the penalty.
Kucherov got a breakaway with 30 seconds remaining but was denied by Swayman. On the following faceoff, Hampus Lindholm was called for hooking, giving the Lightning a power play until the end of overtime. In the end, the power play wouldn’t matter as the Lightning ran out of time and the game went to a shootout.
Swayman stopped Gage Goncalves while Casey Mittelstadt was also denied by Vasilevskiy in the first round. Kucherov was next for the Lightning, and he also failed to beat Swayman. Fraser Minten was the second shooter for Boston, and Vasilevskiy made another save.
Jake Guentzel was the Lightning’s shooter in the third round and he scored, putting the pressure on Boston. Pastrnak had the chance to keep the Bruins alive, but he hit the post. The Lightning came from four goals behind to win in phenomenal fashion, with a final score of 6-5.