The Tampa Bay Lightning delivered a comeback for the ages under the open sky on Saturday night, rallying from a four-goal deficit to stun the Boston Bruins 6-5 in a shootout in the NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium.
Nikita Kucherov scored the tying goal late in the third period and Jake Guentzel netted the lone goal in the shootout as Tampa Bay erased a 5-1 deficit to claim the dramatic victory in front of 64,617 fans. The comeback was the largest in NHL outdoor game history and the biggest rally in Lightning franchise history.
Kucherov capped a dominant night with a goal and three assists, completing the comeback with a blistering one-timer from the left circle with 8:10 remaining in regulation. Brandon Hagel added a goal and two assists, while Oliver Bjorkstrand, Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul all scored power-play goals after the Lightning fell behind by four in the second period. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 29 shots and was perfect in the shootout to seal the win.
The game’s turning point came in unforgettable fashion during the second period, when Vasilevskiy and Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman dropped the gloves at center ice, marking the first goalie fight in outdoor game history. The Lightning pointed to the fight as the emotional spark that ignited their rally while trailing 5-2.
Boston appeared to have the game in hand early. Hagel ignited the crowd just 11 seconds into the contest with the fastest goal in NHL outdoor game history, but the Bruins responded with five straight goals. Alex Steeves, Morgan Geekie and Viktor Arvidsson scored within a 7:39 span to give Boston a 3-1 lead after the first period. Matthew Poitras added a backhand goal early in the second, and Geekie notched his second of the game at 8:18 to make it 5-1.
Bjorkstrand finally slowed the momentum at 10:28 of the second period, and the Lightning surged from there. Tampa Bay struck twice on five-on-three power plays just 23 seconds apart, with Raddysh extending his goal streak to four games — a franchise record for a defenseman — before Paul tapped in a pass from Guentzel to pull the Lightning within one at 5-4.
Boston thought it had won the game in overtime when David Pastrnak scored at 4:38, only for the goal to be waved off due to a slashing penalty on Pastrnak against J.J. Moser. Pastrnak was visibly upset and confused by the call from referee Jon McIsaac, sending the game to a shootout.
In the skills competition, Guentzel beat Swayman for the decisive goal, while Vasilevskiy turned aside all Boston attempts.
Geekie led the Bruins with two goals and three points, while Arvidsson, Steeves and Poitras also scored. Charlie McAvoy recorded two assists, and Swayman finished with 41 saves in the loss. Despite the setback, Boston entered the game having gone 10-1-2 in its previous 13 contests.
Played in 41.8-degree Fahrenheit (5.44 Celsius) conditions at puck drop, the night delivered everything expected from an outdoor showcase — historic moments, controversy, and a stunning comeback that will be remembered as one of the most dramatic games in NHL Stadium Series history.
