In a game that made NHL history on Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning treated 65,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium attending the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series to one of the best comeback wins in franchise history.
Brandon Hagel opened the scoring 11 seconds in for the fastest start to any NHL outdoor game, and the teams combined to score nine goals over the first two periods of play.
Tampa Bay went on to overcome a 5-1 disadvantage and earn a 6-5 shootout win. Tampa Bay tied the game on a Nikita Kucherov goal in the third period, the lone score of the frame, before winning in a shootout on Jake Guentzel's goal in the third round.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists to lead the Lightning, and the Bruins were led by Morgan Geekie’s two goals and one helper.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves and fought Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman in the second period. Swayman finished with 41 stops.
Tampa Bay returns to Benchmark International Arena for Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Scoring summary
First period
TBL 1, BOS 0
0:11 Brandon Hagel (26) - Nikita Kucherov, Darren Raddysh
Brandon Hagel gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead only 11 seconds into Sunday’s game with a top-shelf shot, the fastest goal to start an outdoor game in NHL history.
TBL 1, BOS 1
11:23 Alex Steeves (9) Michael Eyssimont
Boston got the tying goal shortly after a Lightning turnover, scoring on a shot from the right circle.
BOS 2, TBL 1
Morgan Geekie (31) - Charlie McAvoy, Jonathan Aspirot
The Bruins took their first lead of the game late in the first period on a redirection by forward Morgan Geekie.
BOS 3, TBL 1
18:03 Viktor Arvidsson (14) - McAvoy, Geekie - PP
Another netfront redirection, this time on a power play chance, extended the Bruins’ advantage.
Shots on goal: BOS 20, TBL 8
Second period
BOS 4, TBL 1
2:22 Matthew Poitras (1) - Mark Kastelic
A backhand shot from forward Matthew Poitras added to the Bruins lead in the middle frame.
BOS 5, TBL 1
8:18 Geekie (32) - David Pastrank, Marat Khusnutdinov
A 3-on-1 rush for the Bruins leaned the goal count further on Geekie’s second marker of the game.
BOS 5, TBL 2
10:28 Oliver Bjorkstrand (8) - Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel - PP
Tampa Bay notched a goal on the power play midway through the second period, this score coming off the tape of Oliver Bjorkstrand when he roofed a loose puck near the net.
BOS 5, TBL 3
15:50 Raddysh (16) - Nikita Kucherov, Hagel - PP
Darren Raddysh’s slap shot from the point gave another power-play goal to the Lightning to keep the momentum going.
BOS 5, TBL 4
16:13 Nick Paul (6) - Guentzel, Kucherov - PP
Tampa Bay scored a third straight power-play goal when forward Nick Paul won a battle for positioning in front of the Boston net and got his stick on a pass from Jake Guentzel to beat Swayman.
Shots on goal: TBL 22, BOS 9
Third period
TBL 5, BOS 5
11:50 Kucherov (28) - Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak
Tampa Bay tied the game on a Kucherov one-timer from the right circle.
Shots on goal: TBL 7, BOS 5
Overtime
None.
Shootout
TBL: Guentzel
Total shots: TBL 46, BOS 34
