Sights & Sounds from the most epic game in Lightning history 

The word “epic” tends to get thrown around too often and too casually these days.

But Sunday night’s game at Raymond James Stadium was the definition.

From now on, when considering using the word "epic" for anything, you have to stop and ask yourself, “Is this on the same level as the 2026 Stadium Series between the Lightning and the Bruins?” And if it’s not, just let it be. Find a new word.

Everything surrounding Tampa Bay’s 6-5 shootout win over Boston—both on and off the ice—was like something out of an SNL “Stefon” playbook. The game had everything. Pirates, fireworks, colonials in tricorn hats, coaches in feathered fedoras, goalies punching each other, and the fastest goal in Stadium Series history.

Naturally, all of this called for a round of Sights & Sounds: a log of obscure thoughts and observations from everything Stadium Series had to offer. Which it turns out, was more than anyone imagined.

The Bolts arrive as the Bucs

Stadium Series has a rich history of its players arriving to the game in extravagant outfits. The Bolts did this in 2022, when they arrived to Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in nothing but the people’s cloth. And they did so again on Sunday, hopping off an Ybor City trolley led by Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs in full-on Buccaneers cosplay.

This is arguably the funniest way possible to arrive to a hockey game. It’s not often you get to see a hockey roster’s natural hodgepodge of big guys, small guys, lean guys and jacked guys fully suited in NFL pads and uniforms. This is basically what football teams looked like in the 1960s, when coaches ran the power sweep to dynamic backs like Ryan McDonagh. The biggest exception is Nick Paul, who looks like he’s about to Ronde Barber the hell out of somebody at strong safety.

Two minutes for boarding? Say hello to Jon Cooper’s little friend.

In even better news, the Lightning coaching staff decided to arrive to the game in a little themed garb of their own: open-collar pinstriped suits and fedoras—a nod to Ybor City’s cigar merchants of the 1920s thanks to Bespoke & Co.'s David Kahn. A little before puck drop, I got a text from a friend hoping Cooper would actually coach the entire game in the suit. The answer was yes. Yes, he did.

Can you imagine as a player having to take sincere instruction from Jon Cooper wearing this ensemble? Or does the first intermission locker room speech hit even harder? Or what about a ref getting an earful as loud as the gold medallions? I can’t wait to tell my grandkids that this is what hockey coaches used to dress like back in my day.

The Pats chants were inevitable

A few Boston fans in attendance had a tough time compartmentalizing their sports teams Sunday night, perhaps forgetting that the Super Bowl is actually next Sunday in Santa Clara. To be fair, I’d also get confused if the team I was facing showed up as a literal football team. Hopefully nobody was too disappointed to find a hockey rink inside the stadium.

The National Anthem

When you’re performing the national anthem under a full moon, fireworks and 64,617 fans in a once-in-a-lifetime setting, you really just need to be solid to create an unforgettable moment. Hit the notes, manage the clock, go win the pregame. Hunter Hayes did exactly that as the Lightning and Bruins turned their attention to the American flag. And I learned that your body can still get the chills while already freezing its arse off.

The field-size pirate map also took hold in person. Multiple times throughout the game I found myself wondering how on earth anyone could make a map this enormous or, frankly, build any of this at all. It was mesmerizing.

What a bizarre, surreal and incredible job from everyone involved to make this event as big of a spectacle as it turned out to be. There were so many variables at play leading up to this weekend and this game. Somehow, the aesthetic surpassed the hype.

The fastest opening goal in Stadium Series history

11 seconds after puck drop, Brandon Hagel stumbled into space in the Bruins zone off a feed from Nikita Kucherov and let one rip for the first goal of the game. No music sounded off, no pyrotechnics launched into the night sky. Not a single person was prepared for that quick of a score. Not even the Lightning.

The post-pageantry lull

Shortly after Hagel’s opener sent the crowd into a frenzy, the game settled down and momentum shifted toward Boston. The Bruins outshot the Lightning 20 to 8 in the first period. The cold set into the stands. The home crowd went quiet. As the Bruins upped their lead to two, to three, to four, everyone started remembering they were running on fumes from Gasparilla the day prior. And to make matters worse, the stadium ran out of spiked hot chocolates before Tim McGraw could play the first intermission. The Bolts were in dire need of a spark and a little bit of black magic.

FIIIIIIIIIIGHT

With 8:59 left in the second period and the Bolts down 5-2, Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman took exception to Hagel trying to poke a puck loose after a save. Swayman launched onto Hagel, causing a melee behind the net. That’s when the Big Cat got involved. Andrei Vasilevskiy skated out to center ice and Swayman accepted the challenge. Goalie fight.

“Vasy-Swayman I” was a turning point in the game—and the coolest sporting moment I have ever seen live. The stadium erupted. The cameras rumbled. The only thing missing was Lil’ Scrappy’s “Knuck If You Buck” playing over the Ray Jay loud speakers. I thought John Cena might run in shirtless at any given moment.

Over on the broadcast, the ESPN crew let a single P.K. Subban line handle the play-by-play: “This is crazy.”

After the game, Vasy and Swayman were all gamesmanship.

“It's one of the biggest moments for me, because I never fought in the NHL," Vasilevskiy said. "Big thanks to him. He was great in the net all game and great in the fight as well."

"I'm fighting the biggest, toughest goalie in the league,” Swayman added. “It wouldn't be my first choice, but glad we got the first one out of the way. Probably retire after that."

Kucherov was a little less subtle about his feelings toward the scrap, dropping a gem of a quote that I had to make sure wasn’t AI before publishing:

"I knew he was going to beat the wheels off of Swayman right away," Kucherov said. "We call him 'White Tyson' now."

Update: [whitetyson.com is now a real website that exists.]

The comeback

It’s hard to tell whether the Bruins simply blew their chances, or they were so concerned with Jon Cooper whacking them after the game that they thought it was better safe than sorry. But 11 Boston penalties brought on three power-play goals on eight chances, allowing the Bolts to regain control of the driver’s seat for the rest of the game.

The late rally was a smorgasbord of typical Lightning goals. Nick Paul tip-ins, Darren Raddysh lasers, Kucherov snipers, Jake Guentzel game-winners—there was a little something on the menu for all. Everybody ate good, including the fans, who were treated to an overtime shootout to settle the evening as dramatically as possible. And as with any good meal, at least around these parts, it ended with a victory cigar.