The Best Costumes We Saw at the Lightning’s Halloween Game, Ranked

The Tampa Bay Lightning toppled the Winnipeg Jets 6-4 Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena courtesy of a four-goal second period and a four-point night from Bolts forward Pontus Holmberg.

The night's contest was a high-scoring affair that saw its fair share of scares for the Lightning, as the Jets staged a furious comeback in the third period that almost saw the Bolts squander the lead. Of course, the public can now assume these were merely staged theatrics—all part of the Lightning’s esteemed annual Halloween Game. (The Lightning’s in-game presentation team is award-winning for good reason.)

But the frights on the ice are not what we're here to talk about. Throughout the crowd, droves of Bolts fans showed out in their Halloween’s finest, going costume for costume with the best of the best. Naturally, as dictated by the laws of blog practice, we decided to rank them.

Below you can find our favorite costumes of the night, along with post-game quotes from the players and coaches who loved them, too. They're totally real and definitely not repurposed for the sake of this article’s narrative. So just roll with it.

Here are the top five costumes we ran into at the Lightning’s Halloween Game.

5. Hot Dog Guy

With all due respect to creativity, sometimes you have to throw some respect on the classics. The guys who came before you, who paved the way for the modern game to arrive. This is beautiful, culinary work. Hot dog with mustard, no frills. We’re all trying to find the guy who did this. And the guys in the locker room took notice, too. Here’s what Lightning forward Brayden Point had to say after the game:

“He’s helped our team do a lot of special things. And to be part of that, it’s awesome. Playing with him has been one of the highlights of my career, for sure.” – Point on Nikita Kucherov Hot Dog Guy.

4. Big Cat and Keeper 

This is what they call “leaving it all on the ice” in the big show. Hours of hard work and dedication pay off on Halloweens like these. When the big moment arrives, players like Big Cat and Keeper shine because they put their muzzles to the grindstone. And a certain Jack Adams Award winner appreciates that kind of chemistry and hustle.

“You want to have your unit set…I'd rather us get in a rhythm and have the guys in sync…we should be finding our groove here soon.” – Jon Cooper on the Lightning Power Play Big Cat and Keeper

3. The Trading Card and Penalty Box Kids

Halloween doesn’t always have to be monsters and makeup. Sometimes it comes down to a little innovation and a knack for knowing your audience. These kids aced the assignment, showing up to Thursday night’s game as a Lightning trading card and a fellow Bolt in the penalty box. Benchmark International and Upper Deck couldn’t be happier. And kudos to Greg Wolf for capitalizing on a practical surname. Let’s see what the captain had to say about the young man taking two minutes for top-shelf Halloween attire:

“It’s been fun to watch and follow his journey, but it’s not a fluke. He puts in the work. It’s just been a lot of fun to watch, and he’s earned it.” – Victor Hedman on Nikita Kucherov’s career the Penalty Box Kid

2. The Gruesome Twosome

Okay, sometimes Halloween IS monsters and makeup. But these guys are no monsters. They’re just a good ol’ fashioned fun hang with a penchant for prosthetics. This is Hollywood-level stuff from a couple of Lightning aristocrats. Bolts forward Brandon Hagel took notice.

“It’s different. It's new…You’ve got to try new things, and that's what we're doing. We're finding a little bit of success right now, so we're going to continue to do that, and hopefully, it continues to go the right way.” – Hagel on the Lightning Power Play the Gruesome Twosome

1. Stadium Series Jon Cooper

[gestures toward a perfect ensemble of pinstripes, silk and top hat] Now this, this is what it’s all about. A single tear ought to be rolling down Jon Cooper’s cheek at the sight of this. It’s just the right amount of gold hanging above the third button, just the right amount of collar popped. We can’t officially determine it from the picture, but I’d bet my life there is an unlit cigar somewhere out of frame. Brandon Hagel had more to say about the game’s best costume of the night.

“It’s showing he's always had it. That just doesn't pop out of nowhere. He's getting more confident. He’s a Swiss Army knife. If you ask him to do whatever, he's gonna do it. I really enjoy his game.” - Hagel on Pontus Holmberg’s offense Stadium Series Jon Cooper.