Has a new entertainment precedence been set for all NHL matches?

Sunday night’s stadium series matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins was more than just an outdoor hockey game; it was a full, all-out production from the build-out to end of the game, so much so that it raised the question of, has a new precedence and expectation been set in terms of entertainment in the NHL?

It started with a feat the NHL has never undertaken: building out a massive ice hockey rink in the middle of a, usually very hot, football field in Raymond James Stadium. It took an air conditioned tent that had refrigeration trucks pumping cold air through the air pumps attached to the tent.

Next came designing and building an all-out pirate-themed treasure map field layout as the theme to the game was surrounding the annual Gasparilla Festival weekend in Tampa and pirates invading Tampa Bay. It had ships, treasure, dolphins, boats, a compass, ship wreckage and everything in between that made the field look like a real treasure map with the ice as the center of the water. It was a beautiful display that set the stage for the remainder of the game. Even ESPN’s crew who do not normally dress-out for events like this were dressed head to toe as pirates and their “stage” on set were three wooden kegs.

Next came the arrival of the players. The Boston Bruins arrived by bus dressed as historical patriots to pay homage to the New England Patriots just one week away from the Patriots participating in Super Bowl LX on February 8th.

Borrowing the home of their neighbor Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Lightning came in in old fashion trolleys and as they disembarked into the stadium they were dressed in the creamsicle Bucs jerseys, helmets and all and were led in by none other than Bucs’ quarterback Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs. And head coach, Jon Cooper was dressed as Tony Montana from the movie Scarface, including a red V-neck shirt and gold chain, even smoking a cigar to embrace the theme of Tampa and its Cuban heritage.

As the players were introduced they were introduced with an entire pirates theme by pirates and walked a plank to enter the field wearing their Stadium Series-themed jersey with the Lightning in the light blue and the Bruins in the bright yellow. It was an entrance never been seen in an NHL matchup, indoor or outdoor. It was a first and fans do not want it to be the last.

Country music star Hunter Hayes performed a magnificent rendition of the National Anthem and then it was time for puck drop.

You could not have asked for a better match. It started with the Lightning striking just :11 seconds into the match on a goal by Brandon Hagel. The Bruins went up 3-1 in the first period and then in the soccer period when the match was 5-2 in favor of the Bruins who were piling it on, a very abnormal goalie fight ensued at the red line between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jeremy Swayman, a fight that had both benches cracking up and egging it on by smacking their sticks against the wall.

The Lightning then crawled their way back into the match to make it 5-4 after two periods.

Then came the next best part of the night, a phenomenal stadium show by none other than Tim McGraw as the second period intermission.

As the game entered the third period the Lightning came back from a 4-goal (5-1) deficit to tie the match at 5-5 in the third period to send the game to overtime, giving all 65,000 fans in Tampa extra hockey for paying that ticket price. The game could not be decided in overtime, however, as it went to an all-decisive shootout. It would come down to the final shot(s) of the game, but a goal by Jake Guentzel and three straight blocks by Vasilevskiy secured the win for Tampa Bay who defended their territory and sent the Bruins Patriots walking the plank and sailing back to Boston with a loss and gave the Lightning their franchise largest-ever comeback win in franchise history.

The Lightning collected their stadium series “treasure” at center ice with the pirates who escorted them in as the night came to an end and the stadium series mask was presented to Vasilevskiy as well.

There were fights, there was a goalie fight, there were 10 goals, there were penalties, there was hype, their was excitement, there were lights, smoke, pirates, pirate ships, and so much more that made this game the production that it was.

It was a night to remember. It was a hockey game, yes, but under the stadium lights at Raymond James Stadium, a whole stadium show production was put on and fans are raving, calling it not just the best outdoor game they’ve ever witnessed, but the greatest entertainment and show ever put on by the league in league history.

And now the NHL takes this game and dissect it to see how they can take their entertainment to the next level in every NHL game played. While this was a special case, it showed how powerful the NHL can be in terms of aligning themselves as the most powerful entertainment sport in all of professional sports. A new precedence has been set. The question now is, how will the NHL respond?