One of the more unique ideas the NHL has had over the past decade was the Stadium Series. After the success of the Winter and Heritage classics, the league wanted to capitalize on this unique twist on the game. Thus, the Stadium Series was born, and it has provided some of the greatest moments of the 2010s and 2020s. The series will continue during the 2025-26 season, as announced by the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins will face off at Raymond James Stadium on February 1st.
This will be the second time that the Lightning has participated in an outdoor game in their history. The first time they did it was back in 2022 when they squared off against the Nashville Predators at Nissan Stadium. Before we look towards the game against the Bruins, let's look back at the last time the Lightning played outside.
2022 Stadium Series: Lightning 3 Predators 2
Initially, the Lightning were going to have a different opponent in this game. When this game was first announced in February of 2020, the Carolina Hurricanes were set to be the host team, and the game was going to be held at Carter-Finley Stadium. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck a month later and threw off all the plans the Hurricanes and the NHL had. After months of trying to work with local officials and regulations, the Hurricanes asked if they could postpone their game to the 2022-23 season. This caused the NHL to announce the Predators and Nissan Stadium as the replacement.
After all the off-ice drama was settled and the game was ready to be played, the Lightning came out flat. Mathieu Joseph was assessed a two-minute minor after being called for high-sticking. The Predators capitalized on the man advantage in the waning seconds of the power-play when Tanner Jeannot put a rebound into the back of the net, to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.
However, the Lightning were able to flip the script on the Predators in the second period. Brayden Point got them on the board within the first minute thanks to a power-play goal of their own. Then, about five minutes later, Tampa Bay capitalized on another man-advantage when Nikita Kucherov ripped a one-timer past Juuse Saros to put the Lightning up by one.
Steven Stamkos provided insurance for the Lightning midway through the third period, when he got the better of Saros to put the Lightning up 3-1. It would be the only goal of the game that was scored while the team wasn't on the power play. The Predators tried to stage a comeback when Filip Forsberg scored to bring Nashville within one. However, Andrei Vasilevskiy stood tall for the final seven minutes to clinch the victory.
For his three-point performance (one goal, two assists), Stamkos was named the first star, while Kucherov was named the second star after tallying a goal and an assist. Fans couldn't ask for a better first impression of outdoor hockey than this one. The hope is that they can repeat this success when the puck drops in Raymond James Stadium in six months.