The Miracle on Dale Mabry: Lightning Erase 4-Goal Deficit in Stadium Series Classic

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Raymond James Stadium has seen its share of legendary comebacks, but what happened Sunday night in the Stadium Series, under the Florida stars, surpassed them all. In a game that will be etched into franchise lore, the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to defeat the Boston Bruins 6–5 in a shootout, securing the largest comeback victory in both NHL outdoor game and Lightning history.

In front of a record-breaking crowd of 64,617, the Bolts proved that even in 41-degree weather, the “Sunshine State” is still their territory.

A Tale of Two Starts

The game began with a jolt of electricity. Just 11 seconds after the opening puck drop, Brandon Hagel fired a top-shelf shot past Jeremy Swayman, marking the fastest goal to start an outdoor game in NHL history.

However, the early celebration was short-lived. The Bruins responded with a terrifying offensive barrage, scoring five unanswered goals. Morgan Geekie (two goals), Alex Steeves, Viktor Arvidsson, and rookie Matthew Poitras fueled a run that left the Lightning trailing 5–1 midway through the second period. Head coach Jon Cooper later remarked, “All of a sudden it’s 5–1, and I wanted to put a hazmat suit on. It was tough.”

The Spark: A Historic Goalie Fight

With the game slipping away, the momentum shifted not on a goal, but at center ice. At 11:01 of the second period, elite netminders Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jeremy Swayman did the unthinkable: they dropped the gloves.

The first goalie fight in NHL outdoor history electrified the stadium and served as the ultimate wake-up call for the Bolts. “That was a game-changing moment for our team,” said Jake Guentzel. “That was exactly what we needed.”

The Rally: Special Teams Dominance

Following the fight, the Lightning’s power play—ranked among the league’s best—went to work.

Oliver Bjorkstrand cut the lead to 5–2.
Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul scored two 5-on-3 goals just 23 seconds apart to bring the score to 5–4 before the end of the second.
In the third, the NHL’s First Star of the Month, Nikita Kucherov, completed the comeback with a signature one-timer with 8:10 remaining, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Drama in Overtime and the Shootout

The drama didn’t end in regulation. In overtime, David Pastrnak appeared to win the game for Boston, but the goal was waved off due to a delayed slashing penalty on Pastrnak himself—a call that left the Bruins bench in disbelief.

In the shootout, Vasilevskiy stood tall, denying all three Bruins shooters. Jake Guentzel scored the lone goal in the third round, and when Pastrnak’s final attempt clanked off the post, the comeback was complete.