Tampa Bay needed a spark Sunday. In its first home outdoor game, it was in a precarious situation against Atlantic Division rival Boston Bruins by being down 5-2 in the second period. Fans were groaning, asking if they should leave at the next intermission if the score kept.

For the ones who stayed, they saw history … a goalie fight in Raymond James Stadium. Just past the middle of the second period, there was a scrum in front of the Boston net. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman swung at Lightning forward Brandon Hagel after making a save on a Tampa Bay power play.

Tampa’s netminder did not like Swayman’s actions.

“I saw him [Swayman] swinging the blocker,” Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy said. “It was just a reflex to run to the redline and challenge him. He accepted.”

The two met in the middle of the ice and went at it, with Tampa’s goalie coming out on top. The hometown crowd of 65,000 erupted for their goalie … and so did the Lightning’s offense, as they would come from behind to beat the Bruins (32-20-4) in a shootout 6-5.

“It was one of the biggest moments for me,” Vasilevskiy said. “I never fought in the NHL.”

The game started all Tampa (35-14-4), however. Just 11 seconds into the game, Hagel got the party started by ripping one past Swayman for the fastest goal to start an outdoor game in NHL history.

From there, it was all Boston. Five straight goals for the black and yellow to give them what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. For the Lightning, it seemed easy to them.

After the fight in the second period, Tampa went on the man advantage with six minutes left.  Coming into Sunday’s game, Swayman had 12 penalty minutes in his career. He had nine in this one game, including his third penalty of the game for dumping the puck over the glass from the defensive zone.

Thirteen seconds later, Boston’s Tanner Jeannot was called for an interference penalty. The Bruins were down 5-on-3 for nearly two minutes. It would get worse for Boston. Nearing the end of the two-man advantage for Tampa, a third penalty was called on Boston for closing his hand on the puck.

The Lightning would cash in. Five seconds after the third penalty, Darren Raddysh capitalized to score his 16th goal of the year — his ninth on the power play to lead all defensemen — on a one-timer from 10 feet within the blue line to cut the deficit to two goals. He leads the NHL in shots over 90 miles per hour … and this one was no different at 96.

Just 23 seconds later, the Lightning struck twice on the same power play. Nick Paul received a gift from Jake Guentzel and tapped it in the back of the net to beat Swayman again. What seemed like an impossibility was a reality, as it was a one-goal game.

First-year Bruins coach Marco Sturm said you can only do so much to stop Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov on the man advantage. Tampa’s leading scorer had three assists in the game, but two on that crucial power play.

“We all have good days,” Sturm said, “and we all have bad days. If you give a guy like Kucherov 10 minutes on the power play … you did something wrong. So, that’s on us.”

Just halfway through the final period, Kucherov got a pinpoint rink-wide pass from defenseman Ryan McDonagh to beat Swayman gloveside and tie the game at five and send cold Tampa Bay into a blaze of hysteria.

The score stayed dormant and went into overtime, where the game looked to be over quickly. Boston’s leading scorer David Pastrnak beat Vasilevskiy on a 2-on-1, appearing to seal the game for the Bruins. However, a delayed penalty resulted in no goal for the away team.

Pastrnak was visibly frustrated after the game.

“I have no clue what happened, honestly,” he said. “It’s a turnover. We got a 2-on-1. The referee has the arm up like he’s letting it go. We finish the play, score the goal, and all of a sudden, I’m in the penalty box. It’s a joke.”

After two Tampa power plays in the extra period failed to produce a score, the game headed to a shootout. Both teams were scoreless through two rounds before Guentzel delivered the kill shot to the B’s and beat Swayman to give Tampa the win.

Vasilevskiy said the fight helped to motivate his team to this win.

“I just know how it works,” he said. “Even personally, for me, when our guys are fighting in the game, I always feel a little pumped. I’m pretty sure they were pumped to see me drop the gloves, too. It was one of the coolest moments of my career.”

For Tampa, this is its first win in franchise history when trailing a team by four goals. After the teams had a great January, only losing a combined three games in regulation, the Lightning started their February off right with a big win.

The teams have crucial games against Atlantic Division teams coming up. Tampa hosts Buffalo (31-18-5) on Tuesday at 7:30 before welcoming its in-state rival, the Florida Panthers (28-23-3), on Thursday at 7:30 on ESPN for one more spar before the Winter Olympics break. Boston has one more game before the break against the Panthers on Wednesday at 7:30 on TNT as well, before taking off for 22 days.

Category: Hockey, Tampa Bay Lightning