TAMPA — When they played at Notre Dame Stadium in 2019, the Bruins set the bar almost impossibly high for all teams when it came to the costumes that are now standard for arrivals at outdoor games. The Peaky Blinders-inspired, 1920s-era gangster garb was a home run.
But the B’s came close to that bar on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, arriving in colonial-era outfits, complete with tri-corner hats, long coats, short britches and stockings, a nod to the city in which they work and play. They also arrived to some fife and drum music.
Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov said the creativity was a group effort.
“I think it was a lot of the guys,” said the wigged Zadorov, who along with Mason Lohrei met reporters before the game in full regalia. “The idea behind it was to bring something Boston and obviously Boston is a really historical city in the United States, so we decided to dress up as the patriots from the 17th and 16th centuries and give our respect to the founding fathers of America. It’s also good ties to our football team. We’re at a football stadium so I think it played out pretty well.”
Zadorov gave out a shout to Boston Costume for outfitting the team.
“We had these guys come to the rink one day and present us with this whole wardrobe and we kind of got to go through and style our own outfits. Everyone’s got their personal style,” Lohrei said.
Nikita Zadorov of the Boston Bruins arrives prior to the 2026 NHL Stadium Series against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium on February 01, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Coach Marco Sturm gave his players strong marks for effort.
“I thought they looked pretty good,” Sturm said. “They put a lot of work in the past couple of weeks. We had a lot of guys coming to the rink in between games to get fitted. I think they looked pretty sharp today.”
The Lightning, meanwhile, wore the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ old Creamsicle orange uniforms.
Rookie recognition
Fraser Minten was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for January. Minten led all rookies in goals (8) and points (14) for the month. Minten has 14-15-29 totals on the season and is second on the team with a plus-20 rating, behind only Jonathan Aspirot’s plus-21 going into Sunday’s game.
While it’s been clear from the beginning that the Vancouver native has a knack for being a strong defensive centerman, his offensive output lately suggests he might be able to play consistently in the top six.
“Nothing really surprises me with him anymore,” Sturm said. “I got to know him over the last three or four months here and he’s just continued to get better. I think the one thing he’s been better at is being consistent. You always talk about young kids, they have a lot of ups and downs. I think since Christmas he’s been more consistent. Now he has a bigger role and he’s on the power play, so that helps him with a few assists and goals. But other than that, nothing has changed. He’s a very confident kid and he shows it right now.”
It’s doubtful that Minten could dislodge Matthew Schaefer as the favorite for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, considering the impact that the 18-year-old defenseman has had on the Islanders. But Minten appears to be the kind of two-way centerman for whom the B’s have been looking since before the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Minten was part of the trade package from Toronto for Brandon Carlo that also included the Maple Leafs’ 2026 first-round draft pick (top-5 protected) and a 2025 fourth rounder that turned into Vashek Blanar, a promising defense prospect now playing in Sweden. The deal is shaping up as a steal for GM Don Sweeney.
Injury update
It didn’t sound like there was much improvement for Elias Lindholm or Pavel Zacha, both of whom missed Sunday’s game with upper body injuries.
“Both are still home so for me that’s not really a good sign. Small improvement,” said Sturm, adding he hadn’t gotten an update by the time he met with reporters before the game.
The B’s have one more game before the long Olympic break on Wednesday in Sunrise, Fla., against the Panthers.
With regard to the Games in Milan, neither Lindholm (Sweden) nor Zacha (Czechia) has been replaced on the team rosters by their respective federations.
Around the boards
After posting 5-20-25 totals last month, David Pastrnak was awarded the NHL’s second star of the month for January. It was the most points by a Bruin in a month since Brad Marchand notched 26 in 2018. The first star was the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, who had 9-22-31.
Georgii Merkulov has not been able to establish himself as an NHLer yet, but he has left his mark with the Providence Bruins. His assist on Victor Soderstrom’s goal was his 211th point, setting a new record for points by a Providence Bruin, surpassing Andy Hilbert’s mark.