The Boston Bruins lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 in the Stadium Series on Sunday night. They had a 5-1 lead before collapsing, allowing the largest comeback in outdoor game history. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy got into a fight, which flipped the momentum. Swayman gave Vasilevskiy credit for winning the bout after the game.
“I'm so glad we both had our first gig against each other. Really worthy opponent,” Swayman said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.
After the game, the Bruins and Lightning shook hands, which ended with a meeting between the two goalies.
Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy meet in the handshake line and share a laugh after their fight earlier in the game 😂🤝 pic.twitter.com/DfpOFiVC6c
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) February 2, 2026
The Lightning were getting crushed by the Bruins in the second period when the game changed for good. After covering the puck, Swayman joined in on a scrum next to his crease. Vasilevskiy did not take kindly to it, coming out to center ice to challenge the American. The Russian won, with a surprising lefty hook, and both players were assessed penalties.
The Bruins are now in the history books as the first team to lose with a four-goal lead in an outdoor game. That thrilled the hometown Lightning fans, who were brought back into the game by the goalie fight. That has an impact when the game is indoors and certainly changed the game in front of 64,000 fans outdoors.
The Lightning have won 17 of their last 19 games, holding the lead in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Bruins are holding down the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. They could very well faceoff in the first round of the playoffs, which would be an epic renewal of this rivalry.
The Bruins have just one game left before the Olympic break, visiting the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Then, they will send Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, and others to Milan to represent their countries.
