By Today is the day.
It has been years in the making, and when the puck drops Sunday Night at 630, the City of Tampa and the Tampa Bay Lightning will finally partake in an outdoor hockey game at Raymond James Stadium.
This will be the second Stadium Series game the Lightning have played in, while this will be the first-ever Stadium Series appearance for the Boston Bruins.
The Stadium Series game will feature a pirate-themed design inspired by Tampa’s famous Gasparilla Pirate Festival, including shipwreck imagery and tie-ins with the stadium’s iconic pirate ship.
The game will also feature game entertainment after the first period with country star Tim McGraw.
This outdoor game is long overdue, as Florida is currently the home to four of the last five Stanley Cup champions, and the Stanley Cup has called Florida home for the last two seasons.
Both Tampa and Miami (Florida Panthers) have done a great job of growing hockey in the state, and this is another example of the league and their commitment continuing to grow the game in the state.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy talked about how cool this will be for the fans. “It’ll be such a cool experience for our fans; they definitely deserve something like that. But again, for us, it’ll be just another game we have to win to make our fans happy. And no matter what the ice quality is gonna be, all the things around that game, because obviously it’ll be pretty hyped, right? So, just focus and don’t think about anything else.”
Ice quality is always a big concern in outdoor games, and Nikita Kucherov did not hold back in his opinion of the ice.
Kucherov called the ice “terrible.” Hopefully, nobody gets hurt, and everybody stays healthy. It’s fun, but the ice, man, come on. You can’t do Formula 1 in the f—ing dirt, you know?”
Defenseman J.J. Moser called the ice “A little slow.”
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who returned Thursday night against Winnipeg, was pleased with the ice. “There were a couple of holes, obviously to be expected, but I thought it was great. The boards seemed pretty normal, and the glass, too. The league has done this so many times, so they know what they’re doing, and I think the tent really helped them dial it in.”
Victor Hedman is expected to return for the Stadium Series game. Hedman had elbow surgery earlier in the season and had February 1st circled on the calendar as his return date.
It will still be a game-time decision for Hedman, but all indications point to Hedman playing his first game since December 9th.
It should be perfect weather for the outdoor game with temperatures starting in the low 40’s and falling into the upper 30s throughout the game.
Both teams come into the game red hot.
The Lightning come into this classic with just one loss in their last 18 games, going 16-1-1 during that stretch.
The Bruins are also playing much better. After a slow start to the season, the Bruins are 8-2 in their last ten games and are riding a two-game winning streak.
Led by Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lightning will look to put on a memorable performance before the hometown fans.
This will be a good matchup, possibly a playoff preview. The Lightning will look to win this game with their speed, passing, and physicality.
The Bolts enter the contest as one of the NHL’s most complete teams, ranking near the top of the league in goal differential and defensive efficiency.
The Lightning defense has been the best in the NHL to this point, allowing just 129 goals.
Offensively, the Lightning have scored 180 goals this season, which ranks first in the NHL.
After a rough start to the season, Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is now the number one goalie in the league, with a 2.04 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
Meanwhile, the Bruins enter the game averaging 3.4 goals per game and rank in the top five in power-play scoring at 26.75 percent.
Outside of all the pomp and circumstance, this is a game that the Lightning need to win to stay atop the Atlantic Division.
The Lightning currently have a two-point lead on the second-place Detroit Red Wings.
“Our division just doesn’t stop winning, so there’s not much breathing room, and we got to three divisional games before the break,” left wing Brandon Hagel said. “
Puck drop is at 630 PM Sunday Night at Raymond Television. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
