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Few moments in hockey are as thrilling as a goalie showdown, and taking it outside only amplifies the excitement.
At a bustling Raymond James Stadium, home to the Buccaneers, an unexpected twist unfolded during the NHL Stadium Series game on Sunday night in Tampa. Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman and Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy decided to drop the gloves, much to the crowd’s delight.
The skirmish erupted with 8:59 remaining in the second period. It all started when Brandon Hagel lingered a bit too long, jabbing at the puck post-whistle, which didn’t sit well with a couple of Bruins players who quickly confronted him. Swayman joined in, eager to escalate the roughhousing.
As officials attempted to diffuse the tension, Swayman spotted Vasilevskiy skating down from the Lightning’s net, ready to join the fray at the opposite end. The two netminders faced off, ready to rumble.
The clash was brief; Swayman struggled to find his footing as Vasilevskiy swiftly gained the advantage, delivering a few solid blows before it was all over.
According to HockeyFights.com, a site that tracks hockey players’ fight records, Sunday’s tilt was the first time either Swayman or Vasilevskiy had gotten into a fight.
Neither seemed to hold a grudge as the two smiled and laughed as they shook hands after the game.
The scrap was the first goalie fight in an outdoor NHL game.
The Lightning defeated the Bruins 6-5 in the shootout after erasing a 5-1 hole that Tampa found itself in midway through the second period.
At the time of the fight, the Lightning had trailed 5-2 and a little more than four minutes later, defenseman Darren Raddysh scored to cut the Boston lead to two.
Nick Paul and Nikita Kucherov scored to eventually even the score, and Jake Guentzel scored the only goal in the shootout for the win.
A crowd of more than 64,000 fans was in attendance and they witnessed the largest comeback in an outdoor NHL game; the four-goal rally was the biggest in Lightning franchise history.
Swayman and Vasilevskiy’s fight was the second goalie fight in the NHL in less than a month after another
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic fought in a game between the two teams back on Jan. 19.