Bruins' HC Makes History in Monumental Stadium Series Loss

The 2026 NHL Stadium Series between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning was truly one for the books.

An outdoor game — this time taking place at Raymond James Stadium on the coldest weekend Tampa, Fla. had seen in two decades —had everything a NHL fan could want. From a goalie fight, to a comeback win in a shootout and packed penalty boxes, the Lightning clawed their way back to a 6-5 win over Boston. En route to the Bruins loss, though, Head Coach Marco Sturm became the first individual to appear in an outdoor NHL game as both a player and head coach.

Sturm previously scored the overtime winner for the Bruins in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

After a 33-39-10 overall season in 2024-2025, Sturm became the Bruins 30th head coach in franchise history and replaced Joe Sacco. The official announcement came from the league on June 10, 2025.

Marco Sturm writes league history en route to 2026 NHL Stadium Series loss

Feb. 1, 2026 marked the 45th league outdoor game of all-time and the ninth to go into overtime. Tampa Bay rallied from four goals down for the first time in program history.

The Lightning's Jake Guentzel scored the lone goal in the shootout for the win.

Final in the shootout. pic.twitter.com/KdSwnRKf3p

The Lightning's Brandon Hagel scored the fastest goal to start an outdoor game in NHL history to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead just 11 seconds into the game; under Sturm's charge the Bruins then scored four straight goals after Tampa Bay won the opening face-off.

Tampa Bay trailed 5-1 in the middle frame but then responded with four consecutive goals to tie the game, including two on a 5-on-3 power play in 23 seconds. Netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves.

This marked the largest comeback win in an outdoor game throughout the NHL and Tampa Bay's first time hosting an outdoor game.

Up next for the league, the NHL Olympic roster freeze begins on Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. EST and runs through Feb. 22 as league players return to the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014.

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