Bruins-Lightning goalie fight: Why Jeremy Swayman, Andrei Vasilevskiy brawled in Stadium Series game

Fans who attended Sunday's Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins received two surprises: cold temperatures, and a good old-fashioned goalie fight.

The cold in Tampa made for a picture-perfect setting as the Bruins came to town to face the Lightning, but fans were really in for a treat when Boston's Jeremy Swayman and Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy went at it in the second period.

For Vasilevskiy, it might not be a surprise that his frustration was palpable. The Lightning star let up five goals in the first two periods as the Bruins pulled ahead 5-1 by the midway point of the middle period.

Here's what you need to know about the goalie fight in Sunday's Stadium Series game.

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Bruins-Lightning goalie fight

Swayman and Vasilevsky dropped the gloves on Sunday night in a rare goalie fight, to the delight of a massive crowd at Raymond James Stadium.

THEY LEGIT TOOK IT OUTSIDE 👊 pic.twitter.com/No5pYO2FRe

The brawl began after Swayman went after Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel, which prompted Vasilevskiy to make his way down the ice. Swayman was happy to oblige Vasilevskiy, and both goaltenders dropped the gloves and masks to take swings at each other.

While Vasilevskiy and the Lightning trailed 5-2 at the time of the fight, it certainly looked like Tampa Bay's goaltender had the advantage in the one-on-one combat, landing a few forceful punches before taking Swayman down to the ice.

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What started fight between Jeremy Swayman, Andrei Vasilevskiy?

The brawl began when Swayman took a hit from Hagel's stick after a shot by Nikita Kucherov. Hagel appeared to try to play the puck on what he hoped would be a rebound opportunity, but Swayman had the puck in his grasp and didn't like the late hit from Hagel's stick, regardless of whether or not he believed it was intentional.

Swayman pounced on Hagel after the whistle blew, and Vasilevskiy came down the ice to defend his teammate. Swayman didn't back down from the challenge, dropping his gloves and signaling to Vasilevskiy to take his mask off. Once Vasilevskiy did, the two went at it.

When was the last NHL goalie fight?

The most recent goalie fight came less than two weeks ago, when San Jose's Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky got into a prolonged battle near center ice in a game on Jan. 19.

ABSOLUTE CINEMA 🎬 pic.twitter.com/KhUsa6hz1H

Before Nedeljkovic and Bobrovsky brawled, Washington's Charlie Lindgren and Ottawa's Linus Ullmark fought in the early weeks of the regular season.

A goalie fight is a spectacle in the NHL, but a goalie fight outdoors? That is an entirely different level of excitement for fans.