On Feb. 1, 2026, the Boston Bruins will face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium.
This will be Boston’s sixth outdoor game, having won their most recent outdoor matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park in 2023. Tampa will be playing in their second outdoor game, following a 2022 Stadium Series win over the Nashville Predators.
The Lightning currently sit in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 33-14-4 record with Boston not too far behind in fifth place (31-20-3).
Boston has a strong outdoor game performance with a 4-1-1 record overall. Boston played their first outdoor game in 2010 when they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers.
A challenge that came with hosting an outdoor game in Tampa is the weather. Florida’s intense humidity, rising temperatures and potential for rain all contribute to the uncertainty of creating the rink. Despite this, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is taking precautions to ensure the stage is set.
“We’re going to pull it all together in a six-hour period,” Bettman said in an interview with NHL.com. “And so, if people thought the weather made us crazy for trying to do this, the engineering underpinning of everything we’re doing is going to make this even more special, even more unique.”
In years prior, NHL stadium series games have been played in colder climates in states such as Massachusetts, Illinois and Ohio. In 2014, the first outdoor stadium series to take place west of the Mississippi River was held in California. The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium in the first outdoor game held in California.
Looking at this year’s matchup, Tampa and Boston have faced off against each other during the playoffs in recent years with Tampa defeating Boston through majority of games.
Tampa Bay defeated Boston in their first matchup of this season with a score of 4-3 on Oct. 13.
Boston’s Morgan Geekie is a leading goalscorer in the NHL (29) along with Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (26). Kucherov recently reached 1000 career points and remains an offensive machine for the Lightning.
The Bruins will need to get past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who recently was activated from IR. Vasilevskiy has a .918 save percentage and the 6-foot-4 goaltender is a strong force in net.
Along with Boston’s Geekie, Pastrnak is another offensive force who the Lightning will need to keep the puck away from during the game. Charlie McAvoy is a key defenseman for the Bruins who recently returned to the lineup following a severe jaw injury in November.
A fan favorite part of the stadium series each year is the unveiling of both teams’ jerseys which offer unique designs tailored to the hometown of each team.
“Through multiple Winter Classics and of course our club’s 100th anniversary, we’ve done a lot of retro and vintage style jerseys, but Stadium Series presented an opportunity to do something really unique,” said Boston Bruins President Cam Neely in an interview with NHL.com . “We’re excited to introduce a uniform that combines Bruins toughness and snarl with some really dialed up components and coloring. These sweaters are going to look great under the Sunday night lights.”
The Bruins and Lightning face off against each other on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Florida. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m., and fans can tune in to watch on ESPN.