As if the 2026 NHL Stadium Series wasn’t dramatic and electric enough, Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning dropped the gloves—or rather the trapper and the blocker, as well as their masks.
What’s more uncommon than NHL games being played outdoors? Goaltenders dropping the gloves and throwing haymakers at center ice. Fans attending the 2026 Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium were treated to both spectacles during a candid showdown between the Lightning and the Bruins.
With Tampa Bay looking for a spark to mount a comeback down 5-2, Vasilevskiy decided to take matters into his own hands by skating down to Boston’s zone where chaos erupted. However, not many predicted what would unfold next. Both goaltenders dropped their equipment and engaged in an all-out boxing bout.
When it was all said and done, both goalies were seen smiling and congratulating one another. After all, they had just given fans what they didn’t even knew they wanted to see. Back on each team’s benches, their teammates were having a blast, as well.
Are goalie fights back?
All in all, the NHL has seen the number of fights decline in recent years. Long gone are the days of enforcers being employed solely for their fighting skills. As fights have become less frequent, goalie fights have grown almost extinct.
On January 19, 2026, Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Nedeljkovic delivered the first goalie fight in nearly six years. The last time two netminders had engaged in a fight was when Alex Smith of the Edmonton Oilers and Cam Talbot of the Calgary Flames dropped the mitts back on Feb. 1, 2020. Exactly six years later, Vasilevskiy and Swayman reenacted the scene, only this time it was in the 45th outdoor regular-season game in league history.
This time around, a rivalry like the Battle of Alberta wasn’t necessary to raise the stakes. Andrei Vasilevskiy took a page out of the book of a fellow Russian, two-time Stanley Cup–champion goalie from a Florida-based franchise, as he went after Jeremy Swayman during the 2026 NHL Stadium Series. Needless to say, this game will be remembered across the league as one of the best regular-season matchups of the decade.