{"id":140291,"date":"2026-02-02T04:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T04:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/140291\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T04:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T04:32:07","slug":"fans-and-country-music-artist-tim-mcgraw-make-history-as-lightning-beat-bruins-6-5-outdoors-in-tampa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/140291\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans and country music artist Tim McGraw make history as Lightning beat Bruins, 6-5 outdoors in Tampa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 70,000 fans braved almost freezing weather at Raymond James Stadium for Tampa Bay\u2019s first outdoor NHL Stadium Series game.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Nearly freezing temperatures did little to deter the crowd as the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> finally took the ice against the Boston Bruins in an outdoor NHL Stadium Series game<\/a> at Raymond James Stadium, a long-anticipated event that drew close to 70,000 fans eager to be part of franchise history.<\/p>\n

The matchup marked the culmination of months \u2014 if not years \u2014 of preparation, with ice laid inside the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, well worth the wait. Even as the Lightning struggled to find an early spark, falling 3-1 to the Bruins during the first period.<\/p>\n

Yet the homefield advantage kicked in eventually as the Lightning recovered to tie it 5-5 in the third period. Eventually forcing a shootout and winning the game 6-5.<\/p>\n

Florida fans embraced the win and the novelty of outdoor hockey despite the cold temperatures<\/a>, in a city better known for sunshine than cold fronts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. Never thought we\u2019d see outdoor hockey in Tampa,\u201d Tampa Bay Lightning fans Phillip Swanson said alongside Aleesha Hayes as they took in the scene inside the bowl.<\/p>\n

For many in attendance, the scale of the event exceeded expectations formed by online renderings and promotional images.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing it in person is probably 10-times better than seeing it online. I\u2019ve only seen renditions of it. Seeing it in person is pretty fantastic,\u201d hometown fans Michael Downss said, standing with A.J. Law only a few hundred yards from the ice ahead of puck drop at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Fans packed the stadium, cheering above a sprawling Florida map illustrated around the ice and showing their allegiance to their favorite players. When asked to name a standout, South Tampa native Izzy Rivers didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, Brayden Point<\/a>, always,” Rivers said. “First of all, he\u2019s handsome. He\u2019s super nice,” Rivers said in reference to meeting the Canadian center before, off the ice.<\/p>\n

The spectacle extended beyond hockey. Country music artist Tim McGraw performed between the first and second periods.<\/p>\n

Just a few hours before gametime, McGraw said he was more of a baseball and football fan growing up, in reference to his father, Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr., who pitched for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Philles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eventually growing up in Louisiana where hot-weather hockey wasn’t really an option besides watching it during the Olympics every four years, McGraw said, \u201cEven now, as much as I like to watch it, I still can\u2019t tell you what\u2019s going on.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know the rules, but I love watching it and the athleticism these guys have, how they move on the ice. Some of the shots that they make and the moves that they make are absolutely incredible,\u201d McGraw said.<\/p>\n

Adding to the surprise moments of the night, 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield led the team into the locker room, an appearance few expected. The Lightning team was decked out in orange creamsicle jerseys worn in the same style as Buccaneers players.<\/p>\n

The Bruins leaned into the historical theme of the event, arriving in colonial-style garb, while friendly trash talk flowed freely among fans of both teams throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have enough Boston people to cover it. It\u2019s all friendly. So good stuff,\u201d Eric Grover said, visiting from Connecticut with his family.<\/p>\n

As Lightning players walked off the ice to cheers, the night underscored the novelty of outdoor hockey in Tampa \u2014 a cold evening that delivered a warm reception for a historic NHL showcase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 70,000 fans braved almost freezing weather at Raymond James Stadium for Tampa Bay\u2019s first outdoor NHL Stadium…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-140291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-tampa","9":"tag-tampa-headlines","10":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}