The NHL made history under the Florida night sky on Sunday, and it wasn’t just because of the on-ice fireworks.
The Lightning’s thrilling 6-5 shootout win over the Bruins at Raymond James Stadium didn’t just deliver one of the wildest comebacks in league history-it also became the most-watched regular season NHL game ever on cable television. With an average of 2.1 million viewers and a peak of 2.4 million tuning in on ESPN, this Stadium Series showdown wasn’t just a spectacle-it was a ratings juggernaut.
To put it in perspective, that’s the largest regular season NHL audience since the 2019 Winter Classic between the Bruins and Blackhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. And it marked a 30% jump from last year’s Stadium Series matchup between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets in Columbus. For ESPN, which rejoined the NHL broadcast family in 2021 after a long hiatus, this game now stands as its most-watched regular season NHL broadcast ever.
But this wasn’t just about numbers-it was about atmosphere, drama, and a little bit of hockey chaos.
The NHL took a bold swing by staging an outdoor game in Florida, a state better known for palm trees and humidity than frozen ponds. But the league pulled it off in style.
Unlike the Panthers’ Winter Classic earlier this year, which was played under a retractable roof at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, this one was fully open-air. A climate-controlled tent had been built to protect the ice, but a timely cold front sweeping across the Gulf Coast did the heavy lifting, bringing the temperature down to a crisp 41.8 degrees at puck drop-ideal conditions for a night of outdoor hockey.
And what a night it was.
The Lightning found themselves in a deep hole early, trailing by four goals. But rather than fold, they dug in-and turned the game into an instant classic.
The spark came in an unexpected form: a rare goaltender fight between Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Boston’s Jeremy Swayman. It was the kind of moment that electrifies a stadium and shifts momentum in a heartbeat.
From there, the Lightning stormed back, eventually forcing overtime and then sealing the deal in a shootout. The comeback was the biggest in franchise history and the largest in the NHL’s 45-game history of outdoor showcases.
It was a game that had everything-big stakes, big moments, and a big audience to witness it all. And for the NHL, it was a clear signal that outdoor hockey, even in the unlikeliest of locations, still has the power to captivate fans across the country.