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Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy got into the second goalie fight of the season. Mike Carlson / Getty Images
TAMPA, Fla. — The Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy fought at 11:01 of the second period in Sunday’s Stadium Series game at Raymond James Stadium. The fight started after Swayman took exception to Brandon Hagel poking a puck between his pads during a Tampa power play.
Swayman took several shots at Hagel. This brought Vasilevskiy to the red line.
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Once Swayman saw Vasilevskiy at center, the Bruins goalie skated toward his opponent. With his stick stuck in his pads, Swayman took off his mask and implored Vasilevskiy to do the same.
Vasilevskiy appeared to land more punches than Swayman. After the fight, Vasilevskiy tapped Swayman on the head and flashed a big smile.
“It was great,” Boston forward Morgan Geekie said. “I’ll remember that forever.”
“Unreal,” Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde agreed.
This is the second NHL goalie fight in less than a month. The Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky fought the San Jose Sharks’ Alex Nedeljkovic on Jan. 19, which was the league’s first goalie fight since the Cam Talbot-Mike Smith bout in the 2020 Battle of Alberta.
The Bruins were leading 5-2 when the fight began, but the Lightning scored twice in quick succession for three consecutive power-play goals to get within one by the end of the period. Nikita Kucherov tied the game midway through the third period, and the Lightning eventually won 6-5 in the shootout thanks to Jake Guentzel’s snap shot to become the first team to overcome a four-goal deficit in an outdoor game.
“That was a game-changing moment for our team,” Guentzel said of the fight. “That’s what we needed.”
Kucherov’s four points also matched Jordan Kyrou (2022 Winter Classic) for the second-most points in an outdoor game.
Even so, the goalie fight was the highlight of the evening.
“Pretty good entertainment, wasn’t it?” said Bruins coach Marco Sturm after the game.
It was Swayman’s first career fight. He tried to fight the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Joseph Woll in 2023-24 and also tried to fight the Los Angeles Kings’ Darcy Kuemper last season. Linesmen broke up that disagreement before either goalie threw a punch.
“Fighting the biggest, toughest goalie in the league,” Swayman mused. “Wouldn’t be my first choice. But glad I got the first one out of the way. Probably retired after that.”
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Vasilevskiy said he saw Swayman hit Hagel with the blocker, so it was just a “reflex” to go out. He appreciated the Boston goaltender for stepping up.
“It was one of the biggest moments for me personally, because I never fought in the NHL,” he said. “I can’t say it enough. Big thanks to him for that.”
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Fluto Shinzawa is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Bruins. He has covered the team since 2006, formerly as a staff writer for The Boston Globe. Follow Fluto on Twitter @flutoshinzawa
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