HIGHLIGHTS
- Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jeremy Swayman dropped the gloves during the 2026 Stadium Series
- The fight marked the first goalie fight in NHL outdoor game history
- See video of the Vasilevskiy vs Swayman fight and full breakdown below
The goalies dropped the gloves at the Stadium Series.
Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy and Boston’s Jeremy Swayman squared off in what became the first goalie fight in NHL outdoor game history during Sunday’s Stadium Series matchup at Raymond James Stadium.
The chaos erupted at 11:01 of the second period with Boston up 5-2. Tampa forward Brandon Hagel jabbed at a puck covered by Swayman, and the Bruins netminder lost it. He tackled Hagel to the ice and started swinging, which sparked a scrum near the Boston net.
Vasilevskiy saw the whole thing from the other end. He immediately bolted out of his crease and charged the length of the ice.
Video:
The two met near the red line, and both removed their masks before getting down to business. Vasilevskiy, who catches left, unloaded a series of left-handed punches that caught Swayman off guard. The Big Cat has about 30 pounds on Swayman, and he used every bit of it.
Vasilevsky landed a BIG left on Swayman 😵🥊 https://t.co/E5zAkslwOi pic.twitter.com/A2IfxYjlwL
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) February 2, 2026
Swayman had been wanting this for years. The guy has challenged opposing goalies multiple times since his rookie season. He finally got his shot and ran into a buzzsaw.
One hilarious detail: Swayman had a stick lodged in his pads as he skated out to fight. He had to shake it loose before throwing hands. It was like a warrior pulling out an arrow before battle.
Both goalies got five-minute fighting majors. Their teammates had to serve the time since goalies can’t sit in the box.
“Obviously, that’s what 20 of us do for each other,” Hagel told NHL.com after the game. “I got a glove to the head. Obviously, Vasilevskiy didn’t like that.”
The fight changed the whole game. Tampa looked dead before it happened, down four goals and getting dominated. After Vasilevskiy threw down, the Lightning scored three straight power-play goals.
“That was the game-changing moment for our team,” Jake Guentzel said. “And that’s what we needed.”
Tampa completed the comeback with a 6-5 shootout victory. It’s the largest comeback in NHL outdoor game history.
This was only the 43rd goalie fight since 1954 and the second of the 2025-26 season. Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Nedeljkovic threw down a couple weeks ago in Florida too. Both Florida teams have now had a goalie fight this year.
Goalie fights had basically vanished from the NHL. There wasn’t one for nearly six years until Bob and Ned went at it. Now we’ve got two in a month.
Marc-Andre Fleury has to be fuming somewhere. The guy retired right before goalie fights came back. He never got to scrap with Jordan Binnington, and that’s a tragedy.
The 64,617 fans at Raymond James Stadium got their money’s worth. They chanted “Vasy, Vasy” as the Big Cat left the ice after backstopping Tampa to the improbable win.
“For the first half of the game, they were all over us,” Vasilevskiy said. “So to win a game like this, it’s unreal.”
The Swayman vs Vasilevskiy goalie fight helped make the 2026 Stadium Series the greatest outdoor game in NHL history. What a night in Tampa.
