The NHL’s first outdoor hockey game in Tampa drew 64,617 fans to Raymond James Stadium to watch the Lightning take down the Bruins 6-5 in their Stadium Series game Sunday night — and the weather, the NHL’s “biggest worry about coming to Tampa, was serendipitous.” The temperature at puck drop was 41.8 degrees. Lightning coach Jon Cooper said, “Games like that don’t come around very often” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/2). When it comes to these outdoor NHL games, the “accompanying extravaganza can overshadow the game itself.” But at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, “both the show and the hockey game were equally satisfying” (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/1). This was a “statement of an organization, a community, a dream more than 30 years in the making.” Lightning D Ryan McDonagh said, “This is a credit to Jeff Vinik, the ownership group and everybody that has been a part of this team from the get-go.” But the “real story was the atmosphere.” Considering “how long Tampa Bay has been begging for an outdoor game, you would think that it couldn’t possibly match the pregame anticipation” — but “you would be wrong” (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/2).
