Bruins’ David Pastrnak had a heartbreaker after near game-winner vs. Lightning

Sunday’s encounter ended in anguish for the Boston Bruins as they fell 6-5 in a shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium.

David Pastrnak appeared to score the game-winning goal 22 seconds into overtime with a snipe past Vasilevskiy, but the goal was waived off due to a delayed slashing penalty on the Bruins. The whistle was barely audible over the crowd, leaving Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman caught mid-celebration.

David Pastrnak thought he won the game for Boston … but ended up in the penalty box for slashing. pic.twitter.com/D4qXdk8fDy

— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2026

Tampa Bay drew first blood just 11 seconds into the contest when Brandon Hagel’s shot beat Swayman high. Boston responded aggressively, with Alex Steeves tying the game 1-1 at 11:24 on a feed from Mikey Eyssimont, his ninth goal of the season and first since Dec. 23. Morgan Geekie then gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with a tip-in off Charlie McAvoy, followed by Viktor Arvidsson’s power-play goal at 18:03 to make it 3-1. Boston outshot the Lightning 20-8 in the first period.

The Bruins’ momentum continued early in the second period. Matthew Poitras, in just his second game since being called up from Providence on Jan. 29, scored 2:22 into the period, becoming the youngest Boston player to score in an outdoor game, surpassing David Pastrnak’s 2019 Winter Classic record at age 22. Geekie scored his second of the night at 8:18 on a rush with a nice feed from Pastrnak, putting Boston up 5-1. That goal was his 32nd of the season and his sixth in the last five games.

Tampa Bay then staged a historic comeback. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on the power play at 10:28 to make it 5-2. Moments later, the game saw a historic moment as Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy dropped the gloves at center ice, the first-ever goaltender fight in an NHL outdoor game. The brief altercation added to the chaos, with Swayman eventually taken down by Vasilevskiy, and it helped swing momentum toward the Lightning.

The penalties began piling up for the Bruins, and the Lightning capitalized with back-to-back five-on-three power-play goals by Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul in just 23 seconds, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Nikita Kucherov tied it 5-5 at 11:50 of the third period with a one-time blast past Swayman. In the third period alone, Boston managed only five shots while the Lightning fired 25, including nine in overtime.

Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel settled it in the shootout, scoring the only goal over three rounds, while Pastrnak’s third-round shot clanged off the post. The Lightning completed their first four-goal comeback in both franchise and outdoor game history, keeping their strong run going in the Atlantic Division with 17 wins in 19 games.

Hoping to bounce back from the defeat, the Bruins will next face the Florida Panthers on Wednesday for their final game before the Olympic break.

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