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Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jeremy Swayman have rare goalie fight
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) takes the ice for warm-ups prior to a game against the Boston Bruins in the 2026 Stadium Series ice hockey game at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jeremy Swayman spice up outdoor NHL game with rare goalie fight

Sunday's Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins had one of the most outrageous moments in outdoor game history when goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning) and Jeremy Swayman (Bruins) got into a fight in the second period. It all started following a skirmish around the Boston net that infuriated Swayman.

As he started to take swings at Lightning players around, Vasilevskiy took it upon himself to skate the length of the ice and get involved.

That was when the goalie equipment came off, and punches started to get thrown.

Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy fight in Stadium Series game

There are a lot of things that make this fight such a rarity.

For one, fighting in general has been declining in the NHL for two decades now, and it is especially rare in outdoor games.

Goalie fights are even rarer, and until this moment had never actually happened in one of the NHL's outdoor games. 

Here is a look at the fight.

Both goalies were assessed five-minute majors for fighting that were served by teammates to allow them to remain in the net. As ESPN officiating expert Dave Jackson explained, had there been another fight taking place when they started their fight, it would have resulted in both goalies being ejected from the game. But because there was no other fight happening and they simply started their own, they were allowed to stay in.

This is the second goalie fight of the 2025-26 NHL season. A couple of weeks ago, Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky fought San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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