Boston Bruins
Swayman and Vasilevskiy dropped the gloves in front of over 74,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium.
Jeremy Swayman and Andrei Vasilevskiy dropped the gloves on Sunday. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
TAMPA — Jeremy Swayman finally got his wish.
The Bruins goalie and Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy dropped the gloves in a rare scrap between goalies — energizing a crowd of over 64,000 at Raymond James Stadium during the Sunday’s Stadium Series outdoor game.
With the Bruins holding a 5-2 lead over Tampa past the midway point of the second period, the temperature spiked on a chilly night in Tampa after Lightning forward Brandon Hagel tried to jam loose a puck in Swayman’s pads.
Charlie McAvoy took exception and knocked Hagel to the ice, with an incensed Swayman joining in the fray by landing a few shoves against the Lightning forward.
After Swayman removed himself from the dogpile, he looked down the other end of the ice at Vasilevskiy — skating out of his crease as the Tampa goalie made his way to center ice.
With a hockey stick still wedged into his pads, Swayman met Vasilevskiy near the blue line — with the duo dropping the gloves and removing their masks as the crowd roared in approval.
The actual scrap wasn’t exactly a heavyweight bout — with Vasilevskiy eventually taking Swayman to the ice after both traded a few hooks.
Still, it turned what was looking like a lopsided Bruins victory into a nail-biter after 40 minutes of play — with the Lightning scoring three unanswered goals (all on the power play) in the second period to make it a 5-4 game going into the third period.
Both Swayman and Vasilevskiy were issued five-minute major penalties for fighting and an additional two-minute penalty for leaving the crease to take part in the fight.
Both netminders stayed in the game, with Swayman collecting another penalty in the period for a delay of game after firing the puck over the glass.
Sunday was Swayman’s first fight as a pro, but the 27-year-old netminder has had run-ins before.
Last March, Swayman nearly got into a fight with Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper before the refs intervened.
In an eventual overtime win over the Canadiens in November 2023, Swayman appeared to challenge Habs goalie Sam Montembeault down the other end of the ice after a full line scrap spilled out around his net.
Just a few months later, Swayman skated out to center ice to challenge Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll after more post-whistle pleasantries were exchanged between Boston and Toronto.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
