Overview
- Puck drop is 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN at Raymond James Stadium, with Sean McDonough, Ray Ferraro, Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan on the call and streaming available on the ESPN app.
- The NHL took down a climate-controlled tent earlier than planned as a cold forecast in the low 40s to high 30s favored open air, yet players described the ice in practice as “real soft.”
- Tampa Bay arrives on a 16-1-1 surge at 34-14-4, led by Nikita Kucherov’s 82 points in 48 games and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 13-0-1 stretch since Dec. 20.
- Boston traveled without centers Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha due to upper-body injuries, pushing Fraser Minten into a top-line role with Matt Poitras recalled.
- Event staging leans into Gasparilla pirate theming, with Tim McGraw headlining the first intermission and Hunter Hayes slated to perform the national anthem.