Lightning, Bruins excited to hit Stadium Series ice after early removal of rink covering

And while initially the deconstruction of that structure was set for 6 a.m. Sunday, the weather had cooperated enough that it was pushed back to midnight, and then back further, with elements — HVAC units, cabling, walls and side walls — starting to be taken down around 4 p.m. Saturday.

The ice surface got generally good reviews, though it became a little soft for the Bruins, who took the ice in the second session on Saturday. There was a small divot pointed out by Cooper near the penalty boxes at the start of the Lightning’s skate, which was quickly corrected by the ice crew.

“Where that happened, it’s expected,” NHL vice president of facility operations Derek King said. “We fixed it right away, talked to Coop after. It was fine and he understood. So I expect it to be better tomorrow after these skates today.”

But there were no real complaints.

“Ice was great, and you can definitely sense with these stadium games, the atmosphere, the intensity, the excitement all building, and it starts with that first practice,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “It’ll be just more excitement to see what everything looks like from the ice tomorrow. Two different experiences.”

Between the skates on Saturday and the game on Sunday, the ice crew will make some small adjustments, with the knowledge gained at the practices. They will fine-tune the ice surface, paying attention to the smallest of details, with ever better knowledge of exactly what the weather is going to be, including those cold temperatures, which could dip into the 30s.

As King said, “It definitely wasn’t what we expected when we were saying, hey, let’s go to Tampa.”

In fact, back in late November when the NHL was filling its trailers with all the gear it would need for two outdoor games in the state of Florida — the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic and the Stadium Series — there were the tools they knew they would need, the new chiller blending tank, the AC, the de-humification, the structure that would encase the ice in the weeks ahead of puck drop.

Then, they considered the heater.

“What else?” King recalled, of going through the packing checklist. “OK, well, we’ve got to bring our heater. And we’re like, ‘Do we really?’ I’m like, yeah, we need the heater.”

It was a prescient move.