A long time has passed, 16 years to be exact, since a Bruins forward by the name of Marco Sturm tapped home Patrice Bergeron’s pass into the back of the Philadelphia Flyers’ net to lift the B’s to victory in the first Fenway Park Winter Classic.

As was often the case when he scored a goal, a child-like joy opened up all over Sturm’s beaming face.

Sturm is now the Bruins’ coach and, while he can still appreciates outdoor games like the one the B’s will be playing in at Raymond James Stadium against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, he looks at the upcoming event more like a harried hockey parent than a carefree peewee.

“It’s a tricky one because there’s a lot more to it. There’s family coming, there’s this and that. There’s the equipment, guys are going out with the new gloves. There’s so much to it,” Sturm said. “When there’s the puck drop, I think that’s where the enjoyment comes. Before, it’s very hectic, it’s chaos, it’s a lot of questions. So we try to minimize that. But as soon as we’re there and we go on the ice, especially for the game and even the day before for a skate, I think that’s when it really kicks in. Right now, it’s more for me and my staff to organize things, not for players. But it’s a good event and the guys should enjoy it when it’s time.”

Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm, shown during a recent game. He played for the Bruins in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Logistics are far from the only challenge. Sturm said Friday that neither Elias Lindholm nor Pavel Zacha will make the trip due to upper body injuries they suffered on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. That presents the biggest injury challenge the team has faced since both Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak were out of the lineup together earlier in the season. That’s the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 centers, both all-situation players and faceoff men.

The penciled-in plan is for Marat Khusnutdinov to move into the middle, joining Fraser Minten, Matt Poitras and Sean Kuraly as the remaining pivots. Sturm did not believe there were going to be any call-ups.

“That’s something we have to overcome. We have no other choice,” Sturm said. “But on the other side, I do feel good about it because of the way we’re playing right now and the structure we’ve put in place.”

As of now, Sturm didn’t think the injuries would affect the Olympic status of Lindholm (Sweden) and Zacha (Czechia), but it will be up to their individual federations.

Beyond the pomp of the event and the concerning injuries, there is a rather important hockey game to be played. The Bolts lead the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 72 points, five ahead of the B’s, who despite a 11-2-1 January have not been able to better their playoff position from the second wild-card spot.

The teams have played once this season, a 4-3 Tampa win at TD Garden in which the Lightning barely held off a furious Bruins rally in the end.

This is another measuring-stick game for the B’s, who have been barely average away from the Garden (11-12-2). Would Sturm prefer to play this one in a regular hockey arena with fewer variables?

“Can you ask me after the game?” asked Sturm with a laugh.

“There is a fine line where we’re at right now as a team playing against the best team definitely in the East, against Tampa, and one of the best teams in the league right now. It’s going to be a good measurement. Hopefully it will help us being outdoors. But we’ve just got to be ready for a very hot team.”

As the outdoor games have proliferated, the punch they have provided for a national audience has waned. But they still provide a boost to the host city locally. And they still mean something to the players.

“It’s the whole spectacle,” Kuraly said. “As you get older in your career, they’re almost little spots on the timeline that you remember more than others just because of the spectacle that it is. Usually families are there, friends, it’s usually on TV, something a little bit bigger. It’s kind of like a mid-year celebration sometimes. Obviously, it’s a business trip, two points, and that’s of importance. But everyone wants to take a second, look around and really enjoy it.”

Kuraly has a special memory in an outdoor game in 2019 at Notre Dame Stadium. His third-period backhander turned out to be the game-winner for the B’s over the Chicago Blackhawks, igniting his patented Kura-leap celebration into glass under the blue-gray skies of South Bend.

Where does that goal rank for him?

“A lot higher than what I would have thought at the time, to be honest,” Kuraly said. “I knew how I felt as a younger player in the league at the time, as you could tell by my celebration. But as I look back and as I talk to people over the years, I get so many comments about people remembering that goal specifically. So I think you start to realize that these bigger moments carry a little more weight and gravity in people’s minds and people get emotionally invested in this big games. And we do, too.”