TAMPA, Fla. —The weather predicted here for Sunday would be considered a disaster for vacationing snowbirds.

But for an outdoor hockey game? It should work just fine.

The motif of a winter wonderland is probably not what the National Hockey League was going for at Raymond James Stadium for the game between the Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, what with the tiki torches lining entrances to the rink for the teams, but the temps are expected to dip into the 30s on Sunday night for the Stadium Series game after it was in the 60s on Friday night.

There is even a slight chance of snow flurries, if you can believe that.

Judging by the ice conditions for the B’s practice, held in a temporary air-conditioned tent that will be removed for the game, a little more chilliness might be best thing for all involved. There were a couple of unexpected wipeouts, including one by David Pastrnak, that elicited laughs from teammates. But the hope is that conditions will be improved for Sunday for a 6:30 p.m. puck drop.

“It’s definitely pretty patchy,” said Charlie McAvoy. “It’s real soft, but we’ll see what they can do between tonight and tomorrow. Obviously, we got it after (the Lightning) practiced on it. I don’t know how many people have skated on it before but, yeah, it’s not great. But I’m sure they have a plan in place to have it as good as they can make it for (Sunday).”

Native Floridian Andrew Peeke took faux umbrage at the ice complaints.

“We’re used to soft ice, what you mean?” joked the Parkland, Fla. native.

“It’s equal for both teams. Bot teams have to play on it. It started off good and then got a little choppy at the end but that’s what you expect in a situation like this. But you just have to manage it, be smart and be simple and let the game come to you.”

While players like Morgan Geekie, who is from Manitoba, waxed about playing on the frozen ponds of Canada, that was not Peeke’s reality growing up. He was thrilled that his home state has been the epicenter of the hockey world for the past month.

“It’s pretty unique for sure. I can count on one hand that I played outside,” said Peeke. “This is pretty cool for me being from Florida and being able to represent the state and how hockey’s grown down here. Being able to have the Winter Classic in south Florida and the Stadium Series here, I think it’s a big step for the state in general and how hockey’s growing.”

Not to be lost in the uniqueness of the setting is the fact that this is a game that pits two of the hottest teams in the league in January – the Lightning were 11-1-1 and the B’s were 11-2-1 – battling in an ultra-competitive Atlantic Division.

Michael Eyssimont of the Boston Bruins shoots during a practice for the 2026 NHL Stadium Series game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday in Tampa, Fla. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

The B’s are in the second wild card spot, while the Lightning are in first in the division and Eastern Conference but only five points separate them (the Bolts do have three games in hand). The B’s, Canadiens and Sabres all had 67 points going into Saturday’s games.

“Our division just doesn’t stop winning,” said Tampa forward Brandon Hagel. “There’s not much breathing room.”

The injuries are part of the story of this game as well, for different reasons. Tampa is expecting to get back top defenseman Victor Hedman, who has been out with an elbow injury since early December. The news is not as good for the B’s, who will be missing their top two centermen in Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha. Both of whom have been termed day-to-day but did not travel with the team.

Marat Khusnutdinov will take Lindholm’s place between Pastrnak and Geekie, while Fraser Minten will again take Zacha’s spot between Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt.

Coach Marco Sturm tweaked his bottom six, putting Matt Poitras with Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic, while Sean Kuraly centered Mike Eyssimont and Alex Steeves.

“Those two guys (Kastelic and Jeannot) are great veterans, great leaders and they will take care of him,” said Sturm.

Having 455 pounds of muscle on the ice with him should go a long way in building Poitras’ confidence.

“Yeah, you do feel pretty safe with those guys out there on your wing,” said Poitras with a laugh.

Poitras’ world was turned upside down. On Wednesday, he was getting ready to travel with the Providence Bruins to Charlotte, where was to play in front of a few thousands fans. On Sunday, he’ll be playing in front of 60,000.

“Obviously, it’s kind of a big change. It happened so quick. I was packing to go to Charlotte on Wednesday and (assistant GM Evan Gold) called me to say I was coming up. It was pretty exciting. Obviously a change of plans. I’m so lucky to be here and play in this game,” he said.