Proudly rocking my Steven Stamkos jersey, we watched the Bolts beat the Stars! Photo by: Evan Berman

I watched the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars in Dallas during my time there in February! While not the focal point of the visit, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that they were in town when I would be. This was my second visit to American Airlines Arena in 12 hours. The next day, I definitely felt a little withdrawal after not visiting in so long! 😉

This hockey game review is part of the February in Dallas trip. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Flight: American Economy, CHS-DFW

Bruce Springsteen in Concert

Tampa Bay Lightning Game (This Article)

5 Days in Dallas

Food and Drinks in Dallas

Lounges at DFW Airport

Flight: American Economy DFW-CHS

Conclusion

Purchasing Tickets:

I purchased 2 tickets on Ticketmaster. As with Vivid Seats and for the Bruce Springsteen tickets, I will dig deeper into the different platforms I frequently use to purchase tickets in a separate article. We were waiting on a response from someone else about attending and did not buy seats until the morning of the game (fun fact: this is usually a great way to find discounts on tickets, as was the case here!). As I knew my friend was not a huge fan of either team (unfortunately he’s a Bruins fan but I forgive him somehow), we opted for seats in the Upper Deck behind the goal the Lightning would shoot at twice.

The tickets cost $106.98 in total ($53.49 each). That’s a perfectly reasonable price to pay to watch two of the better teams in the league play. We were happy with the seats and more importantly, I was happy that the Lightning won!

I purchased the tickets using my Capital One Venture X Card and earned 2x Capital One Venture Miles (214 Capital One Miles earned). I can’t get enough of those miles lately– between Turkish Miles & Smiles (45k miles each way from the US to Europe or Istanbul in Business Class) and Wyndham (as few as 6,750 points per night or 13,500 in Vacasa rental properties), I’ve been using a ton of those miles! Once again, I also clicked through the Rakuten shopping portal and earned 2x Membership Rewards Points on this purchase, equal to 214 points.

Evan’s Thoughts:

Unlike with a flight or hotel review, I don’t have set criteria for reviewing a concert. Instead, I’ll provide my thoughts– what stood out to me either positive or negative– and talk about my overall thoughts and share any funny stories.

The Experience:

Hockey is a terrific sport. There is no shortage of action and an insane amount talent is often on display. For those of us who watch and are fans, it’s a form of art. Growing up near Tampa, Florida, I’ve been a lifelong Tampa Bay Lightning fan. This was by no means my first NHL game, though it was my first game at American Airlines Center. Here are a few highlights of the experience:

• Wow, this was a well-played game! Both teams (in particular the goalies) were excellent. The game was physical, but not sloppy, and there were few giveaways.
• While there was a definite home-ice advantage, there were plenty of Lightning fans there as well. The fans on both sides were really into it which always makes for a more exciting atmosphere.
• There really are no bad seats at a hockey game! I love to sit as close to the ice as possible and when I had season tickets, I always sat 5-10 rows back. The action is closer, but you don’t miss much by watching the game from up high.
• The Lightning won 3-1 with a late additional goal. The first goal was one of the more beautiful plays you’d ever want to see! Even the Stars fans around me were begrudgingly admitting that it was a nice goal.

I had only one negative takeaway from the experience: kid’s day. I’ve been to a few kid’s day games and while I appreciate helping the family come together, it is rather annoying to hear some supernaturally catchy song being played over and over. While we weren’t playing at home, it was great to experience the energy of another arena. I’d certainly go back!

If you can’t tell, I had a blast! Of course it always helps to see your team win, but the experience was great and I was very grateful the Lightning happened to be playing in Dallas when I was there!

Food and Drinks:

In a reversal of the concert the night before, I ordered food but no drinks other than water. I went for a hot dog topped with blue cheese, potato chips, brisket, and peppers. It was quite a hard meal to enjoy– without it going all over the place!– but it was nonetheless tasty. We headed to a tasty lunch after the game so this was more of a prelude.

I was impressed with the quality of food.

The Seats:

As mentioned in the booking section, our seats were 4 rows up, in the upper deck. we strategically chose to be on the side where the Lightning shot twice. While I usually opt for better (closer) seats, these offered a solid view. The seat itself was comfortable– not something that you can take for granted in the upper deck– and the legroom was satisfactory.

Yes, I may have preferred to be closer to the action but it certainly would not have been worth it for Kyle to spend an extra $60+. These seats were more than adequate.

Recap:

I saw my Lightning Bay Lightning take down the Dallas Stars with a friend of mine at American Airlines Arena in Dallas in February. We (well at least I did– my team won 😉 ) had a terrific time and would head back to American Airlines Arena to watch a game in an instant. Stay tuned for my full recap of the time spent in Dallas as well as more information on booking concert and sporting event tickets!

Evan