NHL: Florida stuns Carolina in SIXTH-longest game in NHL history

It may have lasted 139 minutes and 47 seconds, but Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk graciously ended the sixth-longest game in NHL history by breaking a 2-2 tie with the Carolina Hurricanes in quadruple overtime.

The exhausting marathon victory gives the starting eighth-seeded Panthers a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals over the heavily favored Hurricanes heading into Game 2 of the series on Saturday.

Thursday’s opener was easily the longest game in either team’s history, ending more than five hours after the puck dropped in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Florida thought they had won the game in the first overtime, but Ryan Lomberg’s apparent goal was reversed due to a controversial goalie interference on the Panthers’ Colin White.

There were other chances too, such as Sebastian Aho’s shot off the post in the early stages of the fourth overtime, when Panthers goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky was caught out of position. Minutes later, on a Carolina power play, Jesper Fast sniffed in front of the net for a possible winner of the game.

Later in the fourth inning, a deflected shot from Aaron Ekblad ricocheted off the crossbar, but failed to find the back of the Hurricanes’ net.

Fans making it through the marathon playoff game joked about their own fatigue on social media.

A Hurricanes supporter shared a photo of apparently exhausted friends in the crowd, tweeting, “The guys have work tomorrow. Another 10 minutes to four times overtime.’

Meanwhile, a YouTuber known as “The Sports Beard” in Alaska shared a photo of his outdoor setup, which features a fire pit, a table, an expansive lake and a clear blue sky.

“Quadruple OT 21:30 AKST,” The Sports Beard tweeted.

Fans making it through the marathon playoff game joked about their own fatigue on social media

At least one fan in Alaska got to enjoy the marathon Game 1 under a clear blue sky

The first period was almost scoreless until Carolina’s Seth Jarvis scored a power play goal with 12 seconds left before the first break. The absolute laser of a slap shot was assisted by Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns.

The second period, however, belonged to the Panthers, as Aleksander Barkov’s equalizer was followed by Carter Verhaeghe’s goal at 5:43 p.m. in the frame.

But the Hurricanes fought back in the third and tied the game on another power play goal – this time from Stefan Noesen.

Much of the credit for Thursday’s victory goes to Bobrovsky’s defense and the Panthers, who prevented an equally strong goal for nearly seven full periods.

Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers saves against Sebastian Aho in the fourth OT

The NHL ends ties during the regular season differently than in the playoffs.

While postseason games enter an unlimited streak of 20-minute sudden-death overtime until a team scores, regular-season games have an extra five-minute frame before ending in a shootout.

The longest game in playoff history remains a six-overtime marathon between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Maroons in 1935. The wings went on to win 1-0 on a (very) late game winner by Mud Bruneteau.

More recently, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins played five overtimes in the 2000 conference semifinals before Philly’s Keith Primeau snapped a 1–1 tie in 92 minutes.