The first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs got off to a memorable start with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets requiring five overtime periods to determine Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
The game lasted a whopping 150:27 but surprisingly it didn’t even crack the top three in terms of longest games in NHL history. With that in mind we wanted to look back at every game in NHL history that required quadruple or quintuple overtime in both the pre- and post-expansion era.
Post-expansion era…
There have been eight games in the past 69 years that have required more than three overtime periods. Here’s what happened in those games and below that a look at the longest games in the pre-expansion era.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – May 4, 2000
The longest game in modern NHL history remains this battle of attrition between these Pennsylvania rivals. The game ended when Keith Primeau wired a shot past Penguins netminder Ron Tugnutt at 12:01 of the fifth overtime period.
Flyers defenceman Dan McGillis, who recorded an assist on Primeau’s winner, logged 61:05 of ice time which was a record at the time. Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr was on the ice for 59:08, which remains an NHL record for most ice time in a single game from a forward since the league began recording the stat.
Pittsburgh had a 2-0 series lead but Philly won four straight games to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – Aug. 11, 2020 Several NHL records were broken in the 3-2 Lightning victory. Tampa fired a record 88 shots on Joonas Korpisalo who subsequently made a record 85 saves. Blue Jackets defenceman Seth Jones set a new NHL record with 65:06 of ice time before Brayden Point got the winner.
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Mighty Ducks of Anaheim vs. Dallas Stars – April 24, 2003
Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinal was a marathon. Eventual Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 60 of 63 shots, while Stars defencemen Sergei Zubov (63:51) and Derian Hatcher (62:02) both broke the record for most ice time in a single game that McGillis set three years prior. Zubov held that record until Seth Jones passed him last night.
Petr Sykora scored 48 seconds into the fifth overtime period and Anaheim won 4-3.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals – April 24, 1996
At the time, this was the longest game in nearly a decade. Petr Nedved tied the game at two goals apiece eight minutes into the third period and then scored his sixth of the playoffs with 45 seconds remaining in the fourth OT stanza to give the Penguins a 3-2 win.
Jaromir Jagr led both teams with 12 shots on goal and assisted on Nedved’s game-winner. Olaf Kolzig made 62 saves in a losing effort.
Dallas Stars vs. Vancouver Canucks – April 11, 2007
Game 1 of this back-and-forth quarterfinal series required seven periods to determine a winner.
The story of this game was Roberto Luongo who stopped 72 of the 76 shots he faced and came one save short of tying the record at the time. The 132 combined shots from these teams was a record that stood until Tampa Bay and Columbus combined for 151 shots.
With a fifth overtime period looming, Henrik Sedin slid one by Marty Turco after a nice pass from his twin brother, Daniel, for the 5-4 win.
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San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars – May 4, 2008
One year after Dallas lost an epic showdown to the Canucks, they felled the Sharks 2-1 in quadruple OT.
Not only did Brenden Morrow’s goal end the game but it eliminated the Sharks and advanced the Stars to the Western Conference Final. Sharks defenceman Brian Campbell logged 56:23 of ice time, which currently stands as the 10th-most for a single game in league history.
New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals – April 18, 1987
This game is known as “The Easter Epic” and it’s remembered for Kelly Hrudey’s then-record 72-save performance and Pat LaFontaine’s winning goal that resulted in Bob Cole’s memorable “LaFontaine at the blue line” call. It is the longest Game 7 in NHL history.
Hrudey reflected on that game and commented on his record being broken after 33 years by Korpisalo.
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Buffalo Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils – April 27, 1994
It’s one of the all-time great goaltending performances that doesn’t get much attention.
Dominik Hasek had a 70-save shutout to help his Sabres beat the Devils in Game 6 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal match-up. It’s the most saves made by a goalie in a shutout win in NHL history.
Dave Hannan was set up by Jason Dawe and Wayne Presley at 5:43 of the fourth OT. Hasek won his first Vezina Trophy that year and went on to win the award in five of the next seven seasons.
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Pre-expansion era…
Prior to the NHL expanding in 1967, there were six occasions on which three overtime periods wasn’t enough.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Maroons – March 24, 1936
The longest game in NHL history remains this 1936 doozy that saw a total of one goal scored in 176:30 of gameplay. Rookie forward Modere “Mud” Bruneteau notched the winner and the Red Wings went on to sweep the series before beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final for the franchise’s first championship.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs – April 3, 1933
The second-longest game in NHL history was also a 1-0 contest. This one lasted 164:46. Toronto forward Ken Doraty scored the lone goal in the deciding game of the best-of-five series. After beating the Bruins, the Maple Leafs were defeated by the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings – March 23, 1943
Jack McLean scored the winning goal just past the mid-way point of the fourth overtime period to tie this semifinal series 1-1. Toronto ended up losing the series in six games and Detroit went on to sweep the Bruins and win the Stanley Cup.
New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens – March 28, 1930
Gus Rivers only scored six total goals in his NHL career for the Canadiens and one was at the 8:52 mark of the fourth overtime in Game 1 of this best-of-three series. Montreal rode that momentum, beat the Rangers and then the Bruins en route to winning the franchise’s fourth championship.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings – March 27, 1951
Maurice “Rocket” Richard beat Calder Trophy-winning netminder Terry Sawchuk to give the Habs a 3-2 win in Game 1 of this semifinal series.
Game 2 went into a third OT with Montreal winning that game also. They won the series but lost to the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Final.
New York Americans vs. New York Rangers – March 27, 1938
Lorne Carr lifted the Americans past their New York rival in dramatic fashion to win this best-of-three series 40 seconds into the fourth OT.
“If ever I had a test of my mental and physical conditioning, this was it,” Carr said of that game.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
