Longest overtime games in Stanley Cup playoff history - ESPN

Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals provided fans in attendance with more than double the amount of hockey for which they paid. It took until 19:47 of the fourth overtime period for the Florida Panthers to earn the 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

During NHL regular-season games, a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period is played; if no team scores, it goes to a shootout. But in the playoffs, it's repeated 20-minute periods of sudden death until a goal is scored.

Will the Panthers-Hurricanes marathon result in any players getting a rest for Game 2? Not likely.

«I've got a 38-year-old in the back end,» Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour said of defenseman Brent Burns, who played over 54 minutes in Game 1, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. «Maybe I shouldn't go to him [in Game 2]. But I can tell you right now that if I confronted him, he would punch me in the face. This is why they play the games. To get in these moments. So I guess that answers [the question] for the rest of the guys, too.»

Nevertheless, Thursday's marathon contest was not the longest playoff overtime game in NHL history. The 79 minutes, 47 seconds of extra game time was the sixth highest in the league's more than 100 years. Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information research, here's a rundown of the five games that were even longer:

Overtime periods: 6Extra game time: 116:30

The wonderfully named Mud Bruneteau finally scored at 16:30 of overtime No. 6 to break the tie with Montreal in Game 1 of the best-of-five Stanley Cup semifinal series. Per NHL.com, Red Wings goalie Normie Smith lost 12 pounds of body weight during the game and made 92 saves to earn the W. The Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup Final that year against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Overtime