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The 5 longest games in NHL history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Final began in Raleigh, North Carolina at 8:10 p.m. ET on Thursday.
It didn't end until minutes before the clock struck 2 a.m. on Friday.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers needed nearly four full overtimes to decide a winner at PNC Arena. With 13 seconds remaining until the fifth OT, Florida's Matthew Tkachuk finally ended the marathon with a game-winning goal.
After 139 minutes and 47 seconds of playing time, the Panthers claimed a 1-0 series lead.
So where does Panthers-Hurricanes rank among the longest games in NHL history?
A standard NHL game is 60 minutes long divided into three 20-minute periods. If a regular season game is tied, it goes to a five-minute overtime period where the first team to score wins the game. If no team scores in that duration, the game is decided by a shootout.
In the playoffs, overtime periods are 20 minutes long, with the first team to score winning the game. However, if the game remains tied after 20 minutes, another 20-minute overtime period will start. This continues until a team nets a goal.
The Panthers-Hurricanes game was the sixth-longest in NHL history. Here's a look at the five that were longer, with all of them reaching at least a fifth OT:
The longest game in NHL history happened all the way back in 1936. In Game 1 of the national semifinal (before conferences arrived), the Maroons hosted the Red Wings in a lengthy thriller. Detroit right wing Mud Bruneteau scored after 16:30 in the sixth overtime period, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 win and a 1-0 series lead. They would eventually sweep Montreal in three games en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
Total length: 176:30
Before the Red Wings and Maroons, the Bruins and Maple Leafs went to a sixth overtime period in Game 5 of the 1933 semifinals. Maple Leafs right wing Ken Doraty sent Toronto to the finals after scoring 4:46 into the sixth period to give his squad the 1-0 win and a 3-2 series win. Toronto, however, fell in the national final.
Total length: 164:46
The next three longest games all transpired at the turn of the century, starting with the Flyers and Penguins in Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals. The game was tied 1-1 until Flyers center forward Keith Primeau broke the stalemate after 12:01 played during the fifth overtime period. Primeau’s goal tied the series at 2-2, and the Flyers went on to win the ensuing two games to reach the Eastern Conference final, where their run ended.
Total length: 152:01
This game is the most recent game to have such a lengthy finish time. In Game 1 of the first round in the East, the Blue Jackets and Lightning got off to an enthralling start. After 10:27 in quintuple overtime, Lightning center forward Brayden Point secured the puck after a deflection and shot it in from distance. Tampa Bay would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
Total length: 150:27
The fifth longest game in NHL history came in 2003 when the Ducks battled the Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation, Ducks right wing Petr Sykora sealed the game just 48 seconds into quintuple overtime to give his team the 4-3 win. Anaheim’s run that season ended in the national final.
Total length: 140:48
There have now been 15 games in NHL playoff history that reached a fourth overtime.
