Canes, Panthers Indulge In Longest Games In Their Histories As East Final Opener Hits 4th OT

The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seem determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing. The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series by completing three overtimes with the score tied at 2. That made it the longest game in franchise history for each team, with Game 1 pushing into early Friday five hours after the puck dropped. This marks the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history.

Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final. This is the longest game this season.

The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.