Longest NHL game in history: A look back at the most taxing game of all-time

Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals was one of the longest games in NHL history.

The Florida Panthers took on the Carolina Hurricanes in a very intriguing series as many expected the game to be back-and-forth. That ended up being the case as after the third period, the game was tied 2-2.

In the first overtime, the Panthers scored but it was ruled no goal due to goalie interference. Then, the game kept going and eventually, it was the Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk who scored in the fourth overtime, just after 2 a.m. ET.

The game started at 8 p.m. ET.

"I'm excited to get out of here," Tkachuk said after the game, a big smile on his face. "I'm excited to catch that 2:35 bus back to the hotel and get some sleep and get some food and everything. There's guys cracking Red Bulls before the fourth overtime, there's pizza flowing. It was actually pretty funny seeing it."

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour knows losing in four overtimes is heartbreaking, but he told his team it's only one game and they can't let it impact them.

Longest NHL game ever

Although the Panthers-Hurricanes game went four overtimes, it was not the longest NHL game in history.

The longest NHL game in history was played on March 24, 1936, when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons 1-0 in the sixth overtime. The game lasted 176 minutes and 30 seconds.

Mud Bruneteau scored the game's only goal 16:30 in the sixth overtime period which gave the Red Wings the 1-0 series lead.

Following the marathon of a game, Detroit went on to sweep the series in four games.

That 1936 game beat the previous record of 164:46 which happened in 1933 as the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs went to six overtimes in Game 5 of the 1933 semifinals.

The most recent longest game in NHL history was during the 2020 bubble when the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 in the fifth overtime. The game lasted 150:27.