A Matthew Tkachuk slapshot beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to put a super-sized "W" in the WTF that was Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals — the longest game in Panthers and Hurricanes history.
Watching the match felt like being held down under a Zamboni and force-fed a stream of coffee and jock-strap-sweat-flavored pints we oddly enjoyed. Luckily, the Panthers found a creative way to grant fans reprieve for sleeping in after biting their nails through the late night hours.
MATTHEW TKACHUK’S GAME WINNER HELPS THE PANTHERS WIN THE SIXTH LONGEST GAME IN NHL PLAYOFF HISTORY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/H0Kwdm8HOd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 19, 2023
Marathon on Ice
Winner winner, chicken dinner. Wait — Tkachuk's winner with 12 seconds left in the fourth overtime was actually closer to breakfast than it was dinner. Winner-winner, chicken breakfast?With a fifth overtime looming, Tkachuk found himself holding the puck on his stick with a small window to operate. With a slapshot and sprint to the tunnel late, the Panthers were heading to the locker room winners of Game 1 instead of participants in a seventh intermission.
"It kind of becomes the game of attrition. You're just trying to be patient and wait for the moment and for the shot. Just one shot at a time. You don't think too much ahead," Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said after the match.
The game clocked in at 139 minutes, the six-longest in NHL playoff history.
"I'm excited to get out of here, catch that 2:35 bus back to the hotel and get some sleep and some food," Tkachuk told Sportsnet after the game-winning goal.
Fans all around South Florida hereby pronounce May 19, Tkachuk Day. Why? Because we need a holiday and a day off work, fast.
Panthers Excuse Fans From Friday
With Game 1 ending after 1:00 a.m. in South Florida, the Panthers' marketing team sprang into action to do their part in ensuring fans have support if they were a little slow to roll out of bed on Friday. Following Tkachuk's winner, the Panthers sent out a fake permission slip granting fans an excuse from their Friday morning responsibilities, or at least a bit of tardiness. The permission slip, adorned with the Panthers' logo and official branding, mimicked an excuse slip you might give to a teacher in school.
"As you are probably aware, our Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes went into four overtime periods," the slip reads.
To be fair, if South Florida students who stayed up past midnight showed up at school at all this morning, they deserve applause, not the penalty box.
By order of the Florida Panthers: pic.twitter.com/lvst9KB6D0
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 19, 2023
What's Next: Game 2
After having played four overtimes in Game 1, the Panthers and Hurricanes already spent two full games' worth of time on the ice. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Game 1 only counts as one win in the series and they'll have to run it back on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m., when they return to battle the Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh.The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, are favored to win over the Panthers, who barely secured a wildcard spot.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov nonetheless appears confident the Cats can outlast Carolina. Following the marathon game, he said of the team's performance, "You don't just let it go. You grind all the way until the end."
