Takeaways as Panthers outlast Hurricanes in thrilling 4OT series opener

Marathon minutes have both teams thinking recovery

Aside from the goaltenders who played the game in its entirety, there were impressive ice times from the other players. This game lasted so long that even Hurricanes public address announcer Wade Minter had enough and still worked two more periods after apologizing to the crowd. Wayne Gretzky also shared his impatience from TNT studios.

Brandon Montour was one of three Panthers blue-liners to log over 50 minutes, leading all players with 57:27 of ice time on a whopping 65 shifts (averaging 53 seconds). The time on ice was the 10th-most by a player in NHL history, according to the Athletic. Seth Jones holds the record with 65:06 played for Columbus in a Game 1 of the 2020 first round that lasted five overtimes.

Montour’s defensive partner Gustav Forsling, logged 56:10, while Aaron Ekblad skated for 52:10.

Florida had six players with over 40 minutes of ice time, including captain Aleksander Barkov, who played 43:51 and won 55 percent of his 55 draws. Panthers winger Carter Verhaeghe recorded six shots on goal and led the team with 17 shot attempts in 44:59 of ice time. On the physical side, the Cats delivered 46 hits, with Radko Gudas being credited with a game-high of 12.

Captain Jordan Staal won 55 percent of his 51 draws in 35:33 ice time for the Hurricanes. Sebastian Aho had six shots and 18 shot attempts during his 45:56 ice time, leading all forwards. Carolina had two D-men over 50 minutes, their top pair in Brent Burns (54:43) and Jaccob Slavin (51:41).

The game began as a race to the start, evolved into a race to the finish, and now is a race to recover, with Game 2 of this best-of-seven series lurking on Saturday.

“Both teams spent what they had,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, per NHL.com. “That’s a huge cost for both teams, and then it’s a race to recover.”

Yes, as Carolina coach Road Brind’Amour said, the Game 1 loss is, “The worst way to lose.”

But he is also correct in stating, “It’s just one game.”

“We’re ready to rehydrate, get to bed, and do it again,” Lomberg said, per Panthers digital content manager Jameson Olive.