March 24, 1936 – A Stanley Cup playoff game takes a record 9 periods to declare a winner. In game one of hockey’s premier championship, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons completed a marathon contest that ended at 2:25 AM after remaining scoreless for 176.5 minutes of live-action.
Rookie Red Wing winger Mud Bruneteau lit the lamp for Detroit to claim a 1-0 victory. Bruneteau deflected a rolling puck past Maroons Goalie Lorne Chabot to take the first in a best of 5 series after a never to be broken NHL record 116 minutes of overtime.
By comparison, the next closest post-season NHL game in length was the May 4, 2000 game between Pennsylvania rivals the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. That game 4 of the playoff, with the Pens up 3 games to 1, lasted for 152:01 minutes.
Keith Primeau broke the tie in OT to propel the Flyers to a victory and ultimately won the series. The NHL changed the rules of overtime to include 4-4 play as well as a shootout, should it be needed for overtime sessions in the 2005-2006 season.
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