Long day at the office for the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, who took a 1-1 tie into overtime Wednesday. And then into a second overtime. And then into a third overtime.
It wasn't until 14:41 of that third OT, 114:41 since the game had begun, that Rangers' winger Marian Gaborik was kind enough to end things, converting on a centering pass by Brad Richards:
"It was a long game," Marian Gaborik said, stating the obvious in the locker room. "We were talking about staying with the system and making sure we keep it simple. It was about will. We wanted to win this game. It was great to get the win."
Braden Holtby deserved better, making 47 saves in the loss.
"I was trying to be patient," he said. "They were trying to play around with different plays behind the net. He threw a quick pass out front, right on the other guy's tape. He one-timed it through my legs before I could get down."
Game 3 between the Rangers and Capitals enters the books as the third-longest game since the lockout. Appropriately, the goal was quite similar to the one Daniel and Henrik Sedin combined to create in the longest overtime game since the lockout, a quadruple overtime victory over the Dallas Stars in 2007.
Both goals were the product of a centering passes from behind the goal. Maybe that's the thing to do when these games go so long.