The Stanley Cup Playoffs opened with a bang, as the Tampa Bay Lightning outlasted the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in quintuple overtime to win the fourth-longest game in NHL history.
And while there was no shortage of game MVPs to choose from, the game ops team deserves a bit of special recognition, too. As the game wore on, social media delighted in the cheeky messages displayed on the video screen.
First:
Then:
And finally, as the game headed into the fifth OT period ...
As great as those messages were, the on-ice epic caught the attention of NHL players and teams, too.
Perhaps the most attentive parties — other than Columbus and Tampa Bay's players and fans — were the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins, who were scheduled to take the ice at Scotiabank Arena following the conclusion of the Lightning/Blue Jackets tilt.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes/Bruins game was pushed from an 8 p.m. ET Tuesday start time to 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The Hurricanes summed up their feelings on Twitter:
It's only fitting that an atypical Stanley Cup playoffs began with an atypical game. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
