Brayden Point’s Goal Gives Lightning 5OT Win in Game 1 vs. Blue Jackets

Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

The fourth-longest game in NHL history went in favor of the Tampa Bay Lightning after Brayden Point fired home a goal at 10:27 of the fifth overtime to end a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Nikita Kucherov sent a shot toward the net that Columbus defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov blocked, but the puck appeared to injure the blueliner. With Gavrikov shaken, the puck found its way to Point, who found an open lane and scored his second goal of the evening.

Point’s score was Tampa Bay’s first shot on goal in the fifth overtime and 88th overall.

The game stands as the second-longest matchup in the modern era, with the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2000 Game 4 conference semifinal win against Pittsburgh Penguins lasting 1:34 longer.

The longest game in Stanley Cup history ended 16:30 into the sixth overtime in the Detroit Red Wings’ Game 1 semifinal win over the Montreal Maroons.

Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo broke the all-time single-game saves record with 85, destroying the mark previously held by the New York Islanders’ Kelly Hrudey, who had 73 in a 4-3 quadruple overtime win over the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the 1987 Patrick Division semifinals.

Furthermore, the Blue Jackets and Lightning also combined to register the most combined shots on goal since the statistic was tracked in 1955-56, per NHL Public Relations.

Columbus defenseman Seth Jones also had 65:06 of ice time, which marks a record dating back to 1997-98, when the statistic was first officially logged, per NHL Public Relations.

The two teams traded goals in the first period, starting with Pierre-Luc Dubois’ power-play effort at 2:39 thanks to a tip-in.

Point answered fewer than four minutes later with an even-strength goal to tie the game at one after a Kucherov shot found its way into a scrum and deflected off the goal scorer:

Columbus was able to take the lead before the end of the second period when Oliver Bjorkstrand somehow snuck one home with 48 seconds remaining before intermission off a slap shot from the right corner:

It didn’t take long for Tampa Bay to respond, however, as Yanni Gourde scored the game-tying goal 23 seconds into the third after jamming home a Blake Coleman shot that found a scrum in front of the net.

Both teams had their overtime scoring chances. Tampa Bay had 47 shots on goal after regulation ended, including 14 each in the third and fourth extra sessions.

But the game stretched on. In fact, it lasted so long that Game 1 of the first-round series between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes, which was scheduled to occur at Scotiabank Arena following the Blue Jackets-Lightning game, was moved to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The Blue Jackets’ Twitter account put it best with the game in the fourth overtime:

In the end, the Lightning won and took a 1-0 series lead.

Columbus and Tampa Bay’s series is a rematch of their first-round matchup from last year in which the Blue Jackets swept the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning in four games.

Columbus has played a lot of hockey of late: The Blue Jackets just finished a three-game stretch from last Thursday through Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs to close their qualifying-round series. The first two of those games went into overtime.

But the Blue Jackets must forge ahead and get ready for Game 2, which is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.