will show two games from the NHL conference finals this weekend. On the night between Saturday and Sunday at 03:00, the second game of the series between Carolina and Florida will be shown.
On Sunday evening at 22:00, it’s the second half of Vegas and Dallas. Both matches will be broadcast live on TV2 and Areena.
The starting points for the second conference final between Carolina and Florida are already interesting from the start, but Friday’s opening game brings its own spice to the sequel. In the first final match of the Eastern Conference, the teams wanted no less than four overtimes, so that the winning goal scored by Florida did not see the light of day until 139.47.
The match was the sixth longest in NHL history.
Marathon games of this size are rare, but not unusual.
Finns also have experiences of this. The domestic ice record time for field players is held by Pelicans’ current sports director Janne Laukkanen. He played six seconds and 52 minutes for Pittsburgh in April 2000. Philadelphia won a game that went to a fifth overtime.
– In Finland, Sisko wondered if the teletext was broken when the game was still running in the morning, Laukkanen recalls with a laugh.
– In the end, it had nothing to do with hockey anymore or with any way of playing, when all the juices were gone. The kiosks in the hall were closed and someone in the stands was sleeping, Laukkanen continues.
Second on the list is the defender Sami Salo, who played with Vancouver against Dallas in April 2007 for a couple of minutes just five overtimes. Salon Ice Time lasted more than 49 minutes. Henrik Sedin decided the match for Vancouver at that time.
– It takes you mentally and physically to the limit. It requires a lot from the mental side, that the thought does not escape when going double game. It can be challenging if you start to hope that this game will end, Salo, currently a member of the TPS coaching team, recalled during a round of golf.
– I just wanted to keep the exchanges short and take care of my own business, because no one wants to be the one who makes that crucial mistake.
In the match between Vancouver and Dallas, a big bunch of Finns played, because they were also in the ranks of the star jerseys Jere Lehtinen, Jussi Jokinen, Niklas Hagman and Antti Miettinen. Lehtinen’s Ice Age was three minutes behind Salo’s.
Salo remembers very well the hard refueling between overtime sets.
– A mere protein bar is not necessarily that pleasant at that stage. We had pizza, pasta and whatever anyone wanted in the booth. The most important thing in that is to get a lot of energy, anything meaningful you can get down.
An inhuman challenge for a goalkeeper
Such good servings were not available for Joonas Korpisalo, who holds the Finnish record.
In August 2020, against Tampa, goalie Korpisalo lost for five overtimes, recording 150.26 ice time. At the end of the match, the Finn recorded an incredible 85 tackles, when Columbus lost to Tampa.
– We joked with the guys that someone should bring here pizza or whatever, that nothing will come of it. Everyone ate a banana tart and energy bars during each set break. Everything we could get our hands on was dragged there to eat, Korpisalo laughs.
According to Korpisalo, the atmosphere at the set breaks started to get more fun the further the match progressed.
– Yes, it started to go to the comedy side, when the game just went on and on. We joked that someone should score the goal now, that there is no point in this anymore.
For a goalkeeper, matches lasting several overtime periods are an even tougher trial than for field players. Sweating under a merciless pile of equipment is inhumane, but concentration must not waver for a moment or the match will be over.
Physically alone, the goalkeeper goes through a merciless test during the game.
– In a normal game, the weight can be 3-4 kilos, but during those eight rounds, I’m guessing that we’re talking about 6-7 kilos. Then you have to catch up after the game. The body now takes what it takes, but you have to drink, even if you’re not thirsty.
Regression
It is also challenging that there is hardly any time to recover from long games. Often, the series of matches continues after just one intermission day, and if you are unlucky, you may have to travel even longer distances in between.
– I didn’t sleep much the next night, my body was in overdrive, even though I was completely exhausted, Korpisalo remembers.
Salo emphasizes the importance of maintenance training.
– You have to get the slags going after the game and that’s the challenge. You have to stop exercising, because in these matters those differences can also come. It then repeats itself and is visible, not necessarily in the next game, but maybe in the next game.
Back in Laukkanen’s time at the turn of the millennium, we lived in a slightly different world.
– It didn’t really seem like there was anything to do, to sleep through the shower. I think someone opened the door, Laukkanen laughs.
The second conference finals game between Carolina and Florida will be played the night before Sunday Finnish time. Florida leads the series 1-0. will show the match live from 3:05 on TV2 and Areena.