Sometimes, teams can’t finish off their opponents in regular time, causing their games to either end in an unwanted draw or, in the case of playoffs, go to overtime. In sports like Hockey, the overtime goes on until one team scores to end the game.

This can cause games in the NHL to last several hours, with what was originally intended as an hour-long 3-period game with two breaks in between. In this article, we’ll cover five of the longest NHL games ever recorded, when they occurred, who won and how long the game lasted. All the games in the list below reached at least a fifth overtime, which is insanely long!

#5. Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-3 Dallas Stars: 2 hrs, 20 min, 48 sec

While you might be surprised to see how long this April 2003 NHL Western Conference Semi-Finals went, it’s not even close to the longest NHL games ever. It is still first up on the list of the top five longest NHL games ever though, ending only after going into five overtimes. Dallas would score in the 3rd period to tie the game level 3-3. What was originally supposed to be a 60-minute match with the potential for overtime turned into a 2-hour and 20-minute game, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would effectively defeat the Dallas Stars 4-3.

#4. Columbus Blue Jackets 2-3 Tampa Bay Lightning: 2 hrs, 30 min, 27 sec

Next up is one of the more recent playoff matches happening on August 11th, 2020, between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lighting, considered one of the longest NHL games ever. The Blue Jackets would hold a slim 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd period, but the Lighting would tie it up by the end of the 3rd. Five overtimes would ensue until the Tampa Bay Lightning would come back and put the game to bed after 2 hours and 30 minutes of playing hockey. This will most definitely be remembered as one of the longest NHL games ever to grace the sport.

#3. Flyers 2-1 Penguins: 2 hrs, 32 min, 1 sec

Overshadowing the Columbus vs. Tampa Bay match by just 2 minutes is one of the longest NHL games ever to occur between two Pennsylvania-grown teams, the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Both teams would battle it out throughout all of Game 5, with the Flyers reaching 72 overall shots and the Penguins with 62 hits. Pittsburgh would hold a 1-0 lead for most of the game up until the Flyers scored a clutch goal in the 3rd period, causing the game to go into five overtimes before the Flyers would finish off the Penguins 2-1 in what lasted for two hours and 32 minutes long!

#2. Boston Bruins 0-1 Toronto Maple Leafs: 2 hrs, 44 min, 46 sec

Out of all the games on this list, this Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs is the second longest in duration and the oldest! In April of 1933, these two rivaling teams would clash for 60 minutes straight while going completely scoreless. As an onlooker, you might’ve thought the game would never end, as five overtimes would ensue with the score still locked at 0-0. In the sixth overtime, Ken Doraty of the Toronto Maple Leafs would score to end one of the longest NHL games ever after two hours and 44 minutes of play.

#1. Detroit Red Wings 1-0 Montreal Maroons: 2 hrs, 56 min, 30 sec

Lastly, the longest NHL game of all time happened on March 24th, 1936, between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons. Much like the 1933 Bruins vs. Maple Leafs matchup, this game would also head to six overtimes after being scoreless throughout the entire game. The difference in this game was an entire 10 minutes, in which Red Wings Mud Bruneteau would score 16 minutes and 30 seconds into the 6th overtime and win 1-0, leading the game to be effectively the longest NHL game ever at a length of two hours and 56 minutes.