Anaheim Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin played in a Calder Cup Final game in 2001 that he suspects may have lasted about as long as Tuesday night's marathon contest against the Chicago Blackhawks. He's even got the t-shirt to show for it.
"That year we lost 3-2 in a fourth overtime actually. I don't know how many minutes I played," he said. "It's funny, they made a t-shirt about it because it was the longest game in AHL history that we ended up losing unfortunately. But those are fun games to play."
The Ducks' minutes-leader in Game 2 doesn't have a souvenir this time around, unless you count the empty Gatorade bottles that littered the dressing room after the game. Or maybe the bowl of brown apple slices.
Anaheim has seemed nearly unbeatable throughout what can only be considered a dominant postseason. The Ducks still haven't lost in regulation.
But the root cause of both of those overtime losses -- Game 3 of the second round in Calgary and Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against Chicago -- can be traced back to the penalty box. Careless penalties led to the Flames tying the game in the final minute on a 5-on-3 and then winning a few minutes later again with the extra man after a delayed penalty.
The Blackhawks converted on two early power plays in Tuesday night's triple-OT thriller, the only two goals they managed until the 102nd minute. Of the four teams left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, none have killed off penalties like the Ducks (84.6 percent). But the two aforementioned games show just how significant seemingly insignificant minors can be.
It's a fine line the Ducks must walk between utilizing their trademark physicality and playing smart. They have to stay out of the box.
"Five-on-five, that's when we're playing at our best. That's when we burn teams down," said Beauchemin. "We get in the offensive zone, we get that puck going, we get the cycle game going. Our big guys are handling the puck."
Defenseman Clayton Stoner has done more good than bad, but he's been at least somewhat responsible for the first two goals scored in Tuesday loss along with the delayed penalty in Calgary.
Eleven games into the playoffs, coach Bruce Boudreau has made minimal lineup changes, only switching out a few forwards. But with quality talent on the bench like veteran defenseman James Wisniewski, the options are being weighed. Wisniewski and wingers Tomas Fleischmann and Tim Jackman -- both of whom played well against both Winnipeg and Calgary -- also are available.
"We've had initial discussions in the coaching staff about it," Boudreau said. "It's possible because we think we've got a lot of good players that aren't playing. But we'll have to talk about it more."
Regardless of who ends up on the ice or in the penalty box, the focus now isn't on individuals, it's on responding as a group in Game 3, Thursday night at the United Center in Chicago. Lots of minutes were played Tuesday and lots of blood was shed, but the way the Ducks see it, they should have won that one.
And they're not about to let another slip away.
"To me it was a confidence boost, this game," Boudreau said. "We didn't get the final result we wanted, but for almost six periods, you know, we played really well. Five-on-five, had opportunities. But I thought we did a really good job. To me, that game was a game that I would look and say, 'Hey, man, we can play with these guys.' That's the way I took it. That's why I'm excited about getting on the plane and getting back at it."
