The Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets played the fourth-longest game in NHL history on Tuesday, taking five overtimes to complete the opener of their best-of-seven series in a marathon that finally ended when Brayden Point, found the puck on an open patch of ice and, on Tampa Bay’s 88th shot of the game, beat Joonas Korpisalo for a 3-2 final.
Korpisalo’s 85 saves in the game set a new NHL playoff record, shattering the previous mark of 73 stops by Kelly Hrudey in Game 7 of the 1987 Patrick Division semifinals. But while Hrudey can dine out on his Easter Epic performance on Long Island forever, as he led the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Capitals, Korpisalo’s record carries the sting of defeat, as does Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones’ mark of 65:06 of ice time, the most since the NHL started tracking that stat in 1997.
Korpisalo and Jones do have some company in history, though, as other athletes have set records that became bittersweet memories because they happened in defeats…
SLIDE #1Michael Jordan
April 20, 1986 was a momentous day in His Airness’ career, as Jordan set an NBA playoff record with 63 points at Boston Garden in Game 2 of the Bulls’ first-round series against the Celtics, pushing the eventual champions to double overtime.
The Bulls, of course, lost that game, because while they had Jordan, the Celtics had Larry Bird (36 points), Kevin McHale (27 points), and Danny Ainge (24 points), not to mention Dennis Johnson (15 points) and Robert Parish (13 points). Ainge is the only one of those Boston starters who isn’t a Hall of Famer, but the Celtics had Bill Walton off the bench for 10 points of his own.
SLIDE #2Tom Brady
The future Hall of Fame is a four-time Super Bowl MVP, and holds a slew of records for the NFL’s biggest game that he can look back on happily, like his 43 completions in leading the Patriots’ comeback from a 25-point deficit against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
But Brady also set a record for passing yards in a Super Bowl with 505 against the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, which followed his record 16 consecutive completions against the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. In each of those games, Brady attempted 48 passes without throwing an interception, also a record. And in each of those games, Brady and the Patriots lost.
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