NEW YORK -- As someone who forever ago covered the Penguins' five-overtime loss to the Flyers at the Civic Arena ... while neglecting to eat beforehand, I promised myself back then that I'd never cover a Stanley Cup playoff game without stashing a sandwich into my computer bag. And I'd refer to that, for real, as my 'Keith Primeau sandwich,' for obvious reasons.
I didn't pack a sandwich on this Tuesday night that'd turn into a Wednesday morning, but I did grab a Starbucks to-go cheese platter from Broadway on my way into Madison Square Garden, and it came in handy after the first OT of the 4-3 triple-overtime victory against the Rangers.
Other, infinitely more pertinent facts related to this extraordinary event:
• This was the fifth-longest game in the Penguins' 54-year history, the seventh-longest in the Rangers' 96-year history.
• It was also the third-longest NHL game ever played at Madison Square Garden, behind Game 3 of the 1938 quarterfinals (120:40) and Game 1 of the 1939 semifinals (119:25).
• The Penguins' 83 shots on goal were a franchise record, regular season or playoffs, and the second-most in NHL history behind the Lightning's 88 in a first-round game against the Blue Jackets Aug. 11, 2020. The Penguins and Rangers combined for 151, tied with that same Lightning-Blue Jackets game for the most in NHL history.
• Evgeni Malkin's playoff overtime goal -- his first since Game 5 against the Capitals in 2009 -- also was his 13th playoff game-winner, most among active players. And just for fun in that context:
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• Malkin became the third player in franchise history to score the winning goal in a game of three or more overtimes. His came 5:58 into the third overtime for a total time elapsed of 105:58. He joined Petr Nedved from Game 4 against the Capitals in 1996 at 139:15, and Petr Sykora against the Red Wings in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final at 109:57.
• The Penguins are now 3-2 when playoff games go at least to a third overtime. The aforementioned Game 4 loss in 2000 against Primeau and the Flyers went five overtimes, the Game 4 victory over the Capitals in 1996 went four overtimes, the Game 5 victory over the Red Wings in 2008 went three overtimes, and Game 5 against the Senators in 2010 went three overtimes.
• Kris Letang's 46:41 of ice time was a career high and the most of anyone in this game. Adam Fox and K'Andre Miller each logged 44:28 to lead New York. The lowest ice time of anyone on the Penguins, other than injured Rickard Rakell, was the 15:15 of Brian Boyle. Otherwise, every skater topped 20 minutes.
• Casey DeSmith became the sixth NHL goaltender to make 48-plus saves in his playoff debut, joining Roberto Luongo (72), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (63), Jose Theodore (56), Jiri Crha (55) and Marc Behrend (49).
• Louis Domingue, who'd stop all 17 shots he'd face in relief of DeSmith, became the first goaltender in NHL history to enter a playoff game in the second overtime or later.
• According to Pittsburgh hockey historian Bob Grove, Domingue is the Penguins' third goaltender to win any playoff game in relief, joining Ken Wregget in relief of Tom Barrasso for Game 4 against the Capitals in 1996, and Frank Pietrangelo in relief of Barrasso for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the North Stars in 1991.
• The Rangers' Igor Shesterkin made 79 saves, second-most in a playoff game since 1955-56, when shots on goal were first tracked:
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• The Penguins outshot the Rangers, 83-68, and had 143 shot attempts to the Rangers' 98, as well as 32 high-danger scoring chances to the Rangers' 15.
• Bryan Rust and Kasperi Kapanen tied for the team lead with eight shots each. Every skater in the lineup had at least one.
• The Penguins committed one penalty, a ticky-tacky slashing call on Teddy Blueger at 8:58 of the first period, then not another the rest of the way, spanning the equivalent of a game and a half.
• With his assist on Jake Guentzel's second goal, Sidney Crosby passed Jaromir Jagr and tied Sergei Fedorov for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time playoff assist list:
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• Malkin tied Jagr on the franchise's all-time playoff goals list with his 65th. He moved past Bobby Smith, Brian Propp, Peter Forsberg and Yvan Cournoyer, all of whom had 64.
• Can't share this one often enough: Mario Lemieux never had a playoff overtime goal. (Although the late one in Game 1 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final against the Blackhawks sure felt like sudden death for Chicago.)
• And as long as we're including the Rangers in a lot of this, neither did Mark Messier.
• That Primeau game took place May 4, 2000. Or exactly 22 years ago from the day this article's being written ... and read all the way to the end, right?