Rest & recovery on the schedule after an exhausting Game 1

After playing the fourth-longest postseason game in National Hockey League history Tuesday, Game 1 between Tampa Bay and Columbus taking six hours and 13 minutes to complete and forcing the postponement of the opening game in the Carolina-Boston series set for later that night to the following morning, the Lightning were a tired group when they woke up Wednesday morning.

Physically exhausted, emotionally drained, mentally fatigued, the Lightning were scheduled to practice Wednesday between Games 1 and 2 but scrapped that plan once overtime turned into a second overtime and then a third overtime and, well, you know the rest.

Instead, the Lightning used Wednesday as a rest and recovery day since Game 2 is right around the corner, less than 48 hours after the end of Game 1.

"When I woke up, I was pretty sore, kind of makes you realize what you went through yesterday," Lightning forward Tyler Johnson said. "Today, kind of just relaxing a little bit, maybe do the recovery booths, go for a walk, maybe a light spin. You have to kind of stay active. You have to get all that lactic acid buildup out of your system. Probably the worst thing you can do is just lay around and do nothing."

Every single player on Tampa Bay skated their career high for time on ice in the Game 1 5OT victory except for Patrick Maroon and Ryan McDonagh, who each played in a triple overtime postseason game earlier in their career.

Which means its likely few on the Lightning have experienced the exhaustion after a game like they felt following Game 1.

"Our training staff, today is going to kind of be their eight-period game," Bolts defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk quipped. "They're going to be working all day on us. The hockey muscles are sore today: groins, hips, low back. But we're still moving around. I think we're all pretty active guys. We don't like to sit around anyway. We're just fortunate to be here and have places to go, get outside and make sure that we're keeping our minds right as well."

The mental fatigue from a five overtime game can be just as draining. Imagine playing for over 150 minutes with the ever-present thought in the back of your head if you make a mistake, it could be the one that leads to the game-winner for the opposition. All that hard work you and your teammates put into the game all going down the drain because of a play you failed to make.

And it's the playoffs, which amplifies every mistake that much more.

In a lot of ways, the mental aspect might even be more tough to handle during an extended overtime contest than declining stamina.

"You don't want it to be that one play that you just took a moment and relaxed on, fluky bounces whatever it might be," Shattenkirk said. "And I think for us, we made sure that we worked as hard as we could to avoid any of those situations."

Shattenkirk said that's where he was most proud of his teammates in Game 1. Sure they came out on top and cleared a bit of a hurdle finally picking up a playoff win over Columbus after getting swept by the Blue Jackets the season prior. But they never deviated from their structure and their system, even in the middle of a fifth overtime when it would have been easy to switch off for a play or take a shortcut.

"I think more than anything, we felt happy with how we played and how we stuck with our game plan," he said. "We never strayed from what we were told to do and what was successful to try to get that goal sooner. We just stuck with it and waited for our time. Waking up today, I think most of us probably thought about (the game) for a bit, but it's a day of recovery. I think we're already having our focus onto Game 2 and making sure that we're going to be ready, because I think we're going to see the best version of the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow at 3 o'clock."

Having a night to sleep on the victory and go over everything that went into Game 1, there were moments that didn't find their way on the scoresheet but were pivotal to the outcome of the game, according to both Shattenkirk and Johnson, Tampa Bay's lone media representatives Wednesday. Victor Hedman, who was questionable to play Game 1 and ended up skating 57:38, the eighth-highest total by a player since 1997-98 when time on ice was officially tracked, knocked a puck out of the air to prevent a breakaway chance with a Columbus skater getting in behind him. Hedman nullified another breakaway right before the game-winner when Nikita Kucherov's pass was intercepted on a Lightning power play by Cam Atkinson, who had nothing but open ice in front him.

That is, until Hedman chased him down and used his long reach to knock the puck off his stick.

Mikhail Sergachev made a game-saving play too when he saw a 2-on-1 developing for Columbus and sold out to keep Oliver Bjorkstrand from getting an open shot off on the back post.

"Four of the hardest strides I've ever seen him take," Johnson marveled. "Basically running headfirst into the wall to be able to block a pass-shot type thing."

Johnson said he'll also remember the intermissions with his teammates in the locker room. It's an experience he'll never forget but not one he's looking to replicate any time soon.

"Guys were laughing and kind of joking around, having fun," he said. "I don't know if that's just because we were so exhausted that was the only thing we could do or what it was.

"It's a different game. I'm proud to be a part of it, but at the same time I don't know if I ever want to do it again."