Montour workhorse for Panthers in 4OT Game 1 win against Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Brandon Montour had time to look at his phone before falling asleep in the hours before dawn Friday.

The Florida Panthers defenseman was trying to come down from just having played the sixth-longest game in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a 3-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at PNC Arena.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Forward Matthew Tkachuk won Game 1 with a short-side wrist shot with 13 seconds left in the fourth overtime, 79:47 after regulation ended.

With the crowd noise still ringing in his ears and a need to replenish the fluids and calories lost in a game that took nearly six hours -- starting at 8:10 p.m. ET and ending at 1:54 a.m. -- Montour looked at his phone, and his texts were out of control.

"A lot about time on ice and just saying 'How do you feel?'" he said. "A lot of family and friends just kind of saying that they stayed up and were really tired themselves. [They] couldn't imagine how we were as players."

Nobody could imagine how Montour felt, not even the other players on the ice.

Montour played 57:56, the most of any skater in the game. He and forward Anthony Duclair tied for the Florida lead in shots (eight), and Montour had another four shot attempts. He also had three blocked shots.

Even more tellingly, he skated 8.96 miles in the game, over 1.2 miles more than defenseman Aaron Ekblad (7.73), his teammate who was second in distance traveled, according to data from the NHL Edge puck and player tracking system.

"I feel like there's probably a lot of gliding in there, " Montour said Friday, less than 12 hours after leaving the ice in Game 1. "Sounds like a big number, but there's definitely a lot of gliding."

Defenseman Brent Burns led Carolina with 7.65 miles skated.

"[Montour] was flying," Florida center Eric Staal said. "Even at the 50-plus minute range, he was moving up the ice so well. He is in great shape; he takes care of himself. He is kind of that freak athlete, fun to watch. A dynamic player, hugely important to us these playoffs, this whole season. It is fun to see him do what he does out there."

Panthers coach Paul Maurice wasn't surprised when told of the minutes played and the distance traveled by Montour.

As overtime dragged on with players visibly slowed, Maurice noticed no such issue with Montour. The 29-year-old was still jumping into the play, backchecking feverishly and affecting the game in all three zones.

"When he comes back to the bench, he's fine," Maurice said. "There are unique players in that some of them have a fitness level and they're just different. Right? There are guys that can go nonstop."

Maurice, in his first season with the Panthers, learned that about Montour in training camp. He designed a tough camp, one that resonates with the players eight months later.

But Montour was unfazed.

"During training camp, we are at Day Three and we had bent them over pretty good at that point," Maurice said, smiling. "There were a lot of guys sore or hurting, and he's flying around and he is like, 'You want to go two? Go two today?' His recovery is incredible."

Not much rattles Montour, it seems. He said he walked into the dressing room for one of the overtime intermissions in Game 1 and asked how the Los Angeles Lakers did in their NBA playoff game against the Denver Nuggets. He also is part of the leadership group that keeps the room light and, for the most part, self-governed.

However, he remains most valued for his ability to take over a game.

Montour had an NHL career-high 73 points (16 goals, 57 assists) in 80 regular-season games this season. He has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 13 postseason games.

Montour showcased his stamina and game-breaking ability before he even arrived in the NHL in the 2016-17 season. While at the University of Massachusetts, he played in the longest game in NCAA Division I ice hockey history, a 4-3 victory against Notre Dame in Game 1 of the first round of the 2015 Hockey East tournament. It ended at 11:42 of the fifth overtime.

Montour, who said he played close to 70 minutes in that game, had three assists, including one on the winning goal by Shane Walsh.

UMass lost the next two games in the best-of-3 series.

"Goalies might have been tired, I don't know," Montour said with a smile.

Those college memories stayed with him when the game Thursday stretched into virtually uncharted territory for most of the players.

"I thought about that game a few times," he said.

One of the things Montour remembered was how his freshness late in that game often proved to be a difference-maker. His jump when others were hanging on for dear life allowed Montour to go on the attack and create offense from unexpected places.

He employed that strategy Thursday, putting the Hurricanes under duress during his overtime shifts.

"I'm trying to make that big play, especially going into OT, if I have juice in left in my legs," Montour said. "You know the other teams are going to be tired, exhausted.

"So, anytime I could kind of burn some energy and get out there and make some plays, I'm going to trust myself to do that."

The Panthers trust Montour as well, and for nearly six hours in Game 1, he kept reminding them why.