Classic Rewind: Panthers Outlast Capitals in Historic 20-Round Shootout

This is one record that might never be broken.
In the longest shootout in NHL history, Nick Bjugstad scored the game-winning goal to lift the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals at BB&T Center on Dec. 16, 2014.

As part of their "Panthers Rewind" series, FOX Sports Florida re-aired the game on Sunday.
"There's a few of us that have a few things that we do for good luck, and I can tell you that we ran out of our good luck charms," said Panthers center Derek MacKenzie, who scored the team's lone goal in regulation. "We were at the mercy of whatever was happening out there."
After missing on his first attempt in Round 2, Bjugstad took a deep breath and decided to switch things up before getting a shot at redemption in Round 20. Rather than going again from the left side, he held the puck, deked, and then beat Braden Holtby from the right to secure the victory.

"I came from the other side the first time and it didn't work out," said Bjugstad, whose winning goal came on the record-setting 40th shot of a skills competition that walked the line between epic and absurd. "I actually saw another guy do it before me so I thought it might work out."
Although everything worked out, Bjugstad wasn't initially sure that he'd get another shot.
"I asked [Panthers assistant coach John Madden] at about [Round] 10 if they end up going through it again," Bjugstad said, flashing a big grin. "I didn't think it would happen. It was kind of a hypothetical question, and it happened."
Sure, it happened. But there the was more than one occasion in which he felt like it wasn't going to. Throughout the 20-round gauntlet, the Panthers were down to their last shooter and facing a loss on five separate occasions. Yet, time and time again, they scored to keep the contest alive.
That's also part of what made this game so very special.
For 20 rounds, the crowd was on its feet, watching in awe.
From fans to players, everyone was on the same rollercoaster.
"I've never seen anything like that," Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo said.
With everyone in the lineup getting a shot, the goals came from both players you'd expect and also a few surprises. In addition to Bjugstad, Jussi Jokinen (Round 4), Dave Bolland (Round 7), MacKenzie (Round 10), Sean Bergenheim (Round 11) and Dylan Olsen (Round 17) also lit the lamp to force another round.
Prior to the game, MacKenzie and Olsen had never scored in an NHL shootout.

But, although the goal-scorers get a lot of deserved credit, Luongo might have been the game's unsung hero. Between the pipes at the other end of the ice, the stalwart goalie turned aside 15 of 20 Capitals shooters, including Alex Ovechkin in Round 20 to set up Bjugstad's game-winner.
"The great thing is, I don't know how many times guys bailed me out where they had to score to keep it alive and they did every time," said Luongo, who also stopped a combined 23 shots in regulation and overtime. "It was amazing."
With the win, the Panthers demolished the previous record for longest shootout in NHL history that had stood since Nov. 26, 2005. In that game, Marek Malik beat Olaf Kolzig in the 15th round of the skills competition to lift the New York Rangers a 3-2 win over, oddly enough, Washington.
Still, despite being on the wrong side of an epic shootout yet again, the Capitals also had fun.
"At first you're [thinking] just get the shootout victory, but once it got to 15, 16, 17; actually it was quite fun," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "You just sort of lived in the moment and hope that you got the two points. Unfortunately, we didn't."
Trotz also agreed there's a good chance that the record-long shootout will stand the test of time.
"The chances of that happening again are one in a million," he said.