Anthony Duclair admitted as of Friday afternoon that he and his teammates still hadn’t fully recovered physically and mentally from their game the previous day, the sixth-longest in NHL history.
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On the bus to Florida, after a brief team briefing, Duclair was glad to be in the middle of an unforgettable meeting that lasted nearly six hours.
“It was an incredible experience,” said the Panthers forward, who provided two assists in the 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. As for many, it was the longest game of my career. It was very tiring for the body, but we are very happy to have emerged victorious.
It was almost 2 a.m. Thursday night when Matthew Tkachuk defeated Frederik Andersen with 13 seconds left in fourth overtime of the Eastern Conference Finals. Seven periods equals more than two games.
“It’s me going score»
The Panthers can say a big thank you to their goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky, who was bombed with 65 shots. And Duclair has his teammates to thank. They put up resistance when the former Remparts ended up in the dungeons in the middle of first stoppage time for high sticking.
And even when the Florida team were denied a goal in the first overtime due to an obstructive gesture by the goalkeeper, Paul Maurice’s players never gave up.
“Every break, we said to each other in the room, ‘It’s me who’s going to score, then let’s finish it,'” said Duclair, who often changed his gloves and put some tape on his palette. But you shouldn’t get distracted. We had to focus on our game plan and keep working hard. Even if we didn’t score a goal, we played well in defence. We continue to have faith in our teammates because we have the talent to get the job done.
Duclair spent almost 36 minutes on the ice. Defenseman Brandon Montour was the most used player on both teams with an ice time of 57 minutes and 56 seconds. It’s practically a complete match!
bananas, oranges and water
The Panthers players had to wait until they were back at the hotel before eating a proper meal. Ordering chicken like other teams have already done during an endless game is out of the question.
“In the locker room we had bananas, oranges, lots of shakes, protein and electrolytes,” Duclair said.
“I drank a lot of water and that was the secret for me,” the 27-year-old winger continued. It really helped me.”
Let’s hope the treatments and cold soaks planned for Friday afternoon will have an effect as the Panthers and Hurricanes meet again on Saturday night in Raleigh.