Jokerit wins longest game in KHL history, Predators forced to wait for Tolvanen

Rudi Schuller

Jokerit wins longest game in KHL history, Predators forced to wait for Tolvanen image

And you thought your week was long.

After 142 minutes and four overtimes, Jokerit defeated CSKA Moscow 2-1 on Thursday thanks to a goal by Mika Niemi. The reward? Another game.

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Jokerit entered the contest in must-win mode, with the Finnish team facing elimination from the KHL's Western Conference semifinals. CSKA had built up a 3-1 series lead and was looking to book a spot in the next round.

With the stakes high for both sides, the game would start off quickly. The two teams traded goals in the first period, teasing a high-scoring affair. 

However, that wouldn't be the case, as there would not be another goal for over two hours of game play. The game stretched on until it officially became the longest contest in KHL history in the fourth overtime period.

Even after it rewrote the record books, the game still required another 16 minutes before Niemi's winner.

Though it lasted into the fifth overtime, Thursday's contest couldn't match the longest NHL game on record. That came way back in 1936 when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Maroons in the sixth overtime period to claim a 1-0 win in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

MORE: 10 longest overtime games in NHL playoffs history

With Jokerit extending the series to at least a sixth game, the Nashville Predators will have to wait a little bit longer for 18-year-old Finnish forward Eeli Tolvanen. The teenager is expected to sign an entry-level contract with the Predators upon the end of Jokerit's season, and Tolvanen nearly extended the NHL team's wait himself when he scored a stunning wrist shot goal in the second period that was called off.

Niemi's goal ultimately did the same job, forcing the NHL's leading team to put the plane ticket for Tolvanen on hold for another few days.

As Thursday's contest proved, good things come to those who wait.

Rudi Schuller