HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - Many Florida Panthers fans were running on fumes on Friday after they stayed up late — much later than usual — to watch their hockey team beat the Carolina Hurricanes on a lengthy Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.
Friday afternoon, an employee at Shenanigans in Hollywood said the place was packed just hours earlier, as the game — the sixth longest in NHL history — went into one overtime after another, still tied to 2.
“We stopped serving, but people still stayed here until the end of the game,” she said.
Just before 2 a.m. on Friday, after six hours of play and four overtimes, Matthew Tkachuk scored the goal that brought the game to a thrilling end.
Cameras captured fans at a massive Panthers watch party at Backyard in Fort Lauderdale as they erupted in cheers.
Cameras during the telecast captured some fans at the game struggling to stay awake, so it’s likely many of these local fans didn’t make it into work Friday.
After all, six hours is a long time. Travelers can catch a flight from New York City to Los Angeles in less time.
Tkachuk scored the winning goal with just 13 seconds left of fourth overtimes, meaning the came came dangerously close to being even longer.
Hours later, the Panthers tweeted out permission slips for anyone who might have been dragged out of bed Friday morning.
Panthers and Miami Heat fans might feel tired during the remainder of the month. Between both teams, there will essentially be an Eastern Conference final game every night of the week for a while.
The Heat will be aiming for win #2 Friday night against the Boston Celtics after winning Game 1 on Wednesday.
The local teams are rooting for each other. The Heat’s Jimmy Butler posted a video to social media sporting a Tkachuk jersey which practicing.
Not to be outdone, several Miami Marlins players showed up in Panthers gear. The baseball team is currently in second place in the East.
Shenanigans owner Patrick Utter said they’re ready to welcome sports fans all throughout the finals.
“It’s completely packed. There’s never a cover, $4 drafts, best chicken wings in the state,” he said.
Whether it’s the Heat or the Panthers, Shenanigans will have both teams’ games on, no matter how many quadruple overtimes they have to power through.
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