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Blue Jackets vs Lightning: Tampa Bay wins after 5 overtimes in Stanley Cup Playoff opener, fans call it 'unreal'

The end result may have seen Tampa Bay pull off a stunner with a 3-2 win, but it also led to the postponing of the playoff opener between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes

Who would've thunk it? Five overtimes in a single game and that's how the epic game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning unfolded when they clashed on Tuesday night, August 11, in their Stanley Cup Playoff scrimmage. The end result may have seen Tampa Bay pull off a stunner with a 3-2 win, but it also led to the postponing of the playoff opener between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. They will lock horns on Wednesday, August 12, instead. 

When the game between the two sides reached the 48-second mark of the fifth overtime, it became the fourth-longest game to be ever played in the history of the NHL. Call it a marathon, but it was a hard-fought win for the Lightning as they kept themselves in the hunt even in the fifth overtime. Twitter just exploded as the fifth overtime fact sunk in. They only had one word in their minds: 'Unreal'.

"What a battle. That was unreal. 5 OT's!!! #Epic" wrote one of the fans on Twitter.

"The #TBLightning just won their first #StanleyCupPlayoffs game over the #CBJ in the last two years. Unfortunately for them, it took them almost THREE full games to do it. 5 OT......Unreal @NHLA" opined another who caught the long game.

And here are some interesting numbers by ESPN that adds to the excitement— "The Blue Jackets-Lightning game is just the 5th in Stanley Cup Playoff history to go at least 5 overtimes. The last 5-OT playoff game before tonight was April 24, 2003, between the Mighty Ducks & Stars. The Ducks won, 4-3, on a Petr Sykora goal 48 seconds into the 5th OT."

And the laughs weren't missing either. "The losing goalie in a 5 OT playoff hockey game should be the first person to get a coronavirus vaccine," read one of the tweets.

In the end, it was all about what an entertainer the game turned out to be. "Wow that was heartbreaking as the @MapleLeafs beat the @BlueJacketsNHL 3 to 2 in 5 OT's... What a game.." a fan commented.

Tampa Bay and Columbus will play again on Thursday, August 13, and hopefully, the next clash will be just as mind-blowing as the August 11 scrimmage.