For a sweep, the Detroit Red Wings-Anaheim Mighty Ducks series was a marathon.
Detroit finally finished it with a 3-2 victory Thursday night in - appropriately - double overtime.Although the second-round series will go into the books as four games, the two teams played almost the equivalent of six, a total of 18 periods.
Brendan Shanahan ended it when he poked in a shot, Detroit's 73rd of the game, with 2:57 left in the second extra period of a game that stretched beyond midnight.
The Red Wings also won two overtime games to start the series. They took the opener 2-1 in one extra period, then won Game 2 by a 3-2 margin in three overtimes. Their only regulation win was a 5-3 victory in Game 3.
Detroit, in the Western Conference finals for the third time in as many years, now awaits the winner of the series between Colorado and Edmonton. The defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche lead the Oilers 2-1.
The Red Wings, who won their last of seven NHL titles in 1955, made it to the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago but were swept by New Jersey.
After the grinding overtimes against Anaheim, the Red Wings were looking forward to some time off.
"It's going to be good to get some rest," said Detroit right wing Doug Brown, who was held out of Detroit's opening series against St. Louis but scored three goals in the last three games against the Ducks.
Rangers 3, Devils 0
At New York, hitting and shoving and broken bones aside, it was a great game for Mike Richter.
The New York Rangers goalie posted his third shutout of the playoffs and second of the series as New York defeated New Jersey 3-0 Thursday night, pushing the Devils to the brink of playoff elimination - and the end of their rope emotionally.
"I would never have guessed it," New Jersey's Randy McKay said. "We just thought we could stick to our game plan and stay in it."
Whatever the plan was, it failed as Richter stretched himself to the limit in a very physical sense, stopping 35 shots and leading New York to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Game 5 is Sunday in New Jersey, where things might get even uglier as the Devils try to avoid being eliminated by the Rangers for the third time in six seasons.
"They're a very proud hockey club and right now we are standing in the way of something they want," the Rangers' Wayne Gretzky said. "Each and every game will get even more physical, but that's the way playoff hockey is and that's the way it's always going to be."
Gretzky overcame a frightening crash into the boards to score his sixth goal of the playoffs, and New Jersey was scuttled by a disallowed tying goal for the third game in a row.
The hard-fought game ended with a skirmish that resulted in penalties to all 10 skaters on the ice.