RALEIGH, N.C.— His Florida Panthers were not even a half-day removed from surviving a four-overtime thriller, 3-2, to open the Eastern Conference Final when Paul Maurice wrapped up his news conference with a question.

“OK, everybody, I’ll see you eight hours from now,” the coach said Friday. “Is that the routine we’re on now?”

It sure feels like it after the Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes played one of the longest games in NHL postseason history, one that left players’ legs wobbly and minds weary in a contest that seemed at times destined to keep going.

And going.

And going.

Along the way, it was enough to have Maurice wonder aloud how long both teams could go without risking injuries, while leaving players from both rosters to scarf down snacks or chug fluids in hopes to hanging in there through 15-minute intermissions before each OT. Now the Panthers and Hurricanes have a compressed window to rest, recharge and — in Carolina’s case, particularly — regroup before Game 2 on Saturday night.

“It definitely stings,” Carolina defenseman Brady Skjei said. “Long game, both teams went through it though, so both teams are feeling that today.”

Both teams were coming off multiday breaks before the series, but they burned through that stored-up juice in a game that stands as the sixth-longest in NHL postseason history (139:47).