It was the third overtime. Weary players were tackling each other and getting away with it. It seemed no more penalties would be called the rest of the game.
Then Jason Doig hopped off the bench too soon and found the puck at his stick.
The penalty for too many men on the ice led to Martin St. Louis' power-play goal at 4:03 of the third extra period, giving the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 series-ending victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
``I wasn't expecting the puck to come right to me,'' Doig said. ``I wanted to get a head start. I heard the whistle and went, `Oh, no!'''
The Lightning, after dropping the first two games at home, won four straight to win the best-of-seven series and advance in the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's 11-year history.
``It's been a long time coming, no question,'' coach John Tortorella said. ``There's been some lean years out there. We're hoping we continue to go. You never know how far you're going in the playoffs, but you need to come back and do it again, and that's how you solidify your organization.
``We don't want this to be a one-year thing -- or a one-series thing.''
In the only other game Sunday, Vancouver beat St. Louis 4-3 on the road to force a Game 7. Vancouver trailed the series 3-1 and can advance to the second round with a home win Tuesday night.
Philadelphia can set up a second-round matchup with Ottawa with a win at Toronto in Game 6 on Monday night. Colorado can advance by winning at Minnesota.
Tampa Bay's only previous postseason appearance came in 1996, when it lost 4-2 to Philadelphia. The third-seeded Lightning will play No. 2 New Jersey in the second round.
St. Louis scored five goals in the series after he was switched to Vincent Lecavalier's line following Game 2. On the winner, he took Lecavalier's pass behind the net, circled to the right of the crease and put a shot above Olaf Kolzig's glove.
``I was able to jump to the front,'' St. Louis said. ``I was just trying to go upstairs. You try those plays many times, and they don't work many times, but this time it did.''
For the Capitals, it was yet another way to collapse in the postseason. They blew a two-game series lead for the fourth time since 1992. They did it by losing four straight -- something that didn't happen during the regular season. They fell to 2-10 in their last 12 home playoff games.
The team failed to meet owner Ted Leonsis' goal of winning a playoff series this year, despite the huge investment he's made in Jaromir Jagr and other high-paid players.
The money-losing Capitals also failed to sell out any of their three home games in the series. Sunday's Easter attendance was 15,269 -- and that appeared very generous.
``I have to really reconsider the kind of commitment and investment I'm making with this team,'' Leonsis said. ``I'm not a quitter. ... It was hard to see 14,000 fans. I don't like the treatment that we're getting from the building. The party's over.''
Leonsis was also dissatisfied with the officiating. The Capitals lost Game 3 on a five-on-three overtime power play -- an NHL first in 70 years -- and got the short end of a dicey high-sticking call on Kolzig in Game 5.
``They made a cheap call on too many men on the ice that I don't understand,'' Leonsis said. ``The third game really hurt us. The penalty on Olie was the wrong call. Every game at home or every pivotal game was in the hands of the refs. ... What I am disappointed in is the game continued to get taken out of the players' hands.''
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