Easter Epic

The Easter Epic is the nickname given to a National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey game during the 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. The seventh and deciding game of the Patrick Division semifinals, it was played April 18–19, 1987, at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The game is notable for the following: It is the longest Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff history and one of two Game 7's (the other being in 1939) to need three or more overtimes. It was the first game since 1971 to go into a third overtime and the first since 1951 to go to a fourth. It is also the only playoff game that season to go beyond one overtime period. The Islanders became the first team to win a best-of-5 series after trailing 2–0; that series was also against the Caps. In 1975, the Islanders climbed out of a 3–0 hole to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in a similar comeback fashion. The Isles had won three of the previous four series between the teams; the Capitals had won the other two.