The record for the longest hockey game ever played was set and broken in the 1930s. Both were Stanley Cup games, and both went into the sixth overtime. In 1933 the Bruins and the Leafs went 0-0 for an additional one hour, forty-four minutes and forty-six seconds until Toronto scored a goal. Three years later an even longer game was played between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons in the first round. One reason for the tight games was that teams often relied on their old habit of playing more-defensive hockey in a championship series. Games were long and slow, with few penalties, few shots on goal, and few risks. After the 1933 game the league wanted to cut overtime games short by using a coin toss or playing without goalies, but the fans protested. In 1936 it was sudden death — or nothing...