'Quest For The Stanley Cup' sees history made in conference finals

It's an up-close look at NHL history during the third episode of "Quest For The Stanley Cup."

For the first time, the first two games of each conference final go to overtime, and the behind-the-scenes show is there to record the pivotal moments from the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, and the Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights.

On the Eastern Conference side, there's a close-up look at how the teams recover during the 48 hours between the end of the four-overtime Panthers win in Game 1 and the start of Game 2.

"There were pieces of that game that both teams looked exactly like they're supposed to look," Panthers coach Paul Maurice says after Game 1. "At some point you're wondering how long can these men push it this hard without it becoming dangerous. We're getting fairly close to that threshold where nothing good happens after that for these men."

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The recovery seems to work well, as Panthers forward Eric Staal says, "I'll go another seven periods," and teammate Brandon Montour chips in with, "Coast to coast like butter and toast."

There also overtime off the ice for players, like Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook, who spends his recovery time playing mini-sticks in the living room with his son, Chase.

"My son, he's addicted to hockey so he wants to play mini-sticks all the time," Martinook says. "Sometimes when you get home from the rink, it's like, 'I don't really want to play hockey.' But if he asks me I can't really say no to him."

It's a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere for the Golden Knights, who take a 2-0 lead in the West Final, thanks in part of the play of forward Jack Eichel, who is playing in the NHL postseason for the first time.

He's seen leading on the ice and having fun at home with his girlfriend, Erin, and his dog, Harold.

"I've played almost 500 games now, and this will be the end of my eighth season, and every year I'm at home watching the other teams that are playing and I'm like, 'I'd like to be in that situation,'" he said. "It's taken a bit of time for me to have this opportunity to be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and be one of the final four hockey teams playing. You've got to enjoy the experience as much as possible."

Episode 3 of "Quest For The Stanley Cup" premiered Friday on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube.com/NHL in Canada and abroad. Episodes also will be reaired on ESPN2.