(Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Keith Primeau, Ryan Potulny and now Alex Krushelnyski. These three players hold the distinction of scoring in a fifth overtime period in the playoffs as part of the Flyers organization.
Krushelnyski ended the longest game in AHL history, scoring at 6:48 of the fifth overtime to give the Lehigh Valley Phantoms a 2-1 win and a 3-1 series lead on the Charlotte Checkers.
Krushelnyski may have been the hero on the scoresheet offensively, but Alex Lyon was the even bigger story. Lyon finished the game with the second most saves in an AHL game, stopping 94 of 95 shots from Charlotte. That is not a typo.
The Phantoms opened the scoring way back in the first period of this game, as Danick Martel was able to bang in a rebound to make it 1-0. Charlotte had a 10-9 edge in shots after the first period.
The Checkers kept the pressure on to start the second period and were able to capitalize 6:52 into the period. Patrick Brown scored on a rebound to tie the game.
From there, there was no scoring and a goaltending duel ensued through a seemingly endless stretch. After two periods, Charlotte had a 24-15 lead in shots.
Lyon continued his display in the third period, stopping all 17 shots from Charlotte. On the other end, Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 10 shots in the third. Shots were 41-24 Charlotte through regulation.
It was a fairly even first overtime with solid chances on both sides. Shots were 11-10 Charlotte in the first overtime with both goalies standing tall.
Charlotte started to dominate the chances in the second and third overtimes. The Checkers outshot the Phantoms, 15-5, in the second overtime and 12-1 in the third overtime, opening up a 79-40 lead in shots after 120 minutes. The third overtime featured two power-play chances for the Phantoms and one for the Checkers, but gutsy penalty killing by both sides prolonged the game to a fourth overtime.
The Checkers again outshot the Phantoms, 14-9, in the fourth overtime as each goalie continued to keep his team in the game.
The fifth overtime started with both goalies again making some difficult saves to keep the game tied, as the game surpassed the longest game in AHL history at the 2:59 mark of the fifth overtime.
Finally, at 6:48, it all came to an end. A good shift by Colin McDonald helped set up Cole Bardreau behind the net. Bardreau was able to center to Krushelnyski, who fired a one-timer past Nedeljkovic to give the Phantoms the win.
Lyon finished the game with 94 total saves on 95 shots in 146:48. Nedeljkovic posted a tremendous night of his own, stopping 51 of 53 shots.
Ironically enough, the previous AHL record featured the same two organizations. The Phantoms, then based in Philadelphia, faced the Albany River Rats, then the Carolina Hurricanes AHL affiliate, in a game that reached five overtimes on April 24, 2008. Ryan Potulny scored the game-winning goal at 2:58 of the fifth overtime to give the Phantoms a 3-2 win in Game 5, giving the Phantoms a 3-2 series lead on Albany.
The losing goaltender in that game was Michael Leighton, who made 98 saves on 101 shots, which is the AHL record.
The Phantoms get some much-needed time off before Game 5 in the series. Game 5 will be in Charlotte on Saturday evening at 6 p.m.
