The Stanley Cup Finals are one of the most challenging postseason tournaments in professional sports. It doesn’t matter who the favorites or the underdogs are; two teams play seven games in a week and a half, and the first team to four wins advances.
Every year, a dominant team rolls into a new series and collects three consecutive wins, pitting their opponents in a significant 3-0 deficit. Although some have overcome this deficit, since they say the fourth win is the hardest, these miraculous comebacks don’t happen that often, just four times in NHL history.
Hundreds of articles detail some of professional hockey’s grandest postseason collapses. However, we decided to dig through the statistics and find some fascinating facts about playoff series that have rewritten history.
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Two out of the four teams went on to win the Stanley Cup that season
The Maple Leafs became the first team in NHL history to win a series after falling behind 3-0, overcoming the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 of the 1942 Stanley Cup Final. Although they were down, the Maple Leafs survived with a 4-3 win in Game 4, followed by a 9-3 blowout in Game 5, and then a 3-0 shutout win in Game 6. Eventually, they skated with the Stanley Cup on April 18 with a 3-1 victory.
Fast-forward 72 years, and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings won their second Stanley Cup title in three years by beating the New York Rangers in six games. Historically, they may have never gotten there because the Kings fell behind the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in the first round. After losing Game 3 in overtime, the Kings rallied in the next four games, winning each contest by at least three goals, taking Game 7 by a 5-1 score.
Eventually, the Kings reached the Final by winning back-to-back Game 7s in the second and third rounds, thus remaining the last team to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win the Stanley Cup.
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Syl Apps and his son Syl Apps Jr. were involved in two of the four series
As mentioned, the Maple Leafs won the 1942 Stanley Cup by outdueling the Red Wings in a thrilling seven-game series. As one of the star players in the Toronto lineup, Syl Apps served as captain that season, winning his first of three championships en route to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.
Interestingly, that was the same year Syl Apps Jr. was born in Toronto. Eventually, he made it to the NHL as a Rangers draft pick before a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1971. During the second round of the 1975 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Apps Jr. and the Penguins were up 3-0 on the New York Islanders before losing the series in Game 7.
Consequently, the Apps family finished 1-1 in Game 7 when their teams were up or down 3-0 in a series.
Two of the four teams on the losing end won the Stanley Cup the following season.
The Red Wings and the Bruins share a unique history as the only teams to blow a 3-0 series lead in the postseason but came back the following year to capture the Stanley Cup.
After losing in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, Detroit wasted no time returning to the championship series and ousting the Bruins in a four-game sweep. Interestingly, the Red Wings only surrendered five goals in the entire series, winning the last two games by shutout.
Meanwhile, the Bruins avenged themselves against the Philadelphia Flyers the following season, sweeping them in the second round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs before winning their first championship in 39 years. Even though they had to win three Game 7s, Boston overcame their previous mistakes to kick off one of the franchise’s most successful periods.
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Visiting teams are 3-1 in Game 7 when rallying from a series deficit
The Maple Leafs remain the only home team to win a series in Game 7 when trailing 3-0. After dropping the first two games at Maple Leafs Gardens, they rallied for wins at home in Games 5 and 7 to keep the series alive. They captured the Stanley Cup with a 3-1 triumph in the finale.
The Penguins were the higher seed in 1975, taking the first two games against the Islanders at the Civic Arena. Ultimately, those were the last home wins of their season as New York rallied on home ice in Game 4 and 6 to force a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh, securing a 1-0 win over the home team.
In 2010, the Bruins hosted the Flyers and jumped out to an early lead in the series with wins at TD Garden in Games 1 and 2. After Boston took a stranglehold on the series at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, the Flyers didn’t lose another game, eliminating the Bruins on their home ice with a 4-3 win in Game 7. Interestingly, Boston also blew a 3-0 first-period lead, surrendering four straight goals in the loss.
In 2014, the Kings were the underdogs against the Sharks, losing the first two games on the road at SAP Center in San Jose. When the series returned to Los Angeles, the teams split the two contests, giving life to the Kings, who wouldn’t lose another game. Eventually, the Sharks lost the series and Game 7 in front of their hometown fans by a 5-1 score.
Seven teams involved in historical comebacks have won at least one Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs became the first team to fall behind 3-0 in a series and rally to win it, claiming the 1942 Stanley Cup championship. By then, their opponents, the Red Wings, already had two titles, with the Maple Leafs claiming their third.
The Islanders and Penguins had yet to reach their potential in 1975 before New York won four Stanley Cup championships from 1980-1984, remaining the last team to achieve the feat. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh eventually earned five titles from 1992 to 2017.
When the Flyers eliminated the Bruins in 2010, they were on the verge of another appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. They were looking for their first championship since winning back-to-back in 1974 and 1975. At the same time, the Bruins were looking for a sixth title since last winning in 1972.
Finally, the Kings edged the Sharks in a thrilling first-round series en route to their second Stanley Cup title. After the loss, San Jose remains the only team on this list to never win a championship, losing during their only appearance in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
Teams rally from 3-0 deficits more often in April than in May
Three out of the four 3-0 series deficit comebacks took place in April, meaning the deeper teams go in the postseason, the more challenging it is to rally back.
Even though the season was shorter in 1942, the Maple Leafs finished their comeback on April 18, winning the Stanley Cup that evening. Meanwhile, when the Islanders edged the Penguins in Game 7 back in 1975, that contest took place on April 26.
The Flyers are the only team to mount a significant comeback outside of April, eliminating the Bruins on May 14, 2010. Meanwhile, the Kings became the latest team to rally in a series by beating the Sharks on April 30, 2014.
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There has been a 3-0 series deficit comeback in each round, but one
The initial 3-0 series deficit comeback occurred in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final, a unique place for such a historical event. Ultimately, that would be the worst place to blow a series lead, especially on the cusp of winning it all; however, history has yet to repeat itself in 82 years.
Regarding the other three series wins, the Islanders beat the Penguins in the second round, while the Flyers did the same to the Bruins. Meanwhile, the Kings remain the only team to pull off an upset in the first round, leaving the third round (Conference Final) as the only place that has never hosted a 3-0 series comeback.
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