The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves with an 0-3 deficit in their second-round series against the Florida Panthers, and will try to become only the fifth team in NHL history to erase such a deficit in a series. four of seven.
The Maple Leafs are the 202nd team in history to trail 3-0 going into Game 4. Previous teams in this situation have gone 4-197 in this situation.
Toronto was the first team to erase a 3-0 deficit and win a series, in 1942, in the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. It took 32 years for the New York Islanders to double down, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarter-finals in 1975.
The other two cases are more recent: the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2010 playoffs and the Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2014 playoffs. The Kings won the Cup Stanley three rounds later in 2014, as the Flyers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
The Maple Leafs are the first team to trail 3-0 in a playoff series this year. Three teams trailed 3-0 in the 2022 playoffs, and all three lost Game 4 and were swept.
After a 3-2 overtime loss on Sunday against the Panthers, Toronto focused on winning Game 4 on Wednesday to stay alive.
“You have to win a game,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. That was our mission tonight. You have to start with a match and give yourself a chance. They are in full possession of their faculties, it is up to us to make them uncomfortable and not to let them escape.
“We still believe enormously in our group. We have just lost three games in a row. Florida has won three games in a row. If we win three games in a row, we will put ourselves in a position to play a Game 7.
“That’s the goal we’ve set ourselves, but it’s obvious that everything starts with a victory. “
