The Rangers appear to be on the thinnest of ice, but a snowflake of history is on their side.
In the annals of best-of-seven playoff series in the major North American sports, there have been five comebacks from 0-3 deficits. And four of those have occurred in the NHL, which may give a glimmer of hope to Rangers fans distraught after Monday night’s setback against the Los Angeles Kings plunged their team into that same 0-3 hole.
(The fifth you don’t hear about very often, it was in baseball, with the Yankees … and maybe the Red Sox? It’s all very fuzzy.)
As the Rangers try to reel off four straight wins beginning Wednesday night, here’s a look at the four hockey clubs to accomplish the feat, from near and far, from the dusty pages of the record books to the YouTube clips of last month:
2014 conference quarterfinals, Los Angeles Kings over San Jose Sharks
Yep, these same irrepressible Kings. After allowing 17 combined goals in the first three games, goalie Jonathan Quick clamped down and surrendered just five in the Kings’ four-game revival, which included road wins in Games 5 and 7. Anze Kopitar tallied 10 points in the series.
2010 conference semifinals, Philadelphia Flyers over Boston Bruins
What made this turnaround all the more remarkable: The Flyers fell behind 0-3 (that number again) in the first period of Game 7. One notch in the first and two in the second brought it even before Simon Gagne scored the decisive goal on the power play in the third. Winning goalie Michael Leighton now plays for Sochi of the Russian league.
1975 quarterfinals, New York Islanders over Pittsburgh Penguins
This was an incredible roller coaster of a postseason ride for the Islanders and new fans of the expansion team in its third year of existence. The Isles knocked off the Rangers in Round 1, then came all the way back against the Penguins. They nearly pulled the stunt again in the semifinals, forcing a Game 7 from 0-3 down before falling to the eventual champion Flyers. An Islanders dynasty of four straight Cups awaited from 1980 to 1983.
1942 Stanley Cup finals, Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings
The highlight from this Original Six battle was something like an actual battle. At the end of Game 4, Red Wings coach Jack Adams, displeased with a series of late-game calls, punched the referee in the face, and the salty Detroit crowd nearly rioted. From there, the Maple Leafs polished off three straight victories.