The Edmonton Oilers' valiant comeback attempt came up just short.
Connor McDavid and Co. fell 2-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Monday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. The result gave Florida its first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
At one point in the series, the Panthers looked like they were going to cruise to that first title. Florida won the first three games by a combined score of 11-4 to put Edmonton on the ropes. But the Oilers refused to go down easy.
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Edmonton won three consecutive elimination games to go from the brink of being swept to the brink of a championship. But, in the end, the Oilers weren't able to pull off what would have been a historic comeback:
Has a team ever come back from down 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup Final?
The Oilers wouldn't have been the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the Cup Final.
How many teams have come back from down 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup Final?
Since moving to a best-of-seven format in 1939, there has been one team that won the Cup Final after once trailing 3-0 in the series.
Who was the last team to come back from down 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup Final?
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost the opening three games of the 1942 Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings. But Toronto staved off elimination with a third-period comeback in Game 4.
The Leafs then won the next three games by a combined score of 15-4 in a historic championship triumph, becoming the first and only team to ever overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the Cup Final.
A few years later, Detroit nearly got revenge on Toronto. The two teams met in the 1945 Cup Final, where the Maple Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 series lead. The Red Wings responded with three straight wins before losing 2-1 in Game 7.
The Leafs in 1942, Red Wings in 1945 and Oilers in 2024 are the only teams to ever force a Game 7 in the Cup Final after once trailing 3-0.
How many teams have overcome a 3-0 series deficit in the NHL playoffs?
The 1942 Leafs are one of just four teams in NHL postseason history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit. The others are the 1975 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings.