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Are Panthers Channeling 1942 Red Wings?

Detroit blew 3-0 lead in 1942 Stanley Cup final

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4 months ago

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Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers are a win away from coming back from 3-0 down to win the Stanley Cup final series.

Are the Florida Panthers channeling the 1942 Detroit Red Wings? Even worse for the Panthers, are the Edmonton Oilers channeling the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs?

Once trailing the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final series 3-0, the Oilers put on their rally caps and have now won three games in a row. Game 7 between the Panthers and Oilers is set for Monday in Sunrise. Fla.

If Edmonton wins again, the Panthers will share the ignominy of the 1942 Red Wings.

That spring, Detroit would race to a 3-0 series lead over the favored Maple Leafs in the Cup final series. In each victory, the Red Wings would widen the margin of victory. They won 3-2, 4-2 and 5-2. The first two of those three games were played in Toronto.

Florida beat Edmonton by a combined score of 7-1 in the first two games, but only scraped out a 4-3 win in Game 3. In the first two of those three games, the Panthers were the home team.

Since then, the series has been all Oilers. Led by their superstar captain Connor McDavid, the Oilers have won 8-1 and 5-1 on home ice, sandwiched around a 5-3 victory in Game 5 at Florida.

Red Wings Nearly Took Game 7

Battling back against the Wings in the spring of 1942, Toronto would post 4-3, 9-3 and 3-0 triumphs. Two of those three wins came in Detroit.

Game 7 was back at Maple Leaf Gardens, and it was the Red Wings who drew first blood. Detroit forward Syd Howe broke the ice with a goal in the second period and the Wings would carry that 1-0 advantage into the third period.

Toronto would storm all over Detroit in that frame, outshooting the Red Wings 16-7. Dave (Sweeney) Schriner would tie the score. Pete Langelle tallied the eventual Cup winner. Then Schriner scored again to complete Toronto’s 3-1 victory.

It’s the only time in Stanley Cup final history that a team blew a 3-0 lead and lost a seven-game series.

Is Edmonton about to emulate the Leafs and give Canada a Stanley Cup champion for the first time since 1993? The Panthers had best hope that it’s the 1945 Red Wings who the Oilers are channeling.

That spring, it was again the Leafs vs Detroit in the Cup final series. Toronto won the first three games, all via shutout. Then the Red Wings won the next three.

Game 7 saw the Leafs scrape out a 2-1 victory to win the Cup. Prior to Friday, this was the only other occasion in Cup final history when a team took a 3-0 lead and the series still went seven games.

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