List of teams to overcome 3–0 series deficits

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Syl Apps of the Toronto Maple Leafs after his team won Game 7 of the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals, overcoming a 3–0 series deficit

The following is the list of teams to overcome 3–0 series deficits. The listed teams won four consecutive games after being down three games to none in a best-of-seven playoff series.

Background[]

The 2004 Boston Red Sox, seen here at the White House, were the first MLB team to force a game seven after being down 0–3 in a series.

Three major North American professional sports leagues have playoff series that can reach a seventh game: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

In the history of these leagues, teams that were down 3–0 in a series have come back to win the series five times; four times in the NHL and once in MLB.[1] The most recent example is the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. The only instance in a championship finals series was by the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals.[2]

Conversely, teams have had their 3–0 comeback fall short after evening a series nine times: five in the NHL, three in the NBA, and one in MLB. The most recent example is the Houston Astros of MLB in the 2020 American League Championship Series.[3]

No team has overcome multiple 3–0 deficits in a single postseason, although the 1974–75 New York Islanders of the NHL nearly did so; they successfully overcame a 3–0 series deficit in the 1975 quarterfinals, then rallied from a 3–0 series deficit in the semifinals before losing the seventh game.[2]

While seven-game series were traditionally used only for the final series of a postseason, MLB adopted a best-of-seven format for its semi-finals (the League Championship Series) in 1985,[4] the NHL followed suit for its first round in 1987,[5] and the NBA did the same for its first round in 2003.[6]

Outside of the noted major North American leagues, various other leagues across multiples sports also use seven-game postseason series. There are several known instances of teams in such leagues overcoming 3–0 series deficits.

List of teams[]

Key[]

Home^ Indicates team down 3–0 was home team in game 7
~ Indicates game 7 in the championship round
* Indicates the series winner went on to win the championship

National Hockey League[]

Successful comebacks[]

Four NHL teams have overcome 3–0 deficits, only one of which occurred in the Stanley Cup Finals.[2] Three comebacks were completed with game 7 on road ice, while one was completed on home ice.

Year and series Won
after trailing 3–0		 Loser
that blew 3–0 lead		 Notes
1942 Stanley Cup Finals~ Toronto Maple Leafs^* Detroit Red Wings Only time in the Stanley Cup Finals. Only time the comeback was completed at home.
1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins Won 8 games while facing elimination this playoff year.
2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Overcame 3–0 deficit in the 7th game. Were the first NHL team since the Islanders did twice in 1975 to even force a seventh game.
2014 Western Conference First Round Los Angeles Kings* San Jose Sharks Los Angeles won three game sevens in this playoff year, and hold the record for most elimination games won in a single playoff year for a Stanley Cup champion, with seven.

Unsuccessful comebacks[]

Five other NHL teams have evened a series after being down 3–0, only to lose game 7.[7][8] Four of these teams were the visiting team in game 7, while the Detroit Red Wings were the only home team in game 7.

Year and series Loser
after trailing 3–0		 Winner
after leading 3–0		 Note
1939 Stanley Cup Semifinals New York Rangers Boston Bruins* Bruins won game 7 in triple overtime.
1945 Stanley Cup Finals~ Detroit Red Wings^ Toronto Maple Leafs* Red Wings nearly got revenge on Maple Leafs for blown 3–0 lead three years previously.
1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers* Islanders came back from 3–0 deficit to win in the previous round.
2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals Chicago Blackhawks Vancouver Canucks Canucks won game 7 in overtime after Blackhawks tied it 1–1 with a shorthanded goal with 1:56 left.
2011 Western Conference Semifinals Detroit Red Wings San Jose Sharks Second time this year a team forced a game 7 after down 3–0.

Major League Baseball[]

Successful comebacks[]

One MLB team has overcome a 3–0 deficit to win the series.[9]

Year and series Won
after trailing 3–0		 Lost
after leading 3-0		 Note(s)
2004 ALCS Boston Red Sox* New York Yankees Went on to win the World Series for the first time since 1918.

Unsuccessful comebacks[]

One MLB team has evened a series after being down 0–3, but lost game 7.[3]

Year and series Loser
after trailing 3–0		 Winner
after leading 3–0		 Note(s)
2020 ALCS Houston Astros Tampa Bay Rays Series was played at a neutral site due to the COVID-19 pandemic with no off-days.

National Basketball Association[]

Unsuccessful comebacks[]

Three NBA teams have evened a series after being down 0–3, only to lose in game 7.[10] All three teams were the visiting team in game 7.

Year and series Loser
after trailing 3–0		 Winner
after leading 3–0		 Note(s)
1951 NBA Finals~ New York Knicks Rochester Royals*
1994 Western Conference Second Round Denver Nuggets Utah Jazz Nuggets also overcame a 2–0 deficit to win a best-of-five series in the previous round.
2003 Western Conference First Round Portland Trail Blazers Dallas Mavericks

Other leagues[]

Outside of MLB, the NBA, and the NHL, there are some other known instances of successful comebacks from 3–0 series deficits. The Slovak ice hockey club HK Dukla Trenčín is the only team that managed to overcome 3–0 deficit twice. In e-gaming, Drew Glassford's Fifa 2020 squad was initially down 3-0, and successfully comeback against Matthew Mackenzovich's side, leading to E-Game's first comeback of its time.

Successful comebacks[]

Series Won after trailing 0-3 Lost after leading 3-0 Sports league
1958 Japan Series Nishitetsu Lions* Yomiuri Giants Nippon Professional Baseball
* Mexican Baseball League
1989 Japan Series Yomiuri Giants* Kintetsu Buffaloes Nippon Professional Baseball
2006 Nationalliga A Quarterfinals Lugano^* Ambri-Piotta National League (ice hockey)
2008 Slovak Extraliga Quarterfinals Dukla Trenčín Martin Slovak Extraliga (ice hockey)
2011 Slovak Extraliga Quarterfinals Slovan Bratislava
2012 Liiga Quarterfinals Espoo Blues KalPa Finnish Elite League (ice hockey)
2015 Gagarin Cup Western Conference Finals SKA St. Petersburg* CSKA Moscow Kontinental Hockey League
2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup Finals San Miguel Beermen* Alaska Aces Philippine Basketball Association
Tijuana Bulls Yucatan Lions Mexican Baseball League

Unsuccessful comebacks[]

Year and series Team down 0–3, lost 3–4 Team up 3–0, won 4–3 Sports league
1976 Japan Series~ Yomiuri Giants^ Hankyu Braves* Nippon Professional Baseball

3–0 Comebacks in a best-of-seven with ties[]

While ties can prolong the series to eight games or more, these are still best-of-seven series in that only seven of the games can have a decisive winner. Four victories still takes the series, thus overcoming a 3–0 deficit is still equally difficult.

Series Team down 0–3, won 4–3 Team up 3–0, lost 3–4 Sports league Note(s)
1986 Japan Series~ Nishitetsu Lions* Hiroshima Toyo Carp Nippon Professional Baseball Game 1 tie; lost Games 2,3,4; won Games 5,6,7,8.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Brisbee, Grant (October 21, 2015). "A brief history of teams down 0-3 in a best-of-seven series". SB Nation. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Madden, Mark (April 16, 2019). "A look at the 0-3 series comebacks in NHL history". NHL.com. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Barron, David (October 17, 2020). "Astros can't complete comeback in Game 7". houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Consolazio, Dave (October 8, 2019). "MLB 2 Reasons Baseballs Best-of-5 Playoff Series Format is Terrible". Sportscasting. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "All-Time Playoff Formats". Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Kraetsch, Rich (12 October 2017). "Throwback Thursday: The history of NBA playoff reformatting". Fansided. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "History shows Game 7 tough on clubs who rally". Sportsnet. May 13, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sharks close it out". PressReader. May 13, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Schoenfield, David (October 17, 2020). "2020 MLB playoffs: Could the 2020 Astros join the 2004 Red Sox on Saturday? The anatomy of a 3-0 comeback". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  10. ^ Mahoney, Andrew (May 9, 2018). "How many NBA teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0?". Boston.com. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
Retrieved from ""