BUFFALO, N.Y. — It was no secret that when the Buffalo Sabres traded captain Kyle Okposo to the Florida Panthers back in March, it was with the thought that he would have one last opportunity to play for a Stanley Cup.
Okposo got that wish, and as recently as last week, it appeared inevitable that he and four other former Sabres would raise the Stanley Cup over their heads, bringing a championship to South Florida.
Once up 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, the Panthers are now deadlocked with the Edmonton Oilers at three games apiece, with Game 7 on Monday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Okposo (with the Sabres from 2016 to 2024), Sam Reinhart (2014-21), Evan Rodrigues (2015-20), Brandon Montour (2018-19, 2019-21), and Dmitry Kulikov (2016-17) are all on Florida's active roster.
That list does not include Rasmus Asplund (2019-23), who is also under contract with the team.
Only four teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a Stanley Cup playoff series. One of them was in the Stanley Cup Final, and that was 82 years ago.
Here are the four teams that rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win in the postseason, in any round:
- In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to beat Detroit in the Stanley Cup Final;
- In 1975, the New York Islanders came back to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarterfinals;
- In 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers turned it around and knocked off the Boston Bruins in the conference semifinals;
- In 2014, the Los Angeles Kings bounced back to eliminate the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
Another former Sabre, Evander Kane (2015-18), plays for the Oilers but has struggled with injuries and has not suited up since Game 2.
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