Odds not in Minnesota Wild's favor after losses

With three straight losses in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, odds are not on the Wild’s side when it comes to moving on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Only four teams in NHL history have erased a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau knows the cards are stacked against them, but Boudreau and his team cannot walk away from the table in this high stakes situation.

“Because it’s been done, you know it’s not impossible,” Boudreau said.

The first team to erase a 3-0 deficit was in 1942 when the Toronto Maple Leafs won four straight games in the Stanley Cup Final to take home the famous trophy.

That type of comeback did not surface again until 33 years later when the New York Islanders came back from down 3-0 to win in the NHL Quarterfinals. That team advanced in 1975, but lost in the next round.

In 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers needed four-straight wins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins. That Flyers team won the series and ended up advancing to the Stanley Cup Final to face the Blackhawks, but lost the series 4-2.

The most recent team to come back from a 3-0 hole is the one that should give the Wild the most hope. The 2014 Los Angeles Kings lost their first three games in the postseason, but won four consecutive games to advance. That performance set up L.A. to win the Stanley Cup a few weeks later.

Of the four teams to win a series down three games to none, most have found success after getting a scare. Three of the four teams went to the Stanley Cup Final. Two of those four actually held up the cup at season’s end.

The odds are against the Wild, for sure. But as NHL history dictates, slim chances are chances to advance nonetheless.

“It’s an amazing thing this momentum thing,” Boudreau said. “If you can get on a roll and things start going for you, you can make this a series.”

Wednesday will be the time for the Wild to play this hand they were dealt…either the good times will roll in, or the 2017 season will officially be flushed.