Former Stanley Cup champion gives the Leafs sound advice as they try to overcome 3-0 deficit to Florida
With the Toronto Maple Leafs in an unenviable position, staring an 0-3 deficit in the face against the Florida Panthers, only 4 teams in NHL history have ever combatted the near-improbable feat. The 1942 Leafs were the first team to ever do it and the 1975 New York Islanders followed suit as the 2nd, before the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings rounded out the list.
If there's one person who would know first hand about overcoming the daunting 0-3 hole, it would be the former captain of the 2010 Flyers and member of the 2014 Kings, Mike Richards.
In 2010, the Flyers were down 0-3 to the Boston Bruins before not only overcoming the series deficit but also a 3-0 hole early in Game 7 itself. The Flyers ultimately fell in the Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games. In 2014, the Kings were down 0-3 to the San Jose Sharks in the first round before coming back and eventually winning the Stanley Cup that year.
Today, Sheldon Keefe mentioned that the Leafs will just have to focus on one game at a time. Richards was asked about the Leafs' current predicament and how they can overcome such lofty expectations. The former captain kept it simple and echoed what Keefe had told the media on Monday:
"It's embarrassing to be swept. The 'win one game' thing is the right mentality, based off confidence.. I can see the Leafs not having a ton of confidence right now, especially scoring. It slowly builds. You can't fake confidence. But once you start putting it together, winning one game, winning the next, all of a sudden it puts a lot of pressure on the other team." - Mike Richards on the Leafs needing to win 4 straight to move on to Round 3.
As much as people don't like the use of cliches, it's the only way to look at the 0-3 deficit, otherwise you're sinking your ship before it even sets sail. The 2010 Flyers seemingly had no shot in defeating the Bruins in 2010 but they recorded an overtime victory in Game 4, shutout the Bruins in Game 5, won a close 2-1 affair in game 6, before falling quickly to a 3-0 deficit in the first period. Even then, the adage of taking it one goal at a time stood the test of time as the Flyers' relentless behaviour led them to a historic series victory.
It's tough to look at the bright side, but being a part of two teams that overcame the impossible helps when giving sound advice to the Leafs and their players:
As much as people don't like the use of cliches, it's the only way to look at the 0-3 deficit, otherwise you're sinking your ship before it even sets sail. The 2010 Flyers seemingly had no shot in defeating the Bruins in 2010 but they recorded an overtime victory in Game 4, shutout the Bruins in Game 5, won a close 2-1 affair in game 6, before falling quickly to a 3-0 deficit in the first period. Even then, the adage of taking it one goal at a time stood the test of time as the Flyers' relentless behaviour led them to a historic series victory.
It's tough to look at the bright side, but being a part of two teams that overcame the impossible helps when giving sound advice to the Leafs and their players:
"The mental side is the biggest hurdle. It's playing mistake-free hockey and just going out and playing. It's easier said than done, but that's what I remember. You try not to think too much about it. They can do it. Until you are done, you still have a chance. I've watched them a lot throughout the year and they have the firepower to do it. It's whether they feel confident enough to play four games of hockey without making mistakes, turnovers, giving free goals. Florida probably has all the confidence in the world and I know Bob (goalie Sergei Bobrovsky) is playing great."
"It hasn't been a landslide. It just goes to show when you get to this level in the second round, how close the two teams are. It's a bounce here, a bounce there and it could probably be 3-0 the other way. That's playoff hockey.
Right now, Florida is capitalizing on a lot of the chances they've had. The teams I was on that had success, the difference was mistakes in every single series. It's who makes less mistakes and who can capitalize on them." - Richards on a comeback being possible for the Buds
One game at a time needs to be reverberated throughout the locker room until the very end and the final horn sounds. When you have that much firepower and star talent, it's increasingly questionable as to how you've found yourself in such a destructive position. However on the flip side of the coin, because you have so much talent, you can outscore your opponents at any given moment - it just needs to happen as soon as possible for the Leafs.
| POLL | ||
MAI 8 | 449 ANSWERS Former Stanley Cup champion gives the Leafs sound advice as they try to overcome 3-0 deficit to Florida How many games will the Leafs win in this series against Florida? | ||
| 1 or less | 226 | 50.3 % |
| 2 | 62 | 13.8 % |
| 3 | 15 | 3.3 % |
| 4 | 146 | 32.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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