Today In NHL History - Maple Leafs 3-0 Comeback

On April 18th in 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final becoming the first NHL team to ever recover from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and win the round, or in this case the Stanley Cup.
In fact, only 3 of the 172 times a NHL team has trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series have they comeback to win. The other two times happened in the Quarterfinal round, first in 1975 when the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and then again in 2010 when the Philadelphia Flyers caught up to the Boston Bruins.

That's today in NHL history.

* See also NHL Playoff Comebacks Trailing 3-0.
* See also NHL Playoff Comebacks Trailing 3-1.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 History.

Today In NHL History - Dan Boyle's Own Goal

On April 18th in 2010, defenseman Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks backhanded a shortside winner into his own goal with 51 seconds played in sudden death overtime of Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals to the surprise and chagrin of netminder Evgeni Nabokov.

The gaff, Boyle's first goal of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, gave the 8th seeded Colorado Avalanche a 1-0 win and 2-1 series lead against the top seeded Sharks. Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson finished the game with a 51 save shutout, adding another chapter to his storybook season.

The Sharks won the next three games to take the series 4-2.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Brodeur's Playoff Goal

On April 17th on 1997, netminder Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils scored an unassisted empty net goal against the Montreal Canadiens joining Ron Hextall as the second goalie to ever score in a NHL playoff game.

The Devils went on to beat the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal 5-2, eventually taking the series 4-1.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Andrew Peters Golf Swing

On April 16th in 2006, Buffalo Sabres slugger Andrew Peters challenged Toronto Maple Leafs bruiser Wade Belak to a fight with 5 minutes to play in the penultimate game of the regular season. Belak's decline was met with a golf swing gesture by Peters referencing the fatal blow dealt to Toronto's playoff hopes that night.

Peters was assessed a 10 minute misconduct and ejected from the game for the unsportsmanlike swing, described by Belak as "disrepectful". Peters later apologized to his teammates and Sabres owner Tom Golisano noting "It was just stupid, I got caught up in the moment."

Buffalo beat Toronto that night by a score of 6-0 and were eventually eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. Ironically, Peters never skated in a playoff game during that postseason or any other in his NHL career.

That's today in NHL history.