Loser’s mentality or not, the Washington Capitals accomplished something major when they made the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs despite all of the adversity they faced all season long.
Now, down in what appears to be an insurmountable 3-0 series hole, the eighth-seeded Capitals will try to create some rare history (again) in its first-round series to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers.
To advance to the second round, the Capitals will need to win the final four games of the matchup starting tonight at Capital One Arena.
“Guys understand the messaging the same way it’s been for multiple months: finding a way to win one game and being excited and energized about that,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “We’re not going to pretend to not know the situation, the scenario without there being a tomorrow.”
If they can pull it off, the Capitals would become only the fifth team in NHL history to face a 3–0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and overcome it. Per Wikipedia, there have been 209 playoff series in NHL history (as of April 26, 2024) that started like this Capitals-Rangers’ series and just under two percent of teams could author that incredible comeback. The last time it happened was exactly a decade ago.
These are the only four times a team has come back from a 3-0 series hole:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals
- The New York Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals
- The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals
- The Los Angeles Kings defeated the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 Western Conference First Round
Per Money Puck, the Capitals’ odds are even worse than the math history gives us.
Cup chances going into Sunday https://t.co/RbnckCLHNP pic.twitter.com/4TGoQg6Su9
— MoneyPuck.com (@MoneyPuckdotcom) April 28, 2024
The Capitals have a 0.8 percent chance of making the second round of the playoffs.
But 0.8 isn’t zero.
