On this day in 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs completed one of the most famous comebacks in hockey history, rallying from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 7 and capture the Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings had stormed out to a commanding start in the Final, winning the first three games and appearing to be on their way to another championship after a strong season and playoff run. 

Detroit entered that postseason as one of the league’s top teams, built around a deep roster and coming off a dominant stretch that had established them as a powerhouse in the early 1940s. With momentum fully on their side, the expectation was that they would close out the series quickly.

Toronto responded with four straight victories, slowly wearing down Detroit’s confidence and control of the matchup. The Maple Leafs tightened defensively, found timely scoring, and ultimately forced a decisive Game 7 before completing the historic reversal and winning the Stanley Cup. It remains the only time in NHL history a team has come back from 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Final.

Across NHL history, overcoming a 3-0 series deficit is extremely rare with only three teams having ever completed the full comeback and won a best-of-seven series after falling behind three games to none.  Those teams are the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings.