The Los Angeles Kings continue to make history as they pile up comeback wins in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Kings became the first team in playoff history to win three straight games in which they trailed by more than one goal when they rallied from deficits of 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 to beat the New York Rangers 5-4 in double overtime Saturday in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center.
Los Angeles also overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime to win Game 7 of the Western Conference Final, then spotted the Rangers a two-goal lead in Game 1 of the final but rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory. Los Angeles has not held a lead in the past 229 minutes and 15 seconds, covering a span of four games, since the Blackhawks tied Game 6 at 11:34 of the third period.
The Kings have trailed 2-0 in five of their past nine games, but are 4-1 in those games. They have four of the playoff-record 15 multiple-goal comeback victories this spring.
This is the third consecutive year that the first two games of the Final have gone to overtime. The Kings won Games 1 and 2 against the New Jersey Devils in 2012, and the Blackhawks and Boston Bruins split the first two games last year. Before that, the most-recent time the first two games in the Final had gone to overtime was 1951, when all five games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens went to overtime; Toronto won four of them to take the Cup.
The Kings are the 36th team to open the Final with back-to-back wins at home. Of the first 35 teams to do so, 32 have gone on to win the Stanley Cup; however, two of the three comebacks have taken place within the past five years. The Pittsburgh Penguins lost the first two games against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009 but won in seven games. The Bruins did the same thing against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011.
In all, 48 previous teams have started the Final by winning Games 1 and 2; 43 of them, including the 2012 Kings, won the Cup.