The Maple Leafs and Oilers currently trail their Second Round series and look to capture crucial Game 4 victories against the Panthers and Golden Knights, respectively, while Florida aims to record its seventh straight win and reach the Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history (also 1996).

Toronto is one of the four franchises in NHL history to win a playoff series by overcoming a 3-0 deficit, after recording the first-ever instance against Detroit during the 1942 Stanley Cup Final. The Islanders (1975 QF vs. PIT), Flyers (2010 CSF vs. BOS) and Kings (2014 R1 vs. SJS) all followed suit, with Philadelphia and Los Angeles going on to reach the League’s championship series.

The Panthers are one win away from sweeping the 50-win Maple Leafs after rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the 65-win Bruins in the First Round. Florida can become the fourth team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to sweep a best-of-seven series at any point in a postseason after entering the playoffs as the League’s lowest-seeded team – the Panthers would join the Canadiens (2021 R2 vs. WPG), Predators (2017 R1 vs. CHI) and Blues (1993 DSF vs. CHI).

Individuals in the Panthers-Maple Leafs series were involved in each of the three previous instances where the NHL’s lowest-seeded team completed a best-of-seven sweep. Florida forward Eric Staal can achieve the feat for the second time in three postseasons after helping Montreal do so in the 2021 Second Round – the others are Toronto teammates Erik Gustafsson (2021 R2 w/ MTL) and Calle Jarnkrok (2017 R1 w/ NSH) as well as Maple Leafs president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan (1993 DSF w/ STL).

Vegas and Edmonton have combined for 22 goals through three contests, with the Golden Knights getting a 6-4 win in Game 1 as well as a 5-1 victory in Game 3 and the Oilers earning a 5-1 triumph in Game 2. Should this pattern continue, Vegas and Edmonton would join the Second Round between Carolina and New Jersey as the second series this postseason to feature at least one team scoring five or more goals in each of the first four games.

Connor McDavid returns to the ice for Game 4 after being held off the score sheet in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs for just the second time and ninth time overall in 2022-23. McDavid (69-99—168 in 91 GP) sits two points away from becoming the fifth different player in NHL history with 170 in a regular season and playoffs combined, a feat only Wayne Gretzky (10x; last: 1990-91), Mario Lemieux (3x; last: 1995-96), Mike Bossy (1981-82) and Jaromir Jagr (1995-96) have accomplished to date.

Morgan Rielly (3-8—1 in 8 GP) is one game shy of establishing a franchise playoff record for longest point streak in a playoff year and can become the eighth different defenseman in NHL history to record a point streak of nine or more games in a single playoff year, joining: Al MacInnis (17 GP in 1989), Bobby Orr (14 GP in 1970 & 13 GP in 1972), Denis Potvin (12 GP in 1976), Larry Murphy (9 GP in 1995), Brian Leetch (9 GP in 1994), Larry Robinson (9 GP in 1978) and Pierre Pilote(9 GP in 1961).

Source: media.nhl.com