The Rangers Could Make Some Crazy History If They Sweep The Hurricanes
The New York Rangers have the Carolina Hurricanes on the ropes after winning Game 3 in overtime Thursday night in Raleigh. Now, they've got a chance to seal the deal on Saturday, and if they do it, they'll earn themselves a place in history.
I've seen a few instances of people laying out how uncommon the New York Rangers' 7-0 run to start the playoffs really is, but Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravilli laid it out nicely.
As Seravalli noted, since the current playoff format was adopted — meaning four best-of-seven series — in 1987, no one has ever gone 8-0 to open their playoff run.
However, 7-0 has happened twice. One instance was the 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings.
The other instance of a team going 7-0? Would you believe that it was the 1994 New York Rangers, who snapped The Curse of 1940 to win the Cup over the Vancouver Canucks.
The longest undefeated streak to open the postseason belongs to the 1985 Edmonton Oilers, but one of the sweeps was in a best-of-five series.
Before the current four-round format, there were two other 8-0 teams and those were the ‘52 Red Wings and ’60 Montreal Canadiens, but that was back when you only needed to win 8 games total to win the cup (that's where Detroit's octopus tradition comes from).
So, the point is that the Rangers could put themselves in rare company.
The New York Rangers will make NHL history if they win Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
I think we all kind of expected the Rangers to make quick work of the Washington Capitals, who were fortunate that at least three other teams imploded down the stretch so that they could make the playoffs. However, I know I didn't expect to see the Rangers up 3-0 on the Canes.
It's been close at times, so closing the series out in Game 4 might be a little bit tougher than a 3-0 lead would indicate, but if they can get the job done, they'll put their names in the history books.
It also doesn't hurt that it would earn them a long break while the Bruins and Panthers beat up on each other.