Stanley Cup Flashbacks: 1942: The Leafs Improbable Comeback

The year is 1942. The NHL witnesses the greatest comeback in the history of professional sports in North America.

Entering game 4, the Leafs were on the verge of imminent elimination. The Detroit Red Wings had convincing victories in each of the first three contests, and held the series in a 3-0 stranglehold.

Cue the Leafs comeback. Coach Hap Day benches regulars for game four and inserted rookies who responded to win game after game, coming all the way back to take game 7! They were the first team in hockey history to win a series after being down 3 games to none. Only the 1975 New York Islanders could duplicate this rare feat.

Benched players included Gord Drillon, and Bucko McDonald. Picking up the slack was Gaye Stewart and, most notably, Don Metz. Metz took's Drillon's spot on the top line. That line also featured brother Nick Metz on the opposite wing.

Centering the Metzs was the outstanding Syl Apps. He tied the NHL record of 14 points in a post-season. He would score 7 points in the finals, including a 2 goal, 5 point night in game 5 against the Wings.

Apps was outscored in the final series by both Billy Taylor and Sweeney Schriner, who scored twice in the 3-1 game 7 victory. Goaltender Turk Broda was so good in the final 4 games of the finals that they actually engraved his name on the Cup twice. It was actually an oversight.

After a decade of disappointment in the 1930s, the Leafs had finally won the Stanley Cup. Before the end of the decade they would be one of the greatest teams in all of sporting history. However World War II would rip the team apart for the 1943 and 1944 seasons.

Great Moments In Hockey History: 1942 Maple Leafs Miracle Comeback

April 18th, 1942: The NHL witnesses the greatest comeback in the history of professional sports in North America.

Entering game 4, the Leafs were on the verge of imminent elimination. The Detroit Red Wings had convincing victories in each of the first three contests, and held the series in a 3-0 stranglehold.

Cue the Leafs comeback. Coach Hap Day benches regulars for game four and inserted rookies who responded to win game after game, coming all the way back to take game 7! They were the first team in hockey history to win a series after being down 3 games to none. Only the 1975 New York Islanders could duplicate this rare feat.

Benched players included Gord Drillon, and Bucko McDonald. Picking up the slack was Gaye Stewart and, most notably, Don Metz. Metz took's Drillon's spot on the top line. That line also featured brother Nick Metz on the opposite wing.

Centering the Metzs was the outstanding Syl Apps. He tied the NHL record of 14 points in a post-season. He would score 7 points in the finals, including a 2 goal, 5 point night in game 5 against the Wings.

Apps was outscored in the final series by both Billy Taylor and Sweeney Schriner, who scored twice in the 3-1 game 7 victory. Goaltender Turk Broda was so good in the final 4 games of the finals that they actually engraved his name on the Cup twice. It was actually an oversight.

After a decade of disappointment in the 1930s, the Leafs had finally won the Stanley Cup. Before the end of the decade they would be one of the greatest teams in all of sporting history. However World War II would rip the team apart for the 1943 and 1944 seasons.

Ottawa Needs Don Metz

Only once in NHL history has a team comeback from a 3 games to 1 Stanley Cup finals deficit to capture Lord Stanley's silver chalice. That might give Ottawa a bit of hope, seeing that their quest for a comeback is only unlikely as opposed to completely impossible.

Today at GlobeSports.com, Roy MacGregor looks at the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs team that managed to overcome the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 series lead to win the Stanley Cup.

Out with the team's star scorer, Gordie Drillon, who'd been a disaster, and out with star defenceman Bucko McDonald, who'd been unable to cope with Detroit's then-new way of attacking by dumping the puck into the opposition corners and banging and crashing until the Leafs defence coughed it up.

Into the line-up Day put Don Metz and Ernie Dickens. They were fresh, full of energy, and Metz — finally given a chance to play with big brother Nick — was so dedicated to defence that he could fly back and help out the Toronto blueliners on the Detroit dump-ins.

Metz in particular was a difference maker.

In Game 5 he led the team with three goals and two assists as Toronto pounded the Wings 9-3, largely by using Detroit's own dump-and-chase attack.

In Game 6, Metz got the winner, sending the series to a seventh game, which Toronto won on Sweeney Schriner's third-period goal.

So Ottawa, who is your Don Metz?