There were four NHL playoff games Monday. All four went to overtime. It's just the third day in NHL postseason history that featured four overtime games, and the first in more than 32 years.
However, it's the first day in NHL postseason history in which there were at least four games scheduled and every game went into overtime. On April 11, 1980, four of the seven playoff games went into OT; on April 10, 1985, four of eight playoff games went into OT.
There have been 11 overtime games so far this postseason. There were just seven in the entire first round in 2016 and 10 in the entire first round in 2015.
The most overtime games in the opening round of a Stanley Cup playoffs is 17, which took place in 2013, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks all staged multi-goal comebacks on Monday. Elias notes that 11 of the 24 games in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs have seen the winning team overcome a deficit, including seven multi-goal comebacks.
Canadian teams, with the exception of the Calgary Flames, have rallied after a rugged start. All five Canadian teams lost the opening game of their series, and all of them except for the Flames have gone on to win the next two games.
The Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild and Flames are all down 3-0. Chicago, Columbus and Minnesota ranked third, fourth and fifth in points this season. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Washington Capitals trail 2-1 in their series versus the Maple Leafs. In 2016, there wasn't a single sweep in the postseason. There were just two in 2015.
