devilsKINGSNEWARK, N.J. -- It would be nothing more than common sense to suggest that falling down in a 2-0 hole after losing both games in your own building will put your team at a decisive disadvantage in a playoff series. This would be true in any playoff series, let alone the Stanley Cup Final where hockey's ultimate prize is on the line.

Needing to win four out of five games against another Stanley Cup Finalist is no easy task, especially when you were unable to beat them even once at home. But when you look at it in an historical context and realize just how difficult it is to come back from such a start, you see history just isn't on the New Jersey Devils side at this point.

By losing the first two games to the Los Angeles Kings, the Devils became just the 12th team in NHL history to lose two straight games at home to open the Stanley Cup Final.

Of the previous 11, nine of them went on to lose the series. Seven of them were swept.

The only teams that were able to come back were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1966 Detroit Red Wings. The Maple Leafs team was the one that became famous for falling down in a 3-0 series hole against the Red Wings only to rally with four straight wins, becoming the first -- and one of only three teams in NHL history -- to come back from such a postseason deficit.

The complete list of teams that were unable to come back...
    • 1945 Red Wings lost to Toronto in seven
    • 1949 Red Wings lost to Toronto in four
    • 1952 Canadiens lost to Detroit in four
    • 1968 Blues lost to Montreal in four
    • 1970 Blues lost to Boston in four
    • 1983 Oilers lost to New York Islanders in four
    • 1990 Bruins lost to Edmonton in five
    • 1995 Red Wings lost to New Jersey in four
    • 1997 Flyers lost to Detroit in four
Not only have teams failed to come back, most of them have failed to even win a game.

If there's a positive for the Devils it's that they've at least been competitive, losing both games in overtime where one bounce or one shot could completely change the direction of a single game and the entire series.

Of the teams listed above they were all outscored by an average of 6-2 in their opening two losses. The Devils are only down 4-2 on the scoreboard, and for much of Game 2 on Saturday they were the better team, getting to their game and putting pressure on the Kings defense and Jonathan Quick.

But it still wasn't enough, which has to make the current deficit even more frustrating for the Devils and their fans.

The Kings aren't there yet. They still have a job to do, and it's a race to four, and all of the other playoff cliches you want to throw around at the moment. But they are in a pretty good position.

If the Devils are able to come back and win this thing it would be a pretty stunning comeback given the performance of teams in previous years that faced similar situations.

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