The night of June 14, 1994 was one of the most memorable in New York Rangers history. It ended 54 years of frustration and immortalized the Blueshirts who were part of that experience. But was it the greatest game the Rangers have ever played? No.
Where where you on June 14, 1994 is one of the classic questions that all New York Rangers fans can share. All fans remember exactly what they were doing when the Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 and ended a 54 year drought, the longest in NHL history. It was a thrilling hockey game and the final result wasn’t confirmed until the buzzer signaled that it was over. But as great as that match was, Game Seven of the Conference Finals was the greatest hockey game the Blueshirts have ever played.
The Cup clinching game had its share of suspense, but the Rangers never trailed after Brian Leetch scored at 11:02 of the first period. In fact, the Blueshirts twice had a two goal lead and only saw the lead whittled to one goal when Trevor Linden scored a power play goal with 15:10 left.
True, the Rangers had to claw to hold on to the lead and Nathan Lafayette’s third period shot that beat Mike Richter and hit the post will go down in history, but the game was never in doubt.
Don’t forget, the Rangers were supposed to beat Vancouver and win the Cup. They had the best record in the NHL while Vancouver was seeded seventh in the Western Conference.
The Rangers had steamrollered the Islanders and Capitals before their epic seven game series with the Devils.
Meanwhile, the Canucks came back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Calgary in the first round before upsetting the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canucks were clearly overmatched against the Rangers and once the Blueshirts amassed a 3-1 lead in the series, the Cup was “never” in doubt. The Rangers had three chances to win that Stanley Cup series and they tempted fate by using them all.
However, it never would have happened if on the night of May 27, the Rangers had not beaten the New Jersey Devils in a legendary contest that took Ranger fans on a roller coaster of emotion.