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King Henrik, Mother’s Day and ‘Stepan’ up in the clutch

By Scott Esposito

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 25: Martin St. Louis #26 of the New York Rangers celebrates after scoring the game winning shot in overtime against Dustin Tokarski #35 of the Montreal Canadiens to win Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 25, 2014 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens 3 to 2. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 25: Martin St. Louis #26 of the New York Rangers celebrates after scoring the game winning shot in overtime against Dustin Tokarski #35 of the Montreal Canadiens to win Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 25, 2014 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens 3 to 2. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MAY 29: The New York Rangers celebrates after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six to win the Eastern Conference Final in the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 29, 2014 in New York City. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1 to 0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 29: The New York Rangers celebrates after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six to win the Eastern Conference Final in the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 29, 2014 in New York City. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1 to 0. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Many New York Rangers teams have come close to winning it all, but the Blueshirts we remember best are the clubs from the last decade.

The 1994 New York Rangers ended more than five decades of heartbreak and frustration for the franchise and its fans. At long last, it was the opposition that suffered costly injuries and tough breaks in big moments.

The waiting was over, indeed. The parade down the Canyon of Heroes that followed was a memory that will last a lifetime.

As we noted in the first five parts of our series on great New York Rangers teams that came close to winning the Stanley Cup, the 1994 team accomplished what even the powerhouse Blueshirts clubs of the early 1970s could not.

The Rangers haven’t won hockey’s Holy Grail since, but they came close in the last decade. The 2012 and 2015 teams combined for 104 wins and went deep into the Conference Finals both years before losing.

The 2014 Blueshirts didn’t win as many games during the season as their predecessors. However, they are the most recent Rangers team to come closest to hoisting the Stanley Cup thanks to an emotional and unforgettable playoff run.

In the final part of our series, we take a look back at that 2014 team.

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