On May 13 in NYR history: A glorious day for playoff heroics

What happened on May 13 in the history of the New York Rangers

May 13 is a glorious day in the history of the Broadway Blueshirts.  It’s the anniversary of three  straight seventh game series wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Not only were they seventh game wins, each game was something special.  From 2013 to 2015, May 13 was a great day to be a Rangers fan.

The first big comeback

May 13, 2014 was something very special as the Rangers achieved a feat they had never accomplished before.  On this date they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 and came back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in their history.  Not only that, they did it on the road before a raucous crowd at the CONSOL Energy Center.

This series was legendary as the Blueshirts were inspired by Martin St. Louis who came back from his mother’s funeral to lead the team to victory.  The highlight was his scoring on Mother’s Day in one of the most emotional games in franchise history.

The seventh game was a nail biter with Brian Boyle giving the Rangers the lead with a first period goal. The Penguins tied the score in the third period, but the Blueshirts retook the lead on a Brad Richards power play goal and Henrik Lundqvist made the lead stand up, making 35 saves.

The team went to face the Canadiens in the Conference Finals and to make it to the FInal, losing to the Kings.

The second big comeback

On year later the scene was Madison Square Garden and the hero was Derek Stepan who scored 11:24 into overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 win and their second comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.   This time it was Alex Ovechkin who gave the Caps the 1-0 lead, only to see the Rangers tie the game on a power play goal by Kevin Hayes in the second period.

It was a goaltending duel between Lundqvist and Braden Holtby with the Ranger stopping 35 Washington shots and Holtby with 37 saves.   When Stepan scored, it was bedlam at the Garden as the team advanced to the Conference Finals against Tampa.

It was only the second Game Seven to be won by the Rangers in overtime. The first was the final game of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, the goal scored by Stephane Matteau to eliminate the New Jersey Devils.

Hank shuts the door

In 2013, the Rangers won their Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals series against the Washington Capitals in a 5-0 shutout win at the Verizon Center.  It was the second straight shutout for Henrik Lundqvist as the Blueshirts rebounded from a 3-2 deficit to win the series.

Lundqvist allowed only two goals in the last three games of the series and finished the series with 62 straight saves as the Rangers outscored the Caps 6-0 over the last two games.

The euphoria was short lived as the Rangers dropped the Conference Semi-Finals series to the Boston Bruins in five games.

A brief series lead

In 1979, the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first game of the Stanley Cup FInal.  It was a dominant 4-1 win at the Montreal Forum and gave the Blueshirts hope that they would be able to win their first Cup since 1940.

The Rangers took a two goal lead in the first period on goals by Steve Vickers and Ron Greschner and after Guy Lafleur narrowed the lead to one goal, the Blueshirts responded on goals by Phil Esposito and Dave Maloney.  The Rangers chased goalie Ken Dryden from the game and John Davidson made 31 saves.

That was the last game the Rangers would win in the series.

Today’s birthdays

29 NHL players have been born on May 13 including two New York Rangers.

Taylor Beck was a right winger born on this date in 1991 in St. Catharines, Ontario.  Drafted by the Nashville Predators, Beck played two scoreless games as a Ranger in 2017 after coming to the Blueshirts in a trade from Edmonton for Justin Fontaine.  Released by New York after that season, he has been playing ever since in the KHL.

Bill Heindl was born on this date in 1946 in Sherbrooke, Quebec.  A left winger, he scored one goal in four games for the Rangers in the 1972-73 season.  Heindl’s story was tragic as he was seriously injured in a car accident and attempted suicide in 1980. A paraplegic after that attempt, he was supported by former juniors teammate Bobby Orr who orgainzed a charity game  in 1980 that was the only game that Orr played with Wayne Gretzky.  Heindly died at age 45 in1992.

The numbers

Playoff games: 5
Wins: 3
Losses: 1
Overtime wins: 1
Winning percentage: 80%