On May 25 in NYR history: Messier delivers on a guarantee

What happened on May 25 in the history of the New York Rangers

There have been many thrilling games in the history of the New York Rangers, but on this date in 1994, Mark Messier defined leadership.  With their backs to the wall and facing elimination, the Captain guaranteed a win and delivered.

It was Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals and the New Jersey Devils were up 3-2 with the opportunity to win at home and send the Rangers packing.   As both teams prepared for the match, Messier was asked about the potential outcome and he made the guarantee , “We know we are going to go in there and win Game 6 and bring it back to the Garden.”   The prediction was plastered on the sport pages of every newspaper the day of the game.

Of course, Messier delivered…in dramatic fashion.  The Devils jumped out to  2-0 lead on goals by Scott Niedermayer and Claude Lemieux,  with the first goal a deflection off Sergei Nemchinov’s stick.  The Rangers were so listless, coach Mike Keenan called a timeout midway through the second period and then he moved Alexei Kovalev to wing on a line with Messier.

The moves paid off when Kovalev scored 18 minutes into the second period on a set up from Messier to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the third period, Messier took over. In one of the great displays of clutch play, he scored a third period hat tick to seal the win.  Kovalev set up the first goal, which Messier scored on the backhand.  The second goal was off the rebound of a Kovalev slapshot and the final goal was into an empty net, giving the Rangers a 4-2 lead.

The headlines the next day proclaimed “Bless this Mess” and the “Messiah” proved that he singlehandedly could lead the team to victory.

The win sent the series back to Madison Square Garden for Game Seven, but that’s a story for another day.

The drought begins

Since that dramatic win in 1994, May 25 has not been a good day for the Rangers in the playoffs.   The Rangers were eliminated from the postseason three times on May 25.   On this date in 1997, the Rangers lost 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers  losing their Eastern Conference Finals series in five games.

It was also the last playoff game the Rangers would play for eight years.  It was the start of a seven season playoff drought that wouldn’t end until 2006.  It marked the second longest playoff drought in franchise history.

What no one knew at the time was that this was also the last playoff game in the careers of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.   Gretzky would retire two years later, but Messier played seven more years for the Canucks and Rangers, but never saw the post season again.  Gretzky didn’t go quietly, assisting on both Ranger goals, while Messier registered on assist.

A devastating overtime loss

Another playoff elimination on May 25 came in 2012 when the New Jersey Devils knocked off the Rangers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, 3-2.  The goal came off the stick of Adam Henrique just 1:03 into overtime after a scoreless third period left the teams tied 2-2 in regulation.

The victory went to Martin Brodeur in his final playoff game against the Rangers. The win sent the Devils to the Final where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

Torts’ last game

Exactly one year later it was the Boston Bruins’ turn to eliminate the Rangers, beating them 3-1 and winning their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals series in five games.  It was a one sided series in favor of the Bruins and it spelled the end of John Tortorella’s tenure as Rangers coach.

Today’s birthdays

24 NHL players have been born on May 25 with three Rangers in that number including the first native New York to play for the team.

Nick Fotiu was born on this date in 1952 on Staten Island, NY.  Fotiu beat all the odds to make it to the NHL though he was mostly known for his ability to fight.  He got his big break when he played for the New England Whalers of the WHA, and the Rangers snapped him up as a free agent in 1976 and later that year he became the first New York City native to play for the team.  The left winger played eight years in two stints in New York and he was one of the most beloved players in franchise history. He was famous for throwing pucks up to the blue seats after warmups, getting souvenirs to the cheap seats he used to buy when he was a kid, growing up a Rangers fan.

David Shaw was born on this date in 1964 in St. Thomas, Ontario.  A stay-at-home defense, he played 16 seasons in the NHL, including four with the Rangers.  Traded to New York he was an effective blueliner, though he missed most of the 1989-90 season with a shoulder injury. In November 1991 he was traded for Edmonton for Jeff Beukeboom as the last element of the swap that brought Mark Messier to New York.

Wayne Dillon was born on May 25, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, selected after he played two excellent seasons as a teenager in the WHA including a 95 point season.   With the Rangers, the center played two full seasons, scoring 21 and 17 goals before he was hampered by injuries that let to an early retirement.

The numbers

Playoff games: 5
Wins: 1
Losses: 2
Overtime wins: 1
Overtime losses: 1
Winning percentage: 40%