On June 11 in NYR history: In 1994, doubts creep in

What happened on June 11 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1994, the New York Rangers dropped a one sided game to the Vancouver Canucks, losing 4-1 and blowing a 3-1 lead in the Final.  The two teams prepared to head back to New York for Game Seven.  While playing a seventh game in front of a raucous home crowd had to be an advantage for the Rangers, there was a reason for them to be concerned.

The reason was that the Vancouver Caunucks had proved to be resilient and in fact  were the last team to come back from a 1-3 deficit in the playoffs and in fact, were the team that had done it the last two times.

It was the first time the Canucks had won a game in the Stanley Cup Final at home, having been swept by the Islanders in 1982 and dropping the first two home games to the Rangers. The Canucks dominated the game from the opening faceoff as the Rangers were serenaded by a chorus of “1940” from the jubilant Vancouver fans.   They took the lead in the first period on a power play goal by Jeff Brown and though Alex Kovalev got the Rangers within a goal in the second period, Vancouver iced the game with two third period goals.

The win meant that the Canucks had outscored the Rangers 10-4 in winning the last two games. There were reasons to be concerned and had two days of to think about it.

Some hope against the Kings

The Rangers won their only game against the Kings in the 2014 Final on this date, winning 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.  The headlines told the story, proclaiming that the Rangers “stayed alive” while the Los Angeles Times proclaimed that the Rangers “avoided a sweep.”

It could easily have been as sweep.  The Kings fired 41 shots and Henrik Lundqvist and twice pucks almost made it across the goal line behind him.  With just 1:11 left in the game, Derek Stepan swept a puck out of the crease as it slowed down because of what Lundqvist called “soft ice.”  Anton Stralman had done the same thing in the first period with the Rangers up 1-0.

In making 40 saves, Lundqvist became the first goalie to have 40 saves in an elimination win in the Stanley Cup Final since those stats began being traced in the 1950s.   Not only that, it was the eighth straight home win when facing elimination, an NHL record streak that had started in 2008.

The Ranger goals were scored by Benoit Pouliot and Martin St. Louis and the lead held up, despite the fact that the Rangers had already blown two goal leads in Games One and Two.

Despite holding a 3-1 lead in the series, the teams had played 275:01 minutes and the Kings had the lead for only 40:01 total in the four games.  The only thing one sided about this series was the Kings’ advantage.

Some draft history

On this date in 1970, the Rangers drafted the first player born in the United States.  Duane Wylie was a center, born in Spokane, Washington who was selected in the sixth round of the draft. He never made it to the Rangers, but did play with the Black Hawks for 14 games. While Wylie was the first US born player to be drafted by the Rangers, the first to play was Clarence “Taffy” Abel in 1926, the first US born player to be a regular in the NHL.

In the 1980 draft, the Rangers drafted their first player from Finland , defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen as well as their first Swedish draft pick, defenseman Anders Backstrom.  The Swede never made it to the NHL, but Ruotsalainen was a top defender for the Rangers under Herb Brooks and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.

Today’s birthdays

16 NHL players have been born on June 11 including three former Rangers, one who was related to a legend, another whose career was tragically cut short and the third who was traded for one of the all-time Ranger greats.

Fedor Fedorov was born on this date in 1981 in Appatity, USSR .  He will be forever known as ghe “other” Fedorov as he was the brother of Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov. He had brief stops in Vancouver and New York before returning to Russia. In 18 NHL games he had three assists, meaning he had 483 fewer goals than his brother.

Herb Dickenson was born on June 11 in 1931 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was a forward who played 48 games for the Rangers over two seasons from 1951-52.  He had 14 goals in 37 games in his rookie season and was off to a good start in his second year with four goals and eight points in 11 gmes. He had a bright future that was cut short when he was hit by a puck in the face on November 5, 1952 in a game against the Maple Leafs. Rushed to the hospital, he lost sight in his right eye and never played again.

Jim Mikol was born on this date in 1938 in Kitchener, Ontario.  The winger/defenseman played only 30 games for the Rangers, but was traded for one of the all time great Blueshirts and Hall of Famer.  In 1965 he was part of a multiple team trade that saw him traded to Providence of the AHL. In return, Providence sent a young goalie name Ed Giacomin to the Rangers.

The numbers

Playoff games:  2
Wins: 1
Losses: 1
Winning percentage:  50%