On May 21 in NYR history: A magical run comes to an end

What happened on May 21 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1979, a magical run to the Stanley Cup Final came to a crashing halt as the New York Rangers lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum, giving the Habs their fourth straight championship.

It was a depressing night for the Blueshirts as Montreal won more Cups in four years than the Rangers had won in 53 years.   It was the 22nd NHL championship for Montreal and their 10th win in 15 years.

It was the end of a Canadiens dynasty as they have won the Cup only twice in the last 43 years and none since 1993.

The game was never in doubt after the Canadiens broke a 1-1 tie in the second period with three straight goals.  The Rangers had won the first game of the Final and had a 2-0 lead in Game Two before losing that lead and four straight games.  It had been an unexpected run to the Final for Fred Shero and his Rangers.

Bob Gainey was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy. Although he was best known as a defensive whiz,  the left winger had six goals and 16 points in 16 playoff games that spring including three goals in the Final.

The Devils tie an epic series

In 1994 on this date, the Rangers and Devils played the fourth game of their epic Eastern Conference Finals series.  The Devils won, 3-1, to knot the series at two games apiece.

The Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Stephane Richer and Bill Guerin.  The Rangers pulled within one on a Stephane Matteau power play goal in the second period, but Valeri Zelepukin put the game out of reach midway through the third period.

Most fans don’t remember that Rangers coach Mike Keenan pulled Mike Richter after he allowed the two goals in the first 16:54 of the game.  Glenn Healy stopped 13 of 14 shots the rest of the way.  Martin Brodeur stopped 21 of 22 shots for the Devils.

Today’s birthdays

25 NHL players have been born on May 21 with one current Ranger celebrating his birthday along with three former Blueshirts.

Forward Kevin Rooney was born on this date in 1993 in Canton, Massachusetts. He has just finished his first season as a Ranger after being signed as a free agent before the campaign. Rooney was an undrafted free agent signed by the Devils where he played parts of four seasons. In 54 games for the Rangers last season he established career highs in goals (8) and points (14).  This year, he was hampered by injuries, but is still a valuable member of the fourth line.

Matt Hunwick was born on this date in 1985 in Warren, Michigan. The defenseman played one season with the Rangers, for the President’s Trophy team of 2014-15. He has played eight NHL seasons for six different teams, most recently with Buffalo.

Todd White was born on this date in 1975 in Kanata, Ontario.  He was a center who played 13 seasons in the NHL, finishing his career with the Rangers in 2010-11, playing 18 games.  He came to the Rangers from the Atlanta Thrashers, traded for Donald Brashear. The Blueshirts were desperate to get rid of Brashear who had a disastrous tenure in New York, so they traded him and Patrick Rissmiller for the 35-year-old White at the end of his career.

Sylvain Blouin was a left winger, born on May 21, 1974 in Montreal, Quebec.  He was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 1994 draft and made it to the team for seven scoreless  games.  He was traded to his hometown Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Peter Popovic in 1998.  He played 115 NHL games for three different teams, scoring only three goals and seven points.

The numbers

Not a good date in the Rangers’ playoff history, losing all five games that they have played.

Playoff games: 5
Wins: 0
Losses: 4
Overtime losses: 1
Winning percentage: 0%