On May 29 in NYR history: A classic 1-0 series clincher

What happened on May 29 in the history of the New York Rangers

In 2014 on May 29, the New York Rangers played the quintessential game of that great Rangers team, beating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 to win the Eastern Conference Final and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.

The Rangers rode a Dominic Moore goal scored in the last minute of the second period and with an airtight defense, held the Canadiens to only 18 shots.  Henrik Lundqvist got the shutout for his 42nd playoff win, the most in Rangers history and one more than Mike Richter.

It was a masterful defensive effort with the Canadiens able to get only five shots on goal in the third period.  It was a crucial win at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers avoided having to play a seventh game in Montreal.  The Rangers won the series in six games and went on to face the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final.  They were awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy which every Ranger studiously avoided touching, in keeping with a longstanding NHL tradition.

A bitter loss

One year later, it was a completely different story as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Rangers 2-0 in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals, preventing a second straight trip to the Final.

The Rangers came into the game confident after beating Tampa 7-3 in Game Six on the road, but they were also weakened by injuries.  Ryan McDonagh couldn’t start the game as he had to have a broken foot frozen and Dan Girardi was playing with a fractured kneecap.   They were also without Mats Zuccarello, their leading scorer, who was out after getting hit in the head by a puck.

It was a scoreless game into the third period when Alex Killorn scored at the 1:54 mark with Ondrej Palat scoring an insurance goal ten minutes later.

It was a bitter loss  for the Presidents’ Trophy winning Rangers as they blew their best  chance to win their only Cup since 1994.

A Calder Trophy for Steve Vickers

On this date in 1973, Rangers left winger Steve Vickers won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He was the first Ranger to win the award since Camille Henry in 1954 and he was the seventh Blueshirt to win it.

Vickers, a left winger,  scored 30 goals and 53 points in 61 games and he edged out Bill Barber of the Flyers who finished with 30 goals and 64 points.

Since Vickers won in 1973, the only Rangers to win rookie honors has been Brian Leetch who won the Calder Trophy in 1989.

Today’s birthdays

24 NHL players have been born on May 29 including four New York Rangers.

Brian Noonan was born on this date in 1965 in Boston,  Massachusetts and is one of the guys the Rangers mortgaged their future for to win the 1994 Stanley Cup.  He had two stints with the Rangers including 12 regular season games and 22 playoff games in 1994 after being traded from the Blackhawks with Stephane Matteau.

Mike Keane was born on this date in 1967 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He signed as a free agent in July 1997 along with Brian Skrudland after Mark Messier left to sign with Vancouver.  The Rangers thought they were getting the perfect two players to complement Wayne Gretzky,  Brian Leetch and Pat LaFontaine, but the signings didn’t work out and Keane was best known for his collision with LaFontaine that ended up ending the center’s career.

Jason Dawe was born on this date in 1973 in North York, Ontario.   He was a second round draft pick by the Buffalo Sabres who played eight years in the NHL, ending his career with four games in New York over two years.  His time in in New York was hampered by an ankle injury that cost him most of the 2000-01 season.

Bill Carse was a center born in 1914 on this date in Edmonton, Alberta.   He played 124 games in the NHL mostly for the Chicago Black Hawks with one game in New York where he made his NHL debut in 1938-39.

The numbers

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