On June 14 in NYR history: One glorious night

What happened on June 14 in the history of the New York Rangers

For most fans of the New York Rangers, June 14, 1994 is the greatest day in the history of the franchise.   Considering that it marks the date of the only Stanley Cup the team has won in 82 years , there is no doubt that there is only a handful of Blueshirts faithful who remember the 1940 title.

A delirious Madison Square Garden crowd watched as the Rangers took the lead as Brian Leetch scored at 11:02 of the first period and just 3:43 later, Adam Graves gave them a two goal lead with a power play goal, his first goal in 11 games.   Trevor Linden cut the lead in half with a second period shorthanded goal, but Mark Messier restored the two goal advantage on the power play with 6:31 left in the second stanza.

That left the Rangers with 20 minutes to protect a two goal lead and win the Cup.   Of course, they didn’t make it easy.  Trevor Linden scored on the power play 4:50 into the third period and it was  a one goal lead yet again.

The Rangers held on and with 1.6 seconds left it was up to Craig MacTavish to win a faceoff to the right of Mike Richter.  Pavel Bure of the Canucks took the draw, prepared to shoot off the faceoff, but McTavish won it and the Rangers won the Cup.

Brian Leetch was the first U.S. born player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP and was only the second defenseman to lead the playoffs in scoring.  He took a celebratory call from President Bill Clinton. The celebration on the ice went on for what seemed like hours while Coach Mike Keenan and General Manager Neil Smith appeared to actually like each other.

Sam Rosen proclaimed that “this one will last a lifetime,” but it is now 27 years and counting as the Blueshirts look for their next championship.  Considering that no one under the age of 30 has any memory of that glorious night, the Rangers are long overdue.

If anyone has recollections of that night, please feel free to share them below.

Hello Gerard Gallant!

On this date one year ago, the Rangers hired the coach that they had targeted the day that they fired David Quinn, Gerard Gallant.  He was the first potential coach interviewed by GM Chris Drury and the selection was never really in doubt.

After successful coaching stints in Columbus, Florida and Vegas, the sentiment was that the Blueshirts needed a coach like Gallant to get them over the hump and into the playoffs.

Of course, he did exactly that, guiding the team to one of their best seasons ever and then taking the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.  The loss this weekend to Tampa still stings.

Dan Girardi bought out

On this date in 2017, the Rangers said goodbye to one of their stalwarts, defenseman Dan Girardi.  The 32-year old blueliner was a victim of the salary cap, with a contract that was too high to be retained by the team.

Girardi was signed as an undrafted free agent and went on to play 11 seasons in New York including 122 playoff games.  He was a shotblocking fiend, with 1,954 blocked shots in 927 games, fourth on the all-time list since 2005 when they started keeping track.

Girardi signed with Tampa and two more seasons before retiring.

Today’s birthdays

28 NHL players have been born on June 14 including five former Rangers.

James Patrick was born on this date in 1963 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the defenseman played a role in the Stanley Cup that was won by the Rangers on his birthday. A 1981 first round draft pick by the Rangers, Patrick was a fixture on the blue line for 11 years in New York, but in November 1993 he was traded to the Hartford Whalers along with Darren Turcotte for Steve Larmer and Nick Kypreos.   Of course, Larmer played  a key role for that Cup winning team.  Patrick went on to play 11 more years in the NHL in a career that last 1,280 games. He never did win a Stanley Cup.

Parker MacDonald was born on June 14, ,1933 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. A center, he had a 14 year NHL career with 119 games in New York from 1956 to 1960.  He played the most games with the Detroit Red Wings where he had the most success.

Johnny Wilson was born on this date in 1929 in Kincardine, Ontario. The left winger played two seasons with the Rangers at the tail end of his career in 1960-62.  He was a durable player, not missing a game for eight straight seasons.  He came to New York along with Pat Hannigan in a trade with the Maple Leafs for Blueshirt Eddie Shack, a one-sided deal in Toronto’s favor.  Wilson later was a coach for nine years in the NHL and WHA.

Jack Lancien was a defenseman born on this date in 1923 in Regina, Saskatchewan  Lancien played 63 games in the NHL, all with the Rangers from 1946 to 1951.  He had a 15 year-long career in the minor leagues, mostly in the Western Hockey League.

Bing Juckes was a left winger born in 1926 in Hamiota, Manitoba. He played 16 games over two seasons for the Rangers.  He played in New York in the 1949-50 season when the Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final, but didn’t see any playoff action.  Bing’s given name was Winston.

The numbers

Playoff games: 1
Wins: 1
Losses: 0
Winning percentage: 100%