Mark Messier is definitely not walking through that door. The New York Rangers, trailing the rival New Jersey Devils 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals and facing elimination on Friday night, have been here before in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. They trailed Ottawa 3-2 in the first round and had to win a road game to force a Game ?7. They were pushed to a Game 7 by the Capitals in the second round and again found a way to win at home. But this current scenario conjures one of the great springs in NHL history. The 1994 Rangers, led by Messier, their captain and a five-time Cup champion in Edmonton, were down 3-2 to the Devils with Game 6 set for the Meadowlands. Messier guaranteed his team would win and then, incredibly, backed it up with a hat trick in the third period. New York won in double overtime in Game 7 and eventually earned the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 54 years. The NHL has never been more culturally relevant than that spring. Remember Sports Illustrated’s infamous “Why the NHL’s Hot and the NBA’s Not” cover?
But these Rangers don’t have the same charisma that made SI think that story made sense. They are a tough, gritty team with smooth-skating defensemen, fabulous goaltending and just enough offense to make it this far. But there is no Messier here, and no one at Thursday’s media availability was guaranteeing anything.
“Not for a second,” coach John Tortorella told reporters when asked whether he expected anything like that from his players. “Not to disrespect what happened, but that has nothing to do with how we’re preparing, I guess, is the best way to put it.”
– Brian McNally
