New Yorkers have been talking for weeks about the similarities between this Rangers’ Stanley Cup chase and the 1994 chase that ended the franchise’s 54-year drought.
From the Rangers winning the Presidents Trophy to the Knicks competing for simultaneous titles to earthquakes, solar eclipses, and OJ Simpson making headlines, people were already starting to take notice. The Rangers’ 6-0 start to the postseason only adds more fodder to this entertaining discussion.
Let’s take a look:
behind the bench
In 1994, the Rangers’ first-year coach was Mike Keenan, a veteran who had previously led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final. Peter Laviolette joined the team before this season.
He once took Philadelphia to the finals and lost.
The rising sun
On May 10, 1994, an annular solar eclipse was visible across North America. On April 8 of this year, a total solar eclipse followed a similar path, including western New York.
Kadon!
On January 16, 1994, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake centered in Berks County, Pennsylvania, shook parts of the tri-state region.
On April 5th of this year, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurred in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey.
Go New York Go!
The Knicks entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference each time, just as the Rangers won the Presidents Trophy with the NHL’s best record in both years. Some of the postseason opponents have experienced rematches. The Rangers defeated the Capitals in five games in the second round in 1994, and this year they swept the Capitals in the first round. At the time, the Knicks defeated the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games and are now playing Indiana again.
Run, OJ, run!
It began on June 17, 1994 with the Rangers’ Canyon of Heroes parade and ended with the Knicks defeating the Rockets 91-84 at MSG to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.
This day is best remembered for the televised chase of O. J. Simpson by white Bronco police and his subsequent arrest in the driveway of his home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Mr. Simpson passed away from cancer on April 10, 2024 at the age of 76.
shake the garden
This spring’s hockey hoop extravaganza at MSG is already even better than it was 30 years ago.
Tuesday marks the end of a four-day series of Rangers-Knicks-Rangers-Knicks games.
In 1994, three-day periods occurred twice, making it the longest streak on record.
The leagues’ concurrent schedules come in handy here, as in 1994 the NHL playoffs started and ended about a week earlier than the NBA.
six shooter
The Rangers’ 6-0 start in the playoffs matches Mark Messier’s team, which won seven straight games before finally losing in Game 4 of the second round in Washington.
Now, the Captain is talking about it all on an ESPN studio show.
in double
Vincent Trocheck (right), who won Game 2 in second overtime on Tuesday night, reflects on Stefan Matteau’s exploits in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Devils at the Meadowlands. It was comparable to
The same type of shot is also whacking a loose puck through traffic. Of course, “Matto, Matto, Matto” would have an even more famous double OT moment later in the postseason.
As Howie Rhodes famously proclaimed, the Rangers were left with “one more hill to climb, and that’s Mount Vancouver.”
In fact, there is Mount Vancouver in Alaska, 1,000 miles northwest of Canada’s NHL city.
It must be kept in mind that there is still a possibility of a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Canucks.
